Qatar is aiming to take a regional leading in pharmacy with a total of 33 students currently under training at Qatar University's newly-established College of Pharmacy.

With an innovative North American based curriculum, the college degree programme involves novel teaching methods including a virtual hospital and emphasises critical thinking and evidence-based pharmacotherapy. The country's first-ever graduates are expected in 2011 and the first doctorates in 2012.

'The college was initiated to help meet the country's growing demand for qualified pharmacists,' Peter Jewesson, professor and dean of the college, said at the Arab Health exhibition in Dubai.

Under the banner of Leading the Change, the Qatar University College of Pharmacy is one of a consortium of leading medical and educational institutions and organisations from Qatar, headed by the Ministry of Health, which is mounting the biggest pavilion of any Gulf country at the expo.

'We are preparing our students to provide optimal pharmaceutical care through evidence-based practice,' Dr Jewesson added.

'We are also promoting research and scholarly activity aimed at advancing health outcomes as well as community outreach activities aimed at healthcare career promotion.'

'In addition, we aim to serve as a pharmaceutical sciences resource for Qatar, the Middle East and the world and to become the leading pharmacy school in the region.'-TradeArabia News Service