UKZN Academic at Drake University in US for a Semester

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Associate Professor at UKZN’s Discipline of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Professor Fatima Suleman, is currently serving a semester at Drake University in the United States.

The main aim of the visit is to provide insight into public health pharmacy and global issues on pharmaceutical policy to Health Sciences and Pharmacy students as well as collaborating staff. 

Suleman, a Global Practitioner-in-Residence with Drake’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, has also been invited to deliver the keynote address at the Iowa International Center Dialogue Series on: “Multicultural Approaches to Medicine Use: What Does the Research Say?” 

The Iowa series engages local and national professionals in conversations on global and community issues that affect Iowa and highlights Iowa’s connections abroad.  Said Suleman: ‘My programme will focus on the need for sensitivity and awareness on behalf of the healthcare professional when communicating with and counselling a patient. 

‘In multicultural settings, patients and their families bring many different cultural models of morality, health, illness, healing and kinship to clinical encounters. Religious convictions and cultural norms play significant roles in framing interactions between health care providers and patients. A more informed understanding of these issues is needed to better recognise the role of ethnicity, culture, religion and gender in shaping health care decisions.’ 

During her time at Drake, Suleman will also be a keynote speaker at the Heartland Global Health Consortium Conference.  Her talk there is titled: “The Other Side of the Coin”. 

Suleman has vast research and consulting experience in the area of public health policy for governments and international organisations. She has also hosted, placed and monitored Drake Pharmacy and Health Sciences students in service and professional placements in community settings in South Africa for many years. Suleman also has extensive experience working with the World Health Organization. 

UKZN’s College of Health Sciences has a longstanding and successful Memorandum of Understanding with Drake University for student and staff exchange and collaboration in both teaching and research.

MaryAnn Francis