Materia Medica Malaysiana

Taiwan cheer for pharmacy graduates

SHAH ALAM: Pharmacy graduates from three Taiwan universities are now exempted from sitting for the Taiwanese government's unified examinations.
This exemption meant one less hindrance for the pharmacy graduates and would help them return to Malaysia faster, said Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek.
He said the three universities were the National Taiwan University, the Kaoshuing University and the Taipei Medical University.
“The move came into effect last month,” he told reporters at the ministry's media night here yesterday, adding that this could help to reduce the acute shortage of pharmacists in the country.
Dr Chua said, however, that while these graduates had been exempted from taking the examinations set by the Taiwanese government, they would still have to pass tests set by the universities concerned.
He said all pharmacy graduates, from local and foreign universities, were compelled to serve the ministry for three years under a directive enforced last September.
He hoped by the year 2020, there would be at least one pharmacist to every 2,400 people. This ratio would be close to the 1:2,000 set by the World Health Organisation, he said. The ratio now is 1:7,000.