Today, May 19, a new professional holiday is celebrated in the country – the Day of Pharmaceutical Worker. We honor pharmacists and other members of the pharmaceutical industry.
This day, according to the decree of Ivan the Terrible, on May 19, 1581, the first pharmacy was opened in Russia, where drugs were sold and produced.
People began to use medicines even before they learned to write. This was a vital necessity, so pharmacology has a fairly high growth rate. Many diseases that were deadly in the old days are simply unknown to a modern human, because they were defeated due to the invention of effective drugs. It is possible to transfer many serious ailments to the remission stage and preserve patient high quality of life. This is also a great victory!
The industry does not stand still now, especially since viruses continue threatening humanity. Of course, the engine of this progress is people: those who are already successfully working in the industry, training new specialists, studying or just going to choose this field of activity.
Kursk State Medical University has vast experience in training pharmaceutical workers in one of the priority areas of modernization and technological development of the Russian economy – Pharmacy: we are implementing educational programs for secondary and higher pharmaceutical education.
We are proud that we have an excellent forge of pharmaceutical personnel with a rich history and strong traditions – Kursk Medical and Pharmaceutical College. Here young specialists receive systemic knowledge in pharmacology, pharmacotherapy. They are appreciated and expected in the domestic and foreign labor markets.
The pharmaceutical school was opened in Kursk in 1939. Over the years of its existence, more than 10,000 specialists have graduated from the walls of the college, who successfully work not only in Kursk and the region, but also in more than 50 regions of the Russian Federation, as well as in the near and far abroad (Belarus, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Israel, Canada, Spain, Nigeria, Morocco, Tunisia). Currently, the college has more than 500 students-future pharmacists.
Kursk Medical University has a wealth of experience in training specialists under the program of higher pharmaceutical education.
Currently, the Faculty of Pharmacy of KSMU has trained more than 10,000 pharmacists who work in the whole territory of our huge country, in the CIS countries and all over the world, providing high-quality pharmaceutical care.
Today, students from various parts of Russia study at the Faculty of Pharmacy, which, of course, is an indicator of the highest level of training specialists. We are constantly developing and improving. In 2020, admission to the new educational Master’s degree program “Industrial Pharmacy” was opened. Also, our graduates have the opportunity to continue their education in residency and postgraduate studies
Our university has trained specialists with pharmaceutical education for other countries as well. The first graduation of Masters of Pharmacy took place in 1994. In the same year, KSMU was granted the exclusive right to start training specialists with higher education in English. Educational programs in “Pharmacy” specialty were accredited in Morocco, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Nigeria, Sri Lanka. During this time, more than 370 Masters of Pharmacy were trained for Israel, Morocco, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Benin, Tanzania, Venezuela, Armenia, Jordan, Palestine.
Today we can say with confidence that the Faculty of Pharmacy of KSMU is one of the oldest, leading and dynamically developing faculties in Russia, carefully preserving its glorious traditions and successfully combining innovations, having scientific and pedagogical schools, highly qualified specialists and a modern material and technical base.
The social significance, importance and relevance of the profession of a pharmacist was also shown by the most difficult period of the fight against the pandemic. Indeed, it is impossible to provide the necessary pharmaceutical assistance and defeat the disease without modern highly effective drugs and vaccines, in the development of which our graduates also took part.
We thank everyone who stood at the origins and continues today to enhance the glorious traditions of the Kursk pharmaceutical school for the highest professionalism, fruitful work in training young personnel and love for their work.
On your holiday, I would like to wish you good health, happiness to you and your loved ones, mental strength and joy in every day.
Happy Pharmaceutical Worker’s Day!
V.A. Lazarenko Rector of KSMU Honored Doctor of the Russian Federation
Doctor of Medical Sciences Professor
Deputy of the Kursk Regional Duma of the VI convocation
Honorary Citizen of Kursk