My Life learning P.H.A.R.M.A.C.Y in DPHMI, INTI =)!

Pharmacy, Pharmacy, Pharmacy....This is a word that has now become the first and foremost one in my dictionary. I can't believe I have come so far....It was just 2 years ago in 2009 when I came for the August intake in INTI and now I am so sad because I have come towards the end of the road :(....I was so nervous before coming to Nilai and then when I thought about my future and my goals  I had said to myself , this is a sacrifice i am going to make to leave my family who I miss and love so much for the sake of knowledge and experiences. It sure is a great experience to study Pharmacy in Malaysia, yet alone in Laureate INTI University!

I remember we took this photo in the last day of class for organic chemistry in the first semester! It was just the beginning of one hell of a ride....~~~~~~~

The first semesters were more like you if understand the concepts you can score however towards the end of Year 1 I feel the subjects became more tough, and not only do you need to understand the concepts, you must be able to apply yourself. What I mean is that revision was and still is a must! waiting for the last minute to study for the tests is just a BIG NO NO NO NO NOOO!! My challenging subject I must say was Human Physiology and Biostatistics Ahhhhh!!  Human Physiology is the subject which is the MOST important for a pharmacist why? Because all the drugs are actually affecting the physiological systems of the human body! If I couldn't grasp the concept of how the body's activities are....How would I have been able to understand how the drugs and medicines actually act? Then when I think about BIOSTATISTICS....hahaha this subject I remember sitting the classroom and zoning out every single thought I had to understand those hypothesis tests, the estimations and all the z-tables and t-tables, It was soo foreign to me but When i practiced and asked my lovely Lecturer Ms. Ng she helped me :)! Then when I got my final result I was so happy....Thank God! 

So many hormones, so many systems so many receptors and the drugsss! It was all so foreign to me but I said to myself....Ruqaiyah be strong and focus....you can do it :)! What I thank God for is that we had some really awesome lecturers that made us understand the things very well! I feel that the basis and foundation of understand starts from the classroom itself and then we can enhance by reading....I feel comfortable for the fact that If i had any doubts I could just ask my lecturers to assist me and really they are so helpful!

The most memorable experience which really enhanced my professional knowledge in the field of pharmacy was INTERNSHIP! It was in semester 5 when we got the news that in semster 6, we are going to go for training. I was so excited because I always heard my seniors talking about their experiences and what they saw and I was patiently waiting for my chance to go! I remember making my own C.V. and applying for a place in the hospital as well as in the retail pharmacy. I was so excited, I remember I felt like I will accomplish something after the training experience and really I will never forget the time I had there!

First my training in the retail pharmacy was short but it sure was sweet :)....I had gone with my classmate and we both learnt many things together, basically whatever we studied in books and writing we applied ourselves in the real working environment! We had a pharmacist who was really an all-rounder....she was competent and professional in the job and it motivated me alot to see that. 

This is on the last day of training with my pharmacist Ms. Koo :)

NCI hospital training had a duration of 2 months and I must say, it was really the best experience anyone can even ask for! I am really honored and lucky that My lecturer Ms. Bama who taught me two subjects Pharmaceutical Technology 2 and Pharmaceutics 1 had accepted me to domy training there. She is so kind and very smart I must say. I had no misunderstandings and the assistants as well as the staff were so welcoming I really cried when I left that place. I still make it a point to keep in touch with them because they have a special place in my heart. I was actually looking forward to go to the hospital everyday. It was completely different from studying because this time I was the one learning about dispensing, preparing medications, reading the leaflets of the medications in the pharmacy, cyctotoxic drug reconstitution etc. I felt confident after my training experience especially the fact that I have gotten the experience to work in a hospital pharmacy in Malaysia. Imagine how I feel when I go back to Dubai and tell my freinds and family that I got the opportunity of being a trainee in one of the recognized cancer institutes in Malaysia ....It feels so good! I thank God for all these events....If it isn't for the prayers I don't think I would have reached so far.....

Me and Mrs. Bama the best pharmacist ever! :)

The knowledge that made me so much more interested in drugs is that which my chemistry and pharmaceutical chemistry lecturer Ms. Grace provided me with!....The subject is not easy I must say especially with reactions and it is a must for every pharmacist to know this basic knowledge and me and my classmates we are so lucky to have a lecturer make it easy for us to understand and also gives us ideas on how to study, how to make tables and how to make flow charts to make the studying process easier. Mainly, what's so cool about pharmaceutical chemistry is the synthesis of these drugs....without that chemistry how can the drugs even be prepared? I also learnt about the purity of drugs, what tests are carried out to determine or identify compounds....this is the stuff I didn't go through in very much detail my high school chemistry, I mean definitely we studied about elements and all the compounds but now the combination of these compounds are what makes D.R.U.G.S! 

