Gruetzi (hello) fellow buckeyes!
Over spring break I had the amazing opportunity to study abroad in Switzerland with the College of Pharmacy. The college offers these study abroad opportunities every year to not only doctor of pharmacy students, but undergraduate students as well. The trips are mainly focused on learning about the practice of pharmacy in other countries and comparing those to pharmacy in America. Along with actually going abroad, students are required to participate in a 7-week course where they learn about the country they are visiting. During my trip, I was able to visit many different parts of Switzerland and France.
The first day of my trip, we had a guided tour of Zurich with a wonderful tour guide! He showed us all of the different parts of the city, the University of Zurich, the best place to buy chocolate, and he even took us up a mountain on the Swiss Alps. After the mountain excursion, our group took a boat tour around Zurich, where we were able to see every part of the city!
The next few days we traveled to Geneva where we visited the World Health Organization and the University of Geneva. At these sites we were able to meet with pharmacists and pharmacy students to discuss the field of pharmacy. It was very interesting to see the differences in our views of pharmacy, but also the similarities we share!
The next day we visited the University of Basel in Switzerland where multiple pharmacy students greeted us. After lunch, their faculty gave presentations on their university, their pharmacy program, and the research that they were conducting in the practice of pharmacy. At this site we learned a lot about medication adherence and safety and how their pharmacists deal with these issues.
On Thursday we visited the EDQM, which is almost the equivalent to the FDA here in the United States. They gave a presentation on the EDQM and how they monitor drugs and facilitate clinical trials in Europe. After the presentation, we were given a tour of their facility. After our visit to EDQM, we had some free time to explore Strasberg, France. This city is otherwise known as “La Petite France” because of all of the history that it holds. Along with exploring the city, we also explored the wonderful food including crepes and gelato 🙂
My favorite part of the trip was to Chateau De Chillon located on Lake Geneva in Montreux. We were able to explore this beautiful castle and see all of the history that it holds. It was absolutely breathtaking!
I could go on for hours talking about my wonderful experience abroad, but I hope this gave you a good insight to what it entails. This is just one of the many opportunities Ohio State offers its pharmacy students and another reason why I love Ohio State! If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at Johnson.4816@osu.edu 🙂
