LAUSR

The pharmacy profession is evolving with the constantly changing roles of the pharmacist. In 1997, the World Health Organization (WHO) introduced the concept of the ‘Seven-star pharmacist’ covering the roles of caregiver, decision-maker, communicator, manager, lifelong learner, teacher and leader. A few years later, two more roles were added: the ‘researcher’ and ‘the entrepreneur’. Ever since, the importance of pharmacists’ engagement in both practice-based and funded research has been well described. In 2016, to align with the WHO recommendations and the international trends, the Lebanese Order of Pharmacists (OPL, the official pharmacy association in Lebanon) took the initiative of starting a research team by creating a research subcommittee within the official scientific committee, for the first time in the history of the profession in Lebanon. This subcommittee conducted multiple projects that resulted in several published papers. Of these projects, five led to major reforms in the profession.