Thanks to my lecturers for making things easy for me and my lovely classmates for always being there by my side during presenatations group assignments etc. ....if it isn't for them I would have struggled alot....so the moral of the story is pharmacy rocks better yet DPHMI INTI Rocks! I am hopeful and have high dreams about my future in this field, with the motivation from my loving family and awesome freinds here in Malaysia and back home I hope I will prosper and one day I will be proud of my success and achievements :) 

I am very sad that I am going to say my final goodbyes to quite a number of freinds and lecturers....:(! Lastly I want to wish the best of luck to all my classmates who I am with in this final semester. We can do it if we believe in ourselves. We have the potential and hopefully all our dreams will come true :)  Good Luck to all my juniors too....God is with you!

Drug that is related to me =)!

I am going to tell you guys about the wonders and benefits of Omega 3 fish oil capsules :)!....It was sometime in 2009 when I had discovered the wonders of Omega 3 and what benefits it has on the body. Omega 3 is basically a fatty acid that is unsaturated and cannot be synthesized by the human body but is vital for normal metabolism.The common sources of these fatty acids include fish oil and some plant oils such as flaxseed oils.

You may be wondering what made me take these omega 3 fish oil capsules. Well the main reason is because I was not eating fish as often as I should have been. It is a known fact that a person should consume at least 3 to 4 servings of fish per week but I remember I would go for weeks without eating any fish. I remember my mother always saying fish is very good for the brain when I was younger and really this is true. Fish oil is a rich source of docosahexanoic acid a fatty acid that is found in high concentration in the gray matter of the brain. DHA is instrumental in the function of brain cell membranes which are important for the transmission of brain signals. 

The picture looks so attractive YEHHH ;)!

So to balance out I take the omega 3 fish oil 2 to 3 times a week since I have been in the university. I don’t really like the way fish is cooked here and it is not the same how it is made back home so to get my benefits of FISH I take these capsules.

The brand is called Appeton fish oil with Omega 3. It is used as a dietary supplement and I prefer to take it with my meals so that I don’t get any stomach ache. 

The active ingredients are as follows:

Fish Oil 500mg

Contains Omega- 3 as 250 mg

Eicosapetaenoic Acid(EPA) 150 mg

Docosahexanoic Acid(DHA)  100 mg

Fish Oil is one of the world's best known sources of Omega- 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, EPA and DHA.

Benefits of Omega 3

1. Helps in the reduction of triglyceride levels in the body
2. It is good for lowering the risks of heart attack
3. It reduces high blood pressure, angina, congestive heart failure and other heart related diseases because of its ability to expand the blood vessels.
4. Fish oil may be beneficial in the treatment of anxiety and depression
5. It can decrease pain as well as inflammation, basically it has anti-inflammatory properties
6. It can prevent stroke possibility
7. It is good for brain function
8. It helps to prevent the promotion and progression of certain cancers
9. It can also help to treat rheumatoid arthritis in some people
10. Fish oil can slow down or reverse the process of atherosclerotic plaques

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So as you all can see, the benefits are innumerable and I even feel that with more knowledge about supplements such as this for instance, people will be more interested to protect their bodies and enhance their health in every aspect at a younger age than when they will reach in the 40’s or 50’s and by that time unfortunately it might be too late.  I will be honest after researching more and more on the benefits of Omega 3 2 years back, when I read about how it is a constituent of the brain gray matter, I really wish that I could help the patients that are suffering from the unfortunate disease depression because those drugs like anti-depressants actually can cause more harm than do any good and they will be more dependent on them. However, if the fatty acids in the brain that decreased are replenished, the person can be cured however it takes time and patience. He or she won’t have to suffer from the side effects caused by the medicines. So i give a big YES to fish oil capsules .... hope i gave you all some knowledge about the wonders of OMEGA 3 !~ :)

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SMILE :)!

