Day 12: Wed 13 Sep - Seoul

Another early start –6:30am breakfast for 7:15am breakfast session at COEX. I am quite pleased I made the effort to get up early and have breakfast as there was no breakfast at the session, not even coffee.  After a short break, we started the first MEPS session which consisted of three presentations on the theme Pharmacy Inspections: Standardising pharmacy practice one site at a time.  We then held a panel discussion on who conducts inspections and under what authority, what activities are inspected/audited and how are the results communicated and addressed.  I represented SOCOMD on the panel discussions.  After lunch, we held the MEPS Business meeting, followed by the second MEPS session – Humanitarian pharmacists: Time to develop a competency framework.  I co-chaired the session with Steve.

After a quick change of clothes back at the hotel, it was time to depart for the MEPS dinner.  Mr Chang (from the Local Organising Committee) was there to pick some of us up and drove us in his own car to the venue, whilst the others arrived in taxis. As with the Meet and Greet there were no Korean military members present??? The dishes were really delicious, and there was a lot of seafood! There were a few speeches and Sylvain presented Carola a MEPS coin in recognition of her efforts in supporting MEPS.  She thought she had won the lottery and was suitably impressed and humbled.  Carola now calls the coin her MEPS Medal! Dinner was supposed to finish at 9:30pm but we ended up leaving about 10pm, and were back home by 10:30pm.

In the back of Mr Chang's car

Table setting

Rachel, Wendy and Carola

Hidayah, Matthias, Silke, Arne, Richard, Angie

Tom, Pat, Bill, Judith, Peter, Richard, Firdaus, Nita

Nita, Steve, Laurence, Dale, Ann, Mel, Régis

Peter, Richard, Firdaus, Ulf, Nita, Tom, Pat

Studnets x2, Edgar, Annie, Nicole, Piotr

Luc, Sylvain, James, Jane, John, Rachel, Carola

The food







Mr Chang

Carola accepting her MEPS Coin

Angie and Wendy


Sam, Sylvain, Richard, Ulf, Angie, Ben







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