Salam, this is the post of my experience on being interviewed by SPA recently. I bet most of JPA holders will sooner or later be interviewed by SPA. The interview session for 4th year Pharmacy students (RX8) IIUM was conducted on 17-19 April 2013 located in our beloved building, Kuliyyah of Pharmacy. According to the name list, we were divided into small group with respective interviewer. My name was seen at number 7 out of 10 for the last day of the session which was on Friday. We were arranged according to birthdate.
For my group, we got Mr. D (SPA Rep) and Mrs. F (Pharmacist) as our interviewer. They are quite relax actually but we aren't. I entered with 2 friends. As we step in, we gave our folder of certs plus resume, and our request placement form. As per usual, we have to introduce ourselves; name, hometown, family background, and what you want to say bout yourself( involvement in coco, or quality in yourself for example). As for me, i summarize my involvement in coco such as my participation in charity under supportive unit in UIA. Then Mr. D asked bout my educational visit to Australia. This part, i just tell things that came in mind at that time. Sincerely i dont really remember things we do in Aussie.
The interview started with Mr.D. He asked us to tell what do we understand bout TCM (traditional complementary meds). We give acupunture as example, then he asked again, how do we think the acupunture can improve health ( not sure exact question but approximately like this).He asked for other answers, we said bekam and so on. But we weren't able to mention gingko biloba, or any other herbs at that time despite he was asking bout medicines in general. Nervous i guess.
I dont really remember the sequence of the questions, but from those two, we were asked bout Blue book, What is Blue Book? What is the contain of the book? The pharmacist asked us a real-situation case' question, what if the doctor want to suggest or give the medicines other than written in the book? what should we do? To be exact is the procedures. The answer is to refer to Pengarah Hospital and fill in a specific form to request for approval to dispense that sort of medicines etc.
The pharmacist asked bout AMR (antimicrobial resistance) . How can we detect if the antimicrobial is resistance, and the answer is C&S (culture& sensitivity). Well, when you know the reasons behind the infection and able to identify the microorganism presence then you will know which antibacterial to be given. Right? TDM can be true as well. But not to check for microbial resistancy but more to toxicities, or incompliance. It is specifically use for drug monitoring procedure.
Before that, Mr D asked about rawatan Islam since this method is always be an option nowadays. How can we think rawatan Islam such as Al-Quran recitation can help in treating patient? I answered it by giving example from the article that i read in a website regarding how the water molecules can become neatly organized, beautifully after hearing the Quran recitation.Since about 70% of body consist of water hence the organized water molecules inside our body may trigger the freshness inside, and spiritually. Thus, our body tend to feel better. That is one of the beauties of Quran.
The pharmacist asked how to counsel Muslim patients especially in Ramadhan (fasting month) since the patient usually skip fasting just to ensure they took the medicines. Actually for tds dose, patient can take the meds during sahur (sunrise), bukak puasa (sunset) and during moreh(supper). Meanwhile for the usage of drug containing porcein or bovine sources, the pharmacist should find other alternatives and only if the patient is critically ill and need the meds then those meds can be given to the patient( should read other resources for more confirmation).
Like other common interview, we should know and memorize the name of important person in BPFK Chart. The Ketua Pengarah Kesihatan and who is the Ketua Kanan Farmasi in full name. And, Health Minister too.
That's all i can recalled, but no worries, the interview is more to discussion and they just want to hear your opinions. Hope this sharing may help a bit. Best of luck and wish me luck as well !
That's all i can recalled, but no worries, the interview is more to discussion and they just want to hear your opinions. Hope this sharing may help a bit. Best of luck and wish me luck as well !
