In between my busy schedule related to campus journalism activities, the other thing that occupied my calendar this month is attending to a few important events. Just days before my speaking engagement for the training of school publication advisers in a public high school, I got an invitation from Jonas Flores, the president of Tanay Kapamilya Lions Club to one of their activities, a community awareness talk related to maintenance medications and generic prescribing scheduled for September 15.
I am not a newbie when it comes to attending to community involvement activities. As a former legal administrative assistant, I also spent a good number of years volunteering in outreach projects, and was once a part of a group in a disaster relief mission. What made me decide to go to the said event was the chance to learn something new, especially since the topic relates to allied health science which is one of the things that I have always been interested about (that's despite of graduating with a degree in journalism).
Accepting the invitation turned out to be one of the most appropriate decisions I made this month. After the candid story on how the Lions Club got mentioned for an editorial of commendation during my lecture, I knew that I have to be at least, be acquainted on the advocacies of the said non-governmental organization.
In my lecture with the student paper advisers, one of the significant things that I reminded the participants was the importance of doing their research, and verifying the accuracy of the "facts". I stressed the significance of being aware of the issues and the knowledge of facts as vital traits, and by being present in the community awareness talk, I could say that at least, I got to practice what I preach.
To sit inside a classroom on a Sunday morning gave me that nostalgic feeling of how it's like to be a student again. Listening to Ms. Jennifer Flores, and Young Pharmacists Group-Rizal Chapter president, Carl Vincent Guiao discuss the facts and myths surrounding generic medicines allowed me to gain a great amount of information. Coming across Republic Act No. 6675 informed about an existing law on generic drugs in the country. It's a good addition to my stock knowledge because I must admit, I'm quite familiar with just a few of our legal codes (including R.A 7610, R.A. 9262, and R.A. 6713 due to my previous job in a state-funded institution).
To sit inside a classroom on a Sunday morning gave me that nostalgic feeling of how it's like to be a student again. Listening to Ms. Jennifer Flores, and Young Pharmacists Group-Rizal Chapter president, Carl Vincent Guiao discuss the facts and myths surrounding generic medicines allowed me to gain a great amount of information. Coming across Republic Act No. 6675 informed about an existing law on generic drugs in the country. It's a good addition to my stock knowledge because I must admit, I'm quite familiar with just a few of our legal codes (including R.A 7610, R.A. 9262, and R.A. 6713 due to my previous job in a state-funded institution).
Even in the advent of social media, community awareness talks remain to be relevant. To receive information that is backed by science from registered professionals who spent a good number of years to study, and pursue a career in healthcare is still the best choice compared to those unverified (and often) twisted facts found the internet. The educational environment that these kinds of events have enable participants to make informed decisions, since their concerns and questions are better addressed and explained in simpler terms -- that's something that social media or even AI-powered tools could not even do no matter how advanced those platforms are.
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