Training course on

PROMOTING RATIONAL DRUG USE IN THE COMMUNITY

(A checklist for local course organizers)

BEFORE THE COURSE

A. Venue

1. Training sessions and accommodation should be on the same site. The venue should be reasonably priced, with plenty of room for people to gather and move around especially during group work and informal discussions. Since the facilities will contribute considerably to the comfort and interaction of participants and consequent success of the course it pays to shop around for the best value/suitability ratio.

2.Visit the hotel to inspect and evaluate the facilities and services that it can provide. The following are essential:

  • The lecture room should allow for a horseshoe or semi-circular-shaped seating arrangement. This layout encourages participation, good interaction between trainers and participants and creates a logical central space for role-play (see Annex A). Ideally the room should be square shaped – avoid any rooms that are narrow rectangles.
  • Equipment should be as follows: 1 overhead projector, 1 screen, public address system,
    l microphone, 1 slide projector, a minimum of 5 large boards for Gallery of Experts and later display of posters, 2clipboards/flipcharts for group presentations, video recorder, a long table(s) for display of publications. Although not essential, a “beamer” for showing PowerPoint presentations would be useful.
  • The menu should provide options for those with special dietary requirements (e.g. halal food, vegetarian).
  • A good-sized room for a secretariat should be available for the duration of the course where equipment and supplies can also be kept. The secretariat should comprise two people, with computer and office skills, available full-time to assist participants and trainers.
  • Hotel – airport transport should be available and approximate cost of this known.
  • Restaurants where participants can have dinner should be close to the hotel if dinner is not arranged in the hotel itself.
  • Internet connection to enable trainers and participants to maintain professional communication. If two or more workstations can be dedicated for participants this is ideal.
  • Vicinity of comfortable recreation areas where participants can relax together, communicate and share a drink (at a non-prohibitive price). The contacts made and information shared during recreation time are an important part of the course and a facilitating environment needs to be considered when choosing the training venue.

A reservation for the proposed dates should be made. You may have to provide a rough estimate in the beginning of the number of rooms required. Prepare room assignments (twin-rooms - shared accommodation for participants, single large rooms for trainers). Participants will also be offered the option of a single room at an additional price so make provisional allowance for some people taking up this option. It is advisable to put participants from the same country or region together.

The training room and other function rooms must be reserved for the duration of the course. A room will be needed for some evening sessions.

Pay a deposit to ensure that the booking is secured.

3. Identify venue for the welcome reception and the farewell dinner

Make reservations for the dates, number of participants and menu (consider special dietary requirements).

Arrange for function room set-up and any equipment needed (see Annexes A and B for proposed table arrangement and equipment).

B. Field visits

Identify sites for field visits. There should be one or two extra sites in case additional or replacement sites are needed. The sites should be visited; sources and type of data available should be identified.

Give briefing on the objectives of the course, participants, date of the PRDUC Course, purpose of the field visits.

Identify site contact persons and agree on how to communicate and make further arrangements.

Finalize and confirm the schedule of the field visits. An official request to the site and the confirmation of agreement must be made.

Organize reliable transport; separate vehicles for each team. Determine travel time from hotel to the selected sites taking into account likely traffic volume. Ensure availability of translators. Incentives should also be available for people being interviewed. A written schedule for the field visits should be prepared and available at the start of the course.

C. Human resources and funds

1. Human resources

In consultation with the international secretariat, identify local resource persons (for example, journalists, teachers, people providing case studies), the assigned topics and timing. This information should be communicated as soon as possible to those involved in order for them to make travel plans and prepare any material necessary.

Hire a secretariat to assist in the administration and preparation of the course.

Identify an officer-of-the-day to oversee the activities of the course.

2. Budget

Prepare the budget for the course, including the expenses needed before and after the course and clear this with the sponsoring international agencies.

Set up or identify an official bank account for transfer of payments.

3.Accounting

Keep receipts for all transactions. Book keeping of financial statements and accounts should be maintained and a record kept of all expenses and receipts.

D. Information for participants

After notification of acceptance, prepare and send a travel advisory letter for participants (a model letter is available for local adaptation in consultation with the international secretariat). A copy of this letter should be sent with a cover fax to the appropriate embassy in the participant’s country of residence requesting assistance in arranging for a visa (example attached). The letter should:

  • Inform participants of the need to obtain visas emphasizing that this is their responsibility. Warn them to apply for visas well in advance as these may take some time. Advise participants on the schedule, address of the hotel and contact persons in the host country. Inform them about the time of the welcome ceremony so they can schedule their flight to attend.
  • Ask them also to bring national dress for the reception and closing dinner.
  • Inform the participants of the airport situation, the weather, and clothing that they should bring. Advise them to bring their own medication, if necessary, including mosquito repellent.
  • Give instructions on how they can get to the hotel from the airport, the fare that they should pay for a taxi and any necessary precautions that they should take. As far as possible arrangements should be made to pick up the participants from the airport. For some, this may be the first time that they travel to another country.
  • Advise that them to keep some free space (8 kilos) in their luggage allowance for the documents that they will take home after the course. This is really important and should be in bold text.

Prepare a directory of participants, trainers and organizers including the date and time of arrival and departure, flight, and airline. This should be updated and finalized during the course. Prepare a list of participants including professions and trainers to be placed in participant files. This should also be updated during the course and a final list given to the participants on the day of departure.

E. Programme/schedule of activities

Registration: The Secretariat should organize a registration desk open for at least 3 hours on the day of the opening ceremony. Participants will receive course materials, bags, etc, at that time. There cannot be any advance sending of materials, however, the session notes and overheads will be available on the web for consultation.

