Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1995

• planning its move from Lady Shaw Building to the Basic Medical Sciences Building in 1997; • raising research output and standards with an objective to turn the department into a centre of excellence in pharmaceutical education in South East Asia; • strengthening its links with other professional associations in Hong Kong and motivating local pharmacy students, interns and pharmacists to join in the quest for higher standards of professional practice. Though until recently, pharmacists in Hong Kong were involved primarily in dispensing or distribution processes (which were not the most appropriate or cost-effective use of such highly qualified professionals), the situation israpidly improving, and pharmacists are playing the wider role they should be. The initiative for striving for even higher standards in all areas of pharmacy practice (community, hospital, pharmaceutical industry) have to come from the profession. But as the only academic department of pharmacy in Hong Kong, the CUHK Department of Pharmacy will provide, if required, academic support in formulating and implementing strategies that are aimed at improving • public awareness of the role of pharmacists in the health care process; • links with other health care providers, while emphasizing to them that a pharmacist's advice could be sought on matters dealing with many aspects of drug utilization; • continuing education programmes for local pharmacists. These are exciting times for the profession of pharmacy, yet all professionals are realistic and recognize that time and patience are essential to plan and implement many of the new possibilities emanating from the profession. Nonetheless, they also recognize the need to urgently come up with short and long term strategies to move their profession to increasingly higher levels ofachievement in the years to come. The students of pharmacy at CUHK, who will hopefully be the future pharmacists of Hong Kong, are the ones who may make major contributions to the above strategies in the years to come. Class of 1995 一 CUHK pharmacy students graduating in July 1995 1995: An Important Year in the History of Pharmacy in Hong Kong 15