Speech by Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Health, at the Singapore Pharmacy Council Pharmacist's Pledge Affirmation Ceremony 2017, 22 August 2017

Mr Wu Tuck Seng, President, Singapore Pharmacy Council,
Distinguished members of the Council,
Newly registered pharmacists and guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good evening.

1.            It gives me great pleasure to join you this evening at the Singapore Pharmacy Council’s Pledge Affirmation Ceremony 2017. Let me first extend my heartiest congratulations to all the newly registered pharmacists, and a warm welcome to our healthcare family.

2.            We are here to celebrate your achievement and mark this significant milestone in your life today, as you transition into your new career as a pharmacist. I am sure this is the start of a meaningful and fulfilling journey.

3.            In a while, you will be reciting the Pharmacist’s Pledge in the presence of your colleagues and family members. The pledge affirms your commitment to uphold the values and professional responsibilities towards your patients and the development of the pharmacy profession. We hope that the solemn promises you make today will guide you throughout your career. May it remind you to always maintain the highest standards of moral integrity and honesty, and to put the interests of your patients above your own.

Staying relevant with continuous upgrading and training 

4.            With the evolving roles of pharmacists over the years, we have continuously enhanced the training of pharmacists to keep it relevant. The enhancements made to the undergraduate pharmacy programme was introduced by the National University of Singapore (NUS) in August 2014, to allow all Pharmacy students in their final year to conduct an individual research project and go through two pre-registration training rotations. These rotations allow the pre-registration pharmacist to learn different skill sets across various practice settings, and provide the breadth of exposure to the various available practices within the pharmacy profession.

5.            The expansion of pre-employment clinical training (PECT) from three months to six months has helped shorten the time needed for a graduate to start practising as a registered pharmacist. With the revised model, pharmacy graduates need only do another six months of pre-registration training after their four-year undergraduate course instead of nine months. I am pleased to note that the first batch of students enrolled in the new NUS pharmacy curriculum has commenced their PECT in May 2017, and that NUS and the Singapore Pharmacy Council (SPC) are working closely to facilitate the seamless transition from classroom learning to professional practice.

6.            Upon graduation, the pre-registration pharmacists will undergo another two rotations in the acute care and ambulatory care areas in the revised training model.

7.            In order to develop quality learning experiences for the pharmacy trainees and nurture the future workforce, we need excellent pharmacy preceptors to mentor and guide our pharmacy graduates, and serve as good role models to the younger pharmacists. I am happy to note that the Singapore Pharmacy Council will be recognising deserving preceptors with the SPC Excellent Preceptor Award 2016 tonight.

Transforming the pharmacy landscape

8.            Faced with a rapidly ageing population and increasing healthcare needs, MOH is working on transforming healthcare delivery via three key shifts: moving Beyond Healthcare to Health, Beyond Hospital to Community, and Beyond Quality to Value. The new services and models of care aim to deliver safe and effective medication use and integrated healthcare to patients across all settings, bringing more choices and better value within the available resources. To support these shifts, we formulated the National Pharmacy Strategy to transform pharmacy services across Singapore over the next 10 years to become more accessible, affordable and of good quality.

9.            As the healthcare needs of our ageing population evolve rapidly, the way we deliver quality care as a healthcare system will also change. We need to be more patient-centric so that Singaporeans can get the appropriate care they need in a timely and cost-effective manner. At the same time, we need to invest in health promotion efforts to defer the onset of diseases and disabilities, so that Singaporeans are able to lead active fulfilling lives for as long as possible and age gracefully. Pharmacists have an active role to play in care integration and supporting these efforts.

10.         Pharmacists will have to collaborate effectively within and beyond the pharmacy community to provide team-based holistic care, not only in the acute care setting, but also in the long term care and community settings. For example, pharmacists in healthcare institutions and in the community can work together and with general practitioners to identify and reach out to help patients with chronic diseases who may have difficulty managing their multiple medications, particularly those who are frequently re-admitted to hospital, in order to achieve good patient care outcomes.

Advancing the role of pharmacy

11.         In tandem with service and care transformation, more experienced pharmacists need to assume roles which are extended, specialised and more advanced than current basic level scope of practice. The Advanced Practice Competency Framework articulates a pharmacist’s scope of practice and defines the knowledge, skills and attributes that are required in advanced practice. It serves as a developmental tool for pharmacists, to identify needs for continuous professional development and to acquire new competencies to advance their practice systematically. I am pleased to announce that the guidebook on Competency Standards for Pharmacists in Advanced Practice will be launched tonight.

12.         In cases where the management of medications is complex, specialist pharmacists are needed to ensure safe and appropriate medication use and to complement the work of other healthcare professionals in the team. For pharmacists who intend to pursue such specialisation, we have developed a training and funding framework to support broad-based and specialty specific National Pharmacy Residency programmes. As of today, a total of 19 pharmacists have enrolled in the programmes and nine of them have completed their training. I hope more will apply in the years to come.

Conclusion

13.         Let me once again congratulate all our newly registered pharmacists. I look forward to your contributions to the healthcare sector. Let us work hard together to strengthen the healthcare system and bring the best care for our patients.

14.         Thank you.