The international cooperation. Practice of VSMU students at Samara State Medical University

As part of the implementation of the academic exchange program between Samara State Medical University and VSMU, the 3rd year students of the Faculty of Pharmacy completed educational pharmacognostic practice on the basis of the Russian partner university.

The hospitality and cordiality of the teachers and students of Samara Medical University made us very happy!

The staff of the Department of Pharmacognosy of SamSMU did everything to ensure that pharmacognostic practice not only corresponded to the program, but was interesting and memorable.

Professor Vladimir Aleksandrovich Kurkin gave the students a lecture “The place and role of pharmacognosy in the pharmacopoeial analysis of medicinal plant materials”, introduced them to the directions of scientific research of the department and examined new aspects of the modern chemical classification of medicinal plants. Professor V.A. Kurkin has trained 9 doctors of pharmaceutical sciences and 43 candidates of pharmaceutical sciences  and is a leading scientist in the field of phenylpropanoids and flavonoids. He is the author of 970 scientific works, including five editions of the textbook “Pharmacognosy”, 14 monographs, 25 textbooks, 70 copyright certificates, and RF patents.

Doctor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Associate Professor Olga Evgenievna Pravdivtseva supervised the practice. She gave a tour of the botanical garden of the department and introduced her to its rich history. Students witnessed the receipt of standard samples from the plant in the scientific laboratory of the department. Associate Professor of the Department Vitaly Mikhailovich Ryzhov spoke about the forms of cooperation between the Department of Pharmacognosy and the city’s botanical garden. Students had the opportunity to see pharmacopoeial medicinal plants growing on its territory and participate in the procurement of some of them.

An indelible impression was left by one of the university buildings, which housed the provincial prison from 1898 to 1932. Modern students of SamSMU call this building a “cross” - based on the shape of the building. The cast-iron stairs and Valerian Kuibyshev's solitary cell remained intact.

Director of the Institute of Pharmacy, Doctor of Philology, Voronin Alexander Vasilievich presented the modern educational program of the specialty “Pharmacy”, the purpose of which is to develop in the graduate the mindset of a drug developer with an understanding of the structure of the pharmaceutical industry, the life cycle of drugs and the mechanisms of action of drugs on the human body, the ability manage the properties of drugs (quality, effectiveness, safety). Students also visited other departments of the Institute of Pharmacy, stations for state exams, and the Museum of the History of Pharmacy. Leisure was no less eventful and organized. In addition to excursions around the beautiful city of Samara, students visited the Museum of Cosmonautics, Stalin's bunker, Kuibyshev's solitary cell and other attractions of the city.

We thank the administration of our wonderful university for this opportunity!