[e-drug] Course "Managing drug supply" (cont'd)

[Billy Futter <B.Futter@ru.ac.za>]

E-drug: Course "Managing drug supply" (cont'd)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The pleas for written, web based, e-learning resources are the least 
of the problem - they exist already. I suggest a visit to the MSH 
web site at http://www.msh.org/. 

The resource that is more difficult to arrange is a dedicated team of 
local trainers who have been on these courses and who run 
courses in each country. They must be supported by an 
accessible fund to encourage every member to innovate, measure 
and report the differences that are being made to improve rational 
drug use. 

I have attended a few of the courses and, together with other 
course members, was fired up and ready to make a difference.
Promises were made that funding for research would be available 
and easily accessible. A local research group was established 
consisting of nurses, practising pharmacists and academics. The 
group met every week to plan, allocate tasks, and discuss 
progress. A spirit of cooperation and encouragement was built up. 
However, despite having conducted preliminary research, and 
sending in research proposals, the funding has not been 
forthcoming. The net result is that the research group has lost 
momentum and enthusiasm. Even if the funding did arrive now, it 
would take a considerable effort to re-ignite the fires that once 
existed. 

The lesson - do not rely on learning resources on their own. If the 
lessons are going to be effective, other support structures and 
processes must exist.

Billy

Billy Futter
Associate Professor
Faculty of Pharmacy
Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
email  B.Futter@ru.ac.za
phone  046 603 8494
fax  046 636 1205 
--
To send a message to E-Drug, write to: e-drug@healthnet.org
To subscribe or unsubscribe, write to: majordomo@healthnet.org
in the body of the message type: subscribe e-drug OR unsubscribe e-drug
To contact a person, send a message to: e-drug-help@healthnet.org
Information and archives: http://www.essentialdrugs.org/edrug