By Dr. Lincoln Munyendo

Last week, the inaugural class of Bachelor of Pharmacy students at USIU-Africa took their professional oath in a virtual ceremony held on Friday, 25 September, 2020. As conventional practice, before graduating, students taking medical courses are required to take the Hippocratic Oath, which is an important step in becoming a healthcare practitioner.

Speaking during the event, Prof. Francis Ndemo, Dean of the School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences congratulated the students for making it to the end of their degree, which is also the first professional program at USIU-Africa.

“As you take this oath today, you are now transitioning into the professionals that USIU-Africa has trained you to become. This oath therefore should remind you that you are now a fully-fledged healthcare professional, and this must be seen in the way you act, and the way you reason,” he said.

On his end, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Paul Zeleza offered his congratulations to the graduating class, noting that they would now be joining other professionals in the field against the fight on the Coronavirus pandemic.

“This year, you will go down in history, not only by virtue of being part of the first class in USIU-Africa’s history to graduate virtually, but also for being our first ever graduates from the Bachelor of Pharmacy program. As you go out there, I want to urge each and every one of you to apply the knowledge and the principles that you have learnt at the University, and use them to bolster your colleagues in the field, as we fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, “he said.

Also in attendance at the event were the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic and Student Affairs, Prof. Ruthie Rono, the chief guest, Prof. Jennifer Orwa, Deputy Director at KEMRI, Dr. Fred Siyoi, Registrar / CEO Pharmacy & Poisons Board, and Dr. Louis Machogu, President, Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya. Guests were entertained by Prof. Nancy Snider, the Director of the Music Program at the American University, Washington.