VP of Parliament & Off to Dresden

 This morning we had breakfast and left our Berlin hotel bright and early with suitcases in tow!  After stowing our bags in lockers at the train station, we headed over to the German Parliament Building.  

German Parliament Building

We were greeted by the Vice President of Parliament (quite a big deal!), Ulla Schmidt, of the Social Democratic Party.  She spoke about leadership, her role as Vice President, and the future of interdisciplinary healthcare.  It was a short, but very worthwhile visit!

Our group with Ulla Schmidt, VP of the German Parliament

After a 2-hour train ride from Berlin to Dresden, we unpacked at our A&O hostel & grabbed some lunch. 

A few blocks from our hostel, we met to take a tour of the Museum of Hygeine.  Sounds pretty weird...but was actually very interesting!  

At the Hygiene Museum in Dresden

We explored the exhibits about "the transparent man", living & dying, sexuality, and dance.

 The Transparent Man (

http://www.dhmd.de/index.php?id=787)

From the Hygeine Museum, we hopped on some bikes to make our way to another destination.  We didn't know that our bikes would be a spinoff of our Minneapolis pedal pubs...

Our 7-person bike

 (Michelle's photo)

Biking through Dresden

 

Gorgeous views along the Elbe River

(Traci's photo)

Our bike tour led us to the Saxony-Anhalt Chamber of Pharmacists.  We chatted with some of the pharmacy chamber pharmacists and other pharmacy students.  A German pharmacist from the nearby Dresden University Hospital presented about clinical pharmacy. 

Afterward, the entire group discussed pharmacy school in the USA and compared compounding practices.

After enjoying BBQ for dinner (Sarah's photo)

Visit to ABDA

The first half of the day was relaxing for most of us.  Some of the group checked out a Jewish museum.  

My morning was pretty uneventful, until my 40-turned-70-minute run, when I was lost in the Tiergarten.  Never have I been so happy to see a sleeping homeless man.   

Berlin's Tiergarten ("Animal Garden")

The afternoon consisted of our visit to ABDA (Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Apothekerverbände).  We first had a tour of the building. 

Library/treasury with huge vaulted doors

 

ABDA's building

We listened to a presentation and discussed the tasks & structure of ABDA, the organization's education of pharmacists, quality assurance, & other projects they are working on.  ABDA's Federal Union of German Associations of Pharmacists represents the professional and economic interests of all German pharmacists.  

Some main differences I picked up on between ABDA & the United States' APhA (American Pharmacists Association) is that there is not as much advocacy for change within the profession and its future.  ABDA creates structure and organization within German pharmacy in accordance with many rules and laws set for pharmacy as a profession.  It seemed to be similar to a board of pharmacy.

APhA creates numerous opportunities for student pharmacists, while ABDA currently does not have roles for students within its organization. 

Our group at ABDA