Pharmacy knows no national borders

Anyone thinking of a pharmacist’s work usually associates the profession with a community pharmacy, a hospital or the pharmaceutical industry. But pharmacy does not stop at the national border. Worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, around two billion people have no reliable access to essential medicines and basic health services.¹ At the same time, many countries lack pharmaceutical specialists, functioning supply chains and a safe supply of medicines.

This is precisely where Pharmaciens sans Frontières Suisse (PSF Suisse) comes in. For many years the non-profit organisation has worked to build sustainable pharmaceutical structures in countries with limited health care. Contrary to what is often assumed, the focus is not on short-term donations of medicines. The aim is rather to strengthen local health systems for the long term, to pass on knowledge and to promote the independence of partner organisations.²

From the medicine to health care

An assignment abroad means far more than handing out medicines. Pharmacists support local teams in building safe procurement processes, optimise stockholding and quality management, train health professionals and develop standards for the proper handling of medicines.

PSF Suisse is currently active in Lebanon, Madagascar and Tanzania, among other places. Assignments generally last at least a year and deliberately pursue a long-term approach to development cooperation. The organisation seeks pharmacists resident in Switzerland who will pass on their professional experience while being ready to get to know new cultural and health-related conditions.³

The real task therefore lies less in solving problems in the short term than in enabling local specialists to develop sustainable pharmaceutical structures themselves.

What do you learn abroad that you can hardly learn in Switzerland?

Many former field staff report that they benefit professionally at least as much as the projects themselves. While modern diagnostics and established processes are taken for granted in Switzerland, decisions abroad frequently have to be taken under restricted conditions.

These experiences sharpen the eye for medication safety, prioritisation, resource management and evidence-based decisions. At the same time pharmacists develop competences that are in demand in almost any later professional field: project management, interprofessional collaboration, crisis management, leading small teams and communicating across cultural and linguistic boundaries.

International experience is today regarded as a valuable additional qualification outside the humanitarian sphere too. In public health, global health, clinical pharmacy or medical affairs in particular, intercultural competences are increasingly sought.⁴

A springboard to many further career paths

An assignment with Pharmaciens sans Frontières need by no means remain a one-off experience. Many former volunteers later move into international organisations, health authorities, universities or the pharmaceutical industry.

Globally oriented companies in particular value staff who understand complex health systems and have taken on responsibility under difficult conditions. Roles at the World Health Organization (WHO), in non-governmental organisations or development agencies frequently build on comparable experience.

For pharmacists this opens up a career path that goes far beyond the classic supply of medicines and combines aspects of health policy, development cooperation and international project work.

What should you bring to it?

Besides completed pharmaceutical training, personal qualities matter more than academic titles. What is sought is initiative, flexibility, resilience and the willingness to take responsibility.

Equally important is the ability to pass on knowledge intelligibly. What matters is not one’s own professional performance but the sustainable competence building of local partners. Good English and openness towards other cultures make the work easier still.

Practical experience from community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy or quality management is particularly valuable. This knowledge can be transferred directly to project work.

Can it even lead to self-employment?

Although Pharmaciens sans Frontières itself is not a platform for self-employment, the experience acquired can open up new professional possibilities. Pharmacists with an international background later work, for instance, as consultants for medicines supply, public health or health projects. Others accompany development programmes, support international organisations or found consultancies in global health, medication safety or supply systems.

With the growing focus on global supply chains, security of supply and international health crises, this expertise is gaining importance for companies, authorities and health institutions in Europe too.

More than voluntary work

An assignment abroad means not only a professional change of perspective; it frequently also changes one’s own view of the pharmacy profession. Anyone who has experienced what a functioning supply of medicines can mean for entire regions often develops a new understanding of pharmacy’s social responsibility.

At a time when many young pharmacists are looking for meaningful work, Pharmaciens sans Frontières therefore represents far more than voluntary commitment. It is a career path that combines professional excellence with social responsibility and imparts competences that are becoming ever more important in an increasingly globalised world of health.