A Professor of Pharmacy Management at the University of Lagos, Professor Emmanuel Nwanolue Anyika, has called for the introduction of more management courses in the faculties of pharmacy across the country.
He said such a move will sharpen the business skills of the younger generation of pharmacists, thereby ensuring greater success in all aspects of the pharmacy profession.
Anyika made the call while delivering the recent 2021/2022 inaugural lecture of the University of Lagos, titled, “Navigating the Pharmaceutical and Management Sciences in Our World of Healthcare Uncertainty”.
In the lecture, the don highlighted the nexus between pharmaceutical and management sciences, while pinpointing how management sciences influence the thought processes of a healthcare professional. He added that there is an urgent need for the application of management principles in all pharmacy practice areas.
According to him, “An average Nigerian pharmacist chooses to remain in a closed system to shield himself from environmental disturbances. Despite the uniqueness of his noble profession, he still does not believe that he is a big force to reckon with.
“The pharmacist is reluctant to acquire new skills, and self-development becomes a utopia. Unless he comes to terms with reality, the vicious cycle will never be broken. His intellect will keep begging to be used.”
On the way forward, Anyika said, “A postgraduate degree programme in pharmacy administration should commence to provide manpower for pharmacy management education, as well as full development of teaching of pharmacy management to the teeming population of pharmacist business-owners, who are eager to acquire business skills.”
He also called for the establishment of a full Department of Pharmacy Management Administration, adding that an interdisciplinary collaboration between the pharmacy and business administration faculties would encourage the training of hybrid health professionals with high entrepreneurial skills.
In her remarks, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, commended Anyika for his contribution to the body of knowledge, stressing that the institution would look into the recommendations made in the lecture and implement where possible, so as to better pharmacy education in the country.
Specifically addressing Anyika, the VC said: “Now that you have successfully paid your academic debt to the University of Lagos, on behalf of the Senate of the University of Lagos, you are hereby discharged and acquitted. I, therefore, welcome you to the committee of professors that have paid their dues.”
