1999 Pharmacy Handbook - Mission and objectives

Mission and objectives

The mission of the college is:

to foster the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the pharmaceutical sciences, and to achieve standards of excellence in teaching and research in those areas;
to ensure that the quality and number of college graduates satisfy community needs;
to provide an environment for its students that will encourage them to develop an attitude to learning that will continue throughout their professional career;
in conjunction with the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (Victorian Branch) Ltd, to provide continuing education programs directed towards enabling pharmacists in all areas of professional practice to keep abreast of the developments in pharmaceutical science to meet the needs of the community;
to interact and cooperate effectively with other educational institutions, governments and their instrumentalities, industry, professional associations, and other sections of the community for the benefit of the community.

To ensure the achievement of its mission the Victorian College of Pharmacy will strive to achieve the following objectives:

to provide the stimulus and facilities for the development of teaching skills, and the appropriate resources for assessment and development of staff to achieve those standards;
to maintain a high level of professional practice through the provision of continuing education programs designed to meet the particular needs of the generalist and specialist branches of the profession;

to encourage the participation of graduates in the post-graduate research degrees offered by the college, in order to ensure the ongoing provision of highly skilled, well-educated research and development scientists;
to maintain and expand the research function of the college through collaboration with established industrial research groups and to foster the development of Australian-based research in the pharmaceutical and medical sciences;
to ensure that the college is able to continue to acquire and maintain major items of scientific equipment and expertise in scientific techniques, and thus remain in the forefront of research in the pharmaceutical sciences;
to act as a research resource centre for industry and research institutes involved in the pharmaceutical and medical sciences;

to continue to attract highly qualified and motivated students and at the same time maintain an equitable admission policy;
to identify disadvantaged students and provide appropriate assistance;
to provide bridging/summer-school/refresher courses to meet the needs of students seeking entry to the undergraduate or postgraduate schools, and for those overseas-qualified immigrant pharmacists seeking registration to practise in Australia;
to develop specialist postgraduate courses in pharmacy and the related sciences to meet the needs of the community;

to develop an attitude of cohesion and cooperation in order to ensure that the staff work together to provide the most effective and efficient education for pharmacy students within the severe time constraints that are imposed;
to encourage an attitude of commitment to the college and the profession, and to recognise and reward excellence in teaching, research, administration and professional involvement, appropriately;

to continue to develop ways and means to increase income from other than Government sources, while maintaining the right to fair and equitable support from Government;
to achieve efficiency and effectiveness through devolution of responsibilities to senior staff;
to provide senior staff with the means to gain access to development programs to assist them with their managerial responsibilities;
to be constantly aware of its accountability to the community and the profession of pharmacy;
to evaluate efficiency and effectiveness in teaching, research and administration;

to continue to develop the currently productive links with the profession, industry, and government instrumentalities; to maintain the close association that exists with overseas universities and research organisations, and to ensure the ongoing international recognition of the Victorian College of Pharmacy as one of the pre-eminent pharmacy schools in the Western world;

as an employer and an educator the college accepts that it has a responsibility to eliminate and ensure the continued absence within its structures and practices of any source of direct or indirect discrimination on the basis of sex, race (including colour, national or ethnic origin), marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, age, sexual preference, disability or impairment (including the presence in the body of organisms causing disease), religious or political conviction. It is the policy of the college to promote equal opportunity for all persons including women, Aboriginals and members of racial and ethnic minorities.