In Botswana, two UF alums help expand community pharmacy internships
- Two University of Florida College of Pharmacy alums join forces through the Fulbright Specialist program to expand pharmacist internship opportunities in Botswana.
- The partnership addresses a critical shortage of health care professionals by developing training frameworks for the country’s first generation of local pharmacy graduates.
- This initiative aims to improve patient-centered care and medication access as Botswana navigates public health challenges like medicine shortages and chronic diseases.
Call it fate, call it luck. By some great coincidence of circumstance, two University of Florida College of Pharmacy alums — from different continents and eras — recently joined forces in the southern African country of Botswana to help locals become pharmacists and improve public health.
Joyce Kgatlwane and Jim Scott, who graduated with Pharm.D. degrees in 2003 and 1994, respectively, had never crossed paths during their tenures as UF students, but when Scott was chosen as a Fulbright scholar to assist Kgatlwane and her team in their grant project for the Fulbright Specialist program, the pair found they shared not only an alma mater, but the desire to leave a positive impact on pharmacy itself.
Kgatlwane, born and raised in Botswana, collaborated with Scott to expand and formalize the yearlong internship required to become a registered pharmacist in the nation. Community pharmacists play a vital role in Botswana’s medical landscape: They fill prescriptions from general practitioners and consult and treat patients with minor ailments. The government of Botswana provides most health care services for free, but challenges including rising disease prevalences and a lack of medical information management software still hamper patients’ access to care. It’s within this challenging medical landscape that Kgatlwane, Scott and their team aim to leave an impact.
“Being part of the development of pharmacy practice in Botswana is an opportunity that I had never dreamed of,” Scott said. “It has been rewarding to work with so many people dedicated to the profession of pharmacy and the overall welfare of the people of Botswana. Their love for the profession has been very motivating for me to do the best work possible.”