The Role of the Pharmacy in Ornella Barra's Career

Ornella’s enthusiasm towards the pharmacy profession has remained unchanged over the years. She is a Special Professor at the University of Nottingham School of Pharmacy and founder of the European Pharmacists Forum (EPF), the main aim of which is to develop a European and transversal approach to the pharmacy profession, bringing together representatives from eight member states.

University of Nottingham School of Pharmacy

Ornella Barra is Honorary Professor at the University of Nottingham School of Pharmacy. As a lecturer, Ornella teaches students on the four-year pharmacy degree course (MPharm). Ornella believes in the importance of education for the pharmaceutical industry and has always shown her commitment to supporting it.

Ornella also advises the University of Nottingham on the development of the MPharm degree course itself and sits on the External Advisory Board for the University of Nottingham School of Pharmacy, Malaysia campus, where a similar four-year MPharm course has been established. These courses are recognised by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in the UK.

She also sponsors a five-year degree course in pharmacy at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. The course is taught in English and is run in association with the School of Pharmacy at the University of Nottingham.

European Pharmacists Forum (EPF)

A pharmacist by training, Ornella Barra has always supported a European and transversal approach towards the pharmaceutical profession. The European Pharmacists Forum was set up in 1999 and its members meet on a quarterly basis. Ten countries are represented within the Forum: UK, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Turkey, Switzerland and Germany.

The main aim of the EPF is to facilitate the ongoing exchange of ideas between pharmacists and dialogue with the public authorities and manufacturers and to promote the idea of a “community pharmacy”. The Forum also helps to strengthen the association between Alliance Boots and pharmacists and the development of the Group's portfolio of services for European pharmacists.

As Chief Executive, Pharmaceutical Wholesale Division, Alliance Boots, Ornella considers her involvement in the EPF as a personal priority. She regularly attends the quarterly meetings and embraces the organisation’s values.