References:
1. http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-animal-products/organic-fish/health-benefits-of-fish-oil.html
2. http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/omega-3-000316.htm
3. http://www.omega-3.us/omega-3/omega-3-benefits/
4. http://lansbury.bwh.harvard.edu/structure_of_dha_and_epa.htm

Chemistry for me

Honestly, chemistry is one of the subjects that I had struggled with in high school. I look back at the days when I used to dread memorizing and understanding the chemical reactions until I got the hang of it I would have never imagined that there would come a day where I will decide to pursue pharmacy as a career, because pharmacy is the study of drugs in the chemical aspect. This brings me to the wonders of chemistry in our day to day lives. 

Chemistry is all around us from the bed that we sleep on to the water we drink to stay alive to the food we eat to obtain the vitamins and minerals needed for survival and energy. When we even look at the biology aspect of life, chemistry comes to play its role too. Firstly, the concept of photosynthesis is a chemical process which converts carbon dioxide into organic chemical compounds in the presence of light. It occurs in biological compounds but it is a ‘chemical’ reaction. Secondly, cellular respiration, one of the most important concepts in biology is the proof that chemistry controls us. It is a metabolic reaction that takes place in cells and organisms to convert biochemical energy from nutrients into adenosine triphosphate and then release waste products. The chemical reactions of photosynthesis and respiration are as follows:

Photosynthesis:

Carbon dioxide + Water à Glucose + Oxygen

Respiration:

Glucose + Oxygen à Carbon Dioxide + Water

When I was in high school I remember the lab lesson which involved a lot of regents and chemicals was always the dangerous and risky one but also fun. That of course is the chemistry lab lesson. I remember enjoying the titration experiment, because it is so cool seeing the color change to determine the end point! However, if you add too much chemical, the color becomes so dark !! I remember my teacher telling me, Ruqaiyah you must repeat the experiment to get the accurate end point and then i was like oh shoot! I didn't like any experiments that involved that terrible smelling ammonia solution! If we had an experiment involving ammonia, not only will the whole lab smell my lab coat would be stinking the whole week! Even after washing, you can smell the ammonia.

The main thing that inspired me about chemistry is really when I wanted to become a pharmacist. I really was interested to know about the reactions of drugs as it is really fascinating how when someone is suffering from an illness or ailment, he or she takes medications and within a few hours or days, he or she has been cured. I wanted to know exactly the chemical constituents of the drugs and how the target receptors in the body to produce the intended therapeutic outcome. A lot of people I know find chemistry a very tedious and confusing subject, but everything in life seems difficult in the beginning, but come on, with practice, interest and understanding you can really get the hang of it.

Without chemistry, I can’t seem to put a picture in my mind of how life would be. The laptop I am typing this post with wouldn’t have even been possible if it wasn’t for chemistry. The laptop is powered by a battery which is made from a mixture of chemical elements and it is that battery which keeps my laptop running for hours on end. It is the same laptop that I do my assignments in, research, my lab reports, keep in contact with my family and my friends who are far away from Malaysia and most importantly it makes my university life easier. When I am so far away from my family and home, it is hard to get in touch with what is happening in the world, but thanks to my laptop and my smart phone I am very much up-to-date with the latest news of the world in general. 

Electronic gadgets aside, I am going to keep going on and on if I continue talking about that aspect of chemistry because it is an endless list that goes on and on. Let’s see our chemical reactions that happen in our body. The body is composed of different types of cells and systems. The cells need vitamins and a constant supply of nutrients and water. Water, which I must add I love to drink for both healthy skin and to prevent myself from getting sick, is composed of two main elements, hydrogen and oxygen. The human body is anywhere from 55% to 78% water depending on body size. Most of our tissues and organs are made up of water, Muscle consists of 75% water, Brain (one of the most important organs in the body) consists of 90% water, Bone consists of 22% water and Blood consists of 83% water. The functions of water in the human body are vital. Water helps to transport nutrients and oxygen into cells, moisturizes the air in the lungs, helps with metabolism, protects our vital organs, helps our organs to absorb nutrients easier, regulates body temperature, detoxifies and protects and moisturizes our joints. If we don’t have this important chemical compound in our body, we can suffer from dehydration, tiredness, constipation, muscle cramps, irregular blood pressure, dry skin and the risk of death. Drinking water maintains the pH balance in the body and it can relieve many medical conditions.

In a nutshell, I must emphasize the importance of chemistry in life, without chemistry, will we be able to continue of day to day activities?, will we be able to work and carry out tasks efficiently or even carry out any tasks at all? Ask yourself that? Chemistry is all around us, it is what makes us and it controls our daily activities. I have the utmost respect for all my chemistry teachers from school and in the university to have really made me gain interest in this subject. =)