Keep trainers informed of any necessary changes in schedule.

Organize an outing for the free day, which is usually a visit to a scenic spot near the area. Make arrangements for locations to be visited. Inquire about fees and reservations and request group discount.

There can also be a half-day scheduled for a city tour or for shopping. Alternatively this can be arranged after hours. If possible, obtain pamphlets and tourist information for distribution to participants. Provide participants with a local map of the area, and notes on how to get into town. This should go into participant files.

Prepare programme for the welcome and closing ceremonies and for the opening reception and closing dinner and share this in advance with sponsoring international agencies. There are protocols that may be necessary such as inviting key people from the ministry of health, the WHO representative, and professional or other bodies with influence in implementing pharmaceutical policies. Consider also media coverage. The welcome ceremony should be scheduled in the evening before the first day of the course and followed by a reception.

Arrange for a banner to be prepared for display at the opening ceremony and in the training room for the duration of the course. See example below.

Arrange transportation services for the field visits, city tours and activities that will require transport of participants and trainers.

Arrange session for group souvenir photograph. Enough copies will be needed for all participants, trainers and key local organizing staff.


F. PRDUC modules, documents and other course materials

Modules and files

Print and prepare the session and trainer modules in good time. Divide the session notes into separate sets for each week, and place them in two good quality, hard binders. (Putting all the session notes in one file makes a very heavy and bulky file). Check each file for quality ensuring that all the modules are correctly labelled and that nothing is missing.

  • There should be clear divisions of the session materials for participants so that they can easily find their way around the materials. Coloured dividers can be used. Each module should be labelled. Have extra copies of the session modules for the trainers.
  • Each trainer should get a copy of the trainer’s module for his or her session, including overheads and any background material.
  • Session guides are given to participants at the start of the course. CD-ROM of both session and trainer’s notes to be made available by international organizers for handout on last day.

Documents

Inform the international secretariat of where to send advance bulk materials that will be distributed to participants and store these in a safe place. Keep boxes of materials out of sight otherwise people tend to help themselves and you may run short. Sort out all the materials and documents and mark them with day on which they should be handed out.

Follow the instructions of trainers on the distribution of materials related to their sessions. Material distribution should be spread over the course and materials distributed immediately after the session to which they relate.

Other course materials

Order bags for the course kit with logos of sponsoring agencies.

Xerox sufficient copies of the evaluation forms for daily evaluation.

In consultation with international secretariat, prepare a certificate of attendance to be signed by EDM-WHO, Universities of Amsterdam and local organizers (with logos of the institutions). Model is available from international secretariat.

Procure stationery and other supplies (see Annex B).

G. Important reminders

Follow up all arrangements made to confirm accommodation, reservations, field visits and other activities during the course preparation period. There should be a checklist and timeline that is constantly updated.

Conduct regular meetings between all involved in local organization to keep everyone updated on the progress of the course preparation.

Follow up all arrangements to check and confirm 1-2 days before the actual schedule (i.e. transportation, health facilities, and place for de-briefing, photo session and other activities).

DURING THE COURSE

The secretariat must be prepared, equipped and fully functional two days before the course.

All the equipment such as microphone, projectors, drive for CD-ROM, video, and computers should be TESTED in advance and on site. Experience has shown that there may be last minute technical problems with equipment.

The room layout (Annex A) to accommodate the expected participants should be checked as well.

Necessary equipment:

  • copier, computer and equipment supplies
  • first aid kit
  • polaroid camera for the Gallery of Experts (usually provided by international secretariat, so check with them for availability).
  • other materials (Annex B).

Optional: it is a good idea to find a volunteer to bring a camera and take pictures of some of the sessions, particularly the fieldwork. This provides a good visual record of the course and can be used for reporting and later advocacy and promotion.

Course evaluations must be done at the end of each session.

Always prepare materials needed a day before the session and review the events for the next day with the international secretariat.

During field visits, bring materials and supplies needed for the processing of data. Include clipboards, manila paper, evaluation forms and worksheets.

Arrange the confirmation of flight bookings for participants and trainers at least 3 to 5 days before the return trip. This should take note of all connecting flights to final destination.

Collect all group outputs especially during the field visits and country project and reports as well as the evaluation reports. These will be needed for the final course report.

Circulate an address list of participants/facilitators and ask for any corrections to be made directly on the list. Provide an amended copy of the list to all participants/facilitators before their departure. Note that for courses sponsored by WHO, whether international, regional or national, the list of participants should state whether they are male or female since WHO monitors and reports on gender balance in supported activities.

AFTER THE COURSE

Settle all accounts and unpaid bills.

Send thank you letters to sites visited in fieldwork plus any other organization or individual who contributed.

Send pictures and news clip of the course to EDM-WHO for the Essential Drugs Monitor.

Audit all the expenses made in connection with the course.

ANNEX A

ANNEX B

SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS

  • art paper
  • paper for flipcharts
  • Xerox paper
  • calculators (2 per group of participants)
  • camera and films
  • large (poster size) sheets of paper (various colours)
  • coloured separators (for files)
  • crayons
  • double adhesive tapes
  • drawing pens (various colours)
  • envelopes (large and small)
  • files/folders (large and small) to be used by participants
  • 2 sets of pentel pens for each group (various colours - large for graphic design in group work)
  • puncher
  • rulers, erasers, pencils, ball pens (at least one for each participant plus for secretariat)
  • seminar bags
  • stapler
  • transparencies (5 boxes)
  • transparency pens (various colours)
  • white board markers (black, blue and red)

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