Meet The Faculty Of Pharmacy Staffs In Nigerian University

Faculty of Pharmacy Staffs

It was normal for those who gain admission through Joint Admission and Matriculation Examination (J.A.M.B) to be called Jambito. It was very easy to spot them. This is because they have little or no knowledge of what is at the university. They are usually confused as to office to enter and who to meet or whom they are talking to. This post is about to show you the likely staffs in the faculty of pharmacy and what they can do for you.

I cannot say for all schools but the few I know of have a similar structure. It will be explained from my experience.
There are two types of staffs you will encounter in pharmacy. They are the Academic (teaching) and Non-academic (administrative) staffs. Some staffs are into both categories. A good example is the dean of the faculty.

Dean Of The Faculty Of Pharmacy

The dean is a pharmacist registered and licenced by Pharmacists Council Of Nigeria (P.C.N) who have been a lecturer for some time and have attained some level of academic achievement. Most of them are professors or close to a full professor. Most deans are selected based qualification and catchment area. Therefore, if you are a student in the east of this country, there is a high probability your dean will be from the east even from your state. In situations whereby there is no qualified person from the area, the nearest qualified person if not from the catchment area will be made an acting dean pending when a qualified person from the area will be employed.

Read Also: Courses Under Faculty Of Pharmacy School In Nigeria

The dean is answerable to the Vice Chancellor (V.C) of the school. He can lecture some level and performs the administrative task. The course he lecture can fall into any of the six departments in pharmacy. However, his administrative task includes:

• Develops college strategic initiatives and participates in long term planning and policy setting for the faculty
• Budget and finance
• Facilitates planning and management
• Curriculum development in line with National Universities Commision (N.U.C) and PCN guidelines
• Performance appraisal
• Etc.

All deans from all schools of pharmacy are members of Pharmaceutical Society Of Nigeria (P.S.N) and PCN.

Associate Dean/Assistant Dean

Since almost all head position needs assistant, this position is to assist the Dean especially when the dean is out. Not all the time but most time a professor. He is also a full-time lecturer in the faculty.

Head Of Department (H.O.D)

There are six departments in pharmacy. This means there is six HOD in pharmacy. These HOD are also lecturers lecturing various courses under their department. They also carry administrative duties reporting to the dean of pharmacy. They are mostly pharmacist with very few exceptions when there is no qualified pharmacist lecturer in that department. There are times the HOD may be acting still due to some reasons such a qualification and catchment area. Administrative duties include;

• Organising course content for lecturers
• Organising questions from lectures for students
• Etc.

Academic Staffs (Teaching)

Academic staffs lecture students in pharmacy schools. They have different categories of academic staffs. The categories are usually differentiated based on the level of their academic qualifications over the years or employment modes. They are:

Professors

Funny there is more than one type of professors. They are the most important staffs in the rank of academia. They are needed to accredit school of pharmacy.

Adjunct Professors

These professors are not permanent staff in your school and may be in another school. They are seasonal or sessional. They lecture some few courses a semester. They may be full professors, assistant professor, professor emeritus, or associate professor.

Visiting Professor

Professor on leave can take up lecturing in another school for the period most like a session. It is different from adjunct staff.

Assistant Professor

They are lecturer with a doctoral degree and sometimes after several years of holding a doctoral research position.

Associate Professor

Also a lecturer with the qualification between a full professor and an assistant professor.
Professor: Otherwise called a full professor, the highest rank in academia.

Professor Emeritus

Very scares in most university because few have been able to attain this level of academic qualification. They are few professors that have to achieve significant success or break through in pharmacy. I was fortunate to be taught by one in my time.

Lecturer

There are different categories of lecturer in pharmacy. They are:

• Senior Lecturer: They are full-time teaching staffs
• Lecturer one and lecturer two
• Assistant Lecturer
• Adjunct Lecturer: It is same with an adjunct professor. Just that it is a lecturer

Laboratory Staffs

Pharmacy lecturer supervise the laboratories. Each laboratory has laboratory technicians that help the pharmacist in the smooth running of the laboratory. They are laboratory technicians.

Non-academic (Administrative) Staff

Most non-academic staffs are not a pharmacist. They include:

• Secretary to dean
• Clerk to dean
• Faculty Officer: The main person that handles the administrative works of the faculty. S/he is not a pharmacist. Most time, this office carry out the administrative work with approval from the Dean.
• Secretary to faculty officer
• Clerk to faculty officer
• Secretary to associate dean
• Clerk to associate dean
• Secretary to the different HOD
• Clerk to Different HOD
• The engineer that handles the repair of engines in the faculty such as the generating set, faculty bus, Dean's car etc.
• Driver: Drives the dean and the faculty bus around
• Messenger: Just as it sounds. Some say errand boy or girl
• Accountant: Is there any establishment that deals with money without an accountant? The answer is simple. Check for staffs to be paid and their due pay and relay it with the V.C.
• Security: Takes care of the environment both day and night. Most times on uniform.
• Librarian: Take care of the library locking it when due.
• Gardener
• Computer Operator: This position may be handled by the secretary but may require a special staff for it especially when the department handles a lot of voluminous computer project.

Positions

• Examination And Result Coordinator: They are a pharmacist. They handle examination and result in the faculty.
• Course Advisor: Responsible for releasing semester results either in the notice board or in student portal after receiving them from the HOD of each department. There is a one-course adviser for each level and stays with that level until graduation. Also responsible for the suggestion and advice based on students’ performance and school regulations.

Read Also: How To Become A Pharmacist In Nigeria

The faculty have different bodies with different functions that tend to handle various matters of the faculty such as examination, induction, results etc.

Some schools do not have tags on their staffs for you to be able to differentiate staffs from students as both staffs and students are well dress. However, some schools are trying to introduce the use of a uniform attire for all students.

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