Another term has ended for the MPS-YPC Committees of 2020/2021. As the curtain falls, here are some words from the outgoing Chairperson, Cedric Chua summarizing the achievements and challenges that his team faced throughout their term. 

Dear Fellow Young Pharmacists,

The challenges posed by the pandemic in the past two years have spared no one. For us at the MPS Young Pharmacists Chapter (MPS-YPC), the new reality meant we had to kickstart 2020 under a wholly unrecognizable setting. The change in experience was palpable, and we were off to a rocky start.

But amidst the many difficulties caused by a lack of physical interaction in the team from the get-go, what stood out was the commitment shown by our people to pull through. With dedicated team members showing plenty of resilience in embracing the new norm, the pandemic actually heralded a time of uncharted productivity and excellence for MPS-YPC. This report will be a testament to that.

As an organization, we have met most if not all of our local, national and international goals that we set out to achieve in both 2020 and 2021. Our work with young pharmacist advocacy has seen us amplify our efforts in championing the interest of contract pharmacists, delivering a spectrum of activities that span surveys, open communications, engagements and dialogues with government officials. The goal was to create awareness, to empower and to drive action, and while there have been no major overnight successes owing to the fact these were long standing issues, we have still been able to celebrate meaningful progress along the way.

Meanwhile, our commitment to public engagement has seen us establish and run the now 2-year old Sihat4U Facebook page, a public health platform conducted in our national language. While the pandemic has dashed our plans to conduct meaningful face-to-face public health engagements, the team managed to still deliver dozens of online health campaigns that engaged thousands. To date, we enjoy increasing society recognition and support for this page, which is set to flourish in years to come.

This term also saw MPS-YPC reaching out with the ambition of strengthening the organization and bringing additional value to young pharmacists. On the national front, the MPS-YPC PLUS, a platform that taps into the ideas, strength and passion of our friends from Kedah/Perlis, Penang, Perak, Pahang and Johor, has in 2021 successfully birthed our first two national advocacy projects targeting contract pharmacists and young community PRPs. On the international front, we were one of the most active countries that engaged the FIP Young Pharmacists Group (FIP-YPG), culminating in collaborations that included a networking project, a global case study, and multiple symposiums.

If these were the progress made with our new focuses, then the team has done even better than last year in areas that the MPS-YPC has typically been impressive in. In 2021, we staged 31 online programs that span advocacy, professional development and networking projects, a 48% increase vs 2020; we delivered approximately 937 online communications, a 43% increase vs 2020; we grew our total social media following to 16k+, a 27% increase; and we secured a total cash sponsorship of RM10.9k, a 19% increase vs 2020.

Surely, nothing about these would have been made possible without a strong sense of duty displayed by our very own MPS-YPC committee members, and the understanding they afford to each other on this journey. As such, please join me in congratulating them for a successful term of representing your interest, and in wishing the incoming team an even better term of groundbreaking achievements.

Last but not least, young pharmacists, it’s your support that ultimately makes us. On that note, I thank you for affording us your ideas, trust and patience in advancing your interest, and I hope you will continue to stand with us for the future of the profession.

Sincerely,

Cedric Chua

MPS-YPC Chairperson 2020/2021