Newsletter Archives

In memoriam: Ruud Dessing

Posted on 24/11/202424/11/2024 by Edwin van Aalten

It is with great sadness that we have received the notification that Ruud Dessing, ESCP President 1994-1996, passed away at the age of 78. He was suffering from lung fibrosis.

Ruud Dessing was involved in ESCP form the beginning, in the seventies. He stood at the basis of pharmaceutical patient care, and was always active in ethics and philosophy. Ruud Dessing was a pioneer in incorporating ethics and philosophy in pharmaceutical care. He was honoured Fellow of ESCP in 2011.

Ruud Dessing was a very inspiring and amiable person.

Ruud studied chemistry and pharmacy at Leiden University, where he obtained his PhD in 1974. Besides his work as a community pharmacist in Noordwijk, he was director of Amsterdam medical press and published several books on medication use. Ruud Dessing was, together with Niels Muller, editor of the ESCP European Drug Index (EDI: extended information for practitioners confronted with the enormous number of drug names available on the European market, in times before internet a widely used encyclopedia in the last decades of the 20^th century). He also was the first pharmacist in The Netherlands who handled the refill requests of patients in the GP practices in Noordwijk and discussed their medication adherence and the (side) effects of their drug use. Patient care took a prominent place in his career as a pharmacist. Ruud Dessing moderated a few times a workshop in philosophy and ethics in pharmacy practice at ESCP Symposia.

Ruud was very present at ESCP events and always had friends around him, not just to drink a beer or a glass of wine, to joke and gag, but, especially when time advanced, to philosophize and bring new ideas as how to bring patient care in pharmacy to a higher level of understanding. Those who know him will miss him.

As the family wrote in their death announcement:

“With loving memories and deep sadness we say goodbye to Ruud, my husband, with a tireless entrepreneurial spirit, our proud father, father-in-law and grandfather, who lived life to the fullest. As a highly learned and astute thinker, he had a great preference for science and philosophy. He enjoyed life in his own unique way and left a lasting impression on everyone who knew him. His zest for life, warmth and strength will always live in us.” The funeral has taken place in a private setting. We extend our condolences to his wife and (grand)children and wish them much strength in coping with the loss of this inspiring man.

22 November 2024

Pre-Summer 2023 Updates from the Committees

Posted on 02/06/202311/07/2023 by Anna Oleárová, editor

Update from the General Committee (by Derek Stewart)

The General Committee is the ESCP leadership body and is responsible for driving the strategy of the society. We are continuing to move with delivering our 2022-2024 strategy and are now working with external consultants, 3Sixty Healthcare Meetings Consultancy, on a number of key areas surrounding event planning and strategic partnerships with industry.
We have now approved the 2023 plans for each of the ESCP Committees. These are exciting and ambitious plans which will impact the products that we deliver for our members. We are very grateful for the hard work of the committees and look forward to future updates. Each committee has provided an update of activities in this newsletter.
We are also pushing forward on collaborative agreements with several national clinical pharmacy societies, with mutual benefits for ESCP and the national societies. If you are involved with your national clinical pharmacy society and would like to explore partnership, then please get in touch.
You will read later in the newsletter about our continued work on the Oath to Society with the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP). Along with EAHP, we are also progressing the establishment of the European Council for Pharmacy Education Accreditation (ECPhA) and will provide updates in future newsletters.
We have also had very productive discussions with the European Pharmaceutical Students’ Associations (EPSA) regarding collaboration and are in the process of meeting with the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (IPSF).

Interested in joining the General Committee? Watch this space for announcements of vacancies.

Update from the Communication Committee (by Derek Stewart)

For the last year, Derek Stewart ESCP President has chaired the Communication Committee. During that time the committee has been increasingly active in improving communication to members and non-members. If you are not already doing so, please follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. The committee is now working on an ambassador initiative, which will be presented to the General Committee in the next few months and then piloted. Watch this space!

Derek is now handing the chair of the committee to Esteban Zavaleta.

Esteban Zavaleta, PharmD, MSM, has more than 17 years of experience in hospital and clinical pharmacy. Although his position is related to different administrative activities, he is actively involved in several clinical and research projects. Esteban has been active in a variety of pharmacy organizations in Costa Rica, and currently, he is an active member of several global pharmacy organizations such as ESCP.

Esteban aspires to improve the communication with current active members and invite other clinical pharmacy personnel around the world to join ESCP´s initiatives.

In March, we also welcomed a new committee member.

Dr Abdu Soltani, Assistant Professor in Clinical Pharmacy & Molecular Neurosciences. Abdu joined the Academic Quality Department at Qatar University Health in 2021. He completed his PhD at King’s College London in 2011 (Molecular Neurosciences & Medicinal Chemistry). Abdu has over 10 years’ experience as a clinical pharmacist, research investigator and quality assurance person at King’s College London, University College London & University of Hertfordshire, UK.

Abdu’s research interests are focused on optimizing the clinical management of neurological & psychiatric disorders in addition to medical education. Looking forward to joining the fantastic team of ESCP’s communication committee.

Update from the Education Committee (by Kateřina Malá Ládová)

In Spring 2023, EdCom welcomed three new members

Dr. Hamde Nazar, director of education and senior lecturer in pharmacy practice, School of Pharmacy, the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, United Kingdom

Dr. Joanne Brown, clinical education pharmacist, Northern Ireland Universities Network

Dr. Valentina Buda, clinical pharmacist and associate professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Romania

All three have become immediately involved in EdCom activities so that the action plan for 2023 can be fulfilled.
EdCom also organizes and supports ESCP webinars, the quality of which is demonstrated through the profiles of the internationally renowned expert presenters from across the world. Visit our website for more information.
The EdCom will also deliver a workshop at the ESCP symposium in Aberdeen later this year.

Update from the Special Interest Group (SIG) Council (by Bart Pouls)

The SIG task force is working on operationalising communications within SIGs and within ESCP together with ComCom and the webmasters. In addition, we are setting up the SIG council to learn from each other and determine how we can best support our vibrant community.
Interested in joining on of the SIGs or starting one with fellow ESCP members?
Please click here for more information.

Update from the General Committee (by Derek Stewart)

Update from the Communication Committee (by Derek Stewart)

Update from the Education Committee (by Kateřina Malá Ládová)

Update from the Special Interest Group (SIG) Council (by Bart Pouls)

Join ESCP (become a member)

The International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy is affiliated with ESCP