CURTIS, Christopher (Mr.): President Pharmaceutical Society of Jamaica (PSJ)
November 2012- October 2014
Christopher Curtis graduated from the College of Arts Science and Technology (CAST), Kingston Jamaica, with a Diploma in Pharmacy in 1997. In 2003, he obtained a Master of Public Health degree from the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.
He was registered by the Pharmacy Council of Jamaica in 1998. He first worked as a pharmacist at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI). Mr. Curtis has had a very successful career in pharmacy.
After leaving the UHWI pharmacy in 1999, he was employed as pharmacist at one of Jamaica’s largest pharmaceutical distribution companies. By 2006 Mr. Curtis was appointed General Manager of the company. In 2008, he was transferred to another subsidiary within the same group of companies where he again served in the capacity of General Manager.
Christopher Curtis was elected President of the PSJ at the Annual general Meeting in June 2012. He is one of the youngest pharmacists to be elected to this post. Earlier he served as a member of the PSJ’s executive (1999 – 2004); 2nd Vice President (2005 -2007) and 1st Vice President (2007 – 2009).
The PSJ achieved a number of important milestones, under Christopher Curtis’ leadership. These included:
- Establishment of a building fund with three million dollars (J$3,000,000) in an interest bearing account. Financials were strong as evidenced by end of year surplus being stronger than the previous fiscal;
- Changing of the time and date of the AGM, resulting in record attendance;
- Planning and execution of an Inaugural Fund Raising 5K Walk /Run in 2013 and another in 2014. Two hundred thousand dollars (J$200,000) was donated to ‘Camp Yellow Bird’ in 2013 for the benefit of children living with diabetes. Three hundred & seventy eight thousand ($378,000) will be donated to the National Road Safety Council for 2014
- Donation of a refrigerator to the Glen Vincent Memorial Clinic, for vaccines storage;
- Repairs to the PSJ Headquarters, which enabled the PSJ to earn income from rental of a section of the office to house the official headquarters of the Caribbean Association of Pharmacists (CAP) and rental of the other vacant side of the building to a commercial enterprise.
- Employment of a Temporary Office Manager to give oversight to the operations of the office and to streamline procedures/processes, including preparing of contracts for rental, parking, etc.)
- Successful planning and execution of an HIV training course in March 2014 resulting in fourteen pharmacists being certified HIV counsellors;
- Collaborated with the University of Technology, Jamaica to successful plan and execute the Diabetes Educators training for 16 pharmacists in August 2014;
- Presentation on an audited financial report at the AGM (2014) for the first time in many years;
- Nomination of pharmacists for annual National Awards of which six were successful in 2013 and four in 2014;
- Resumed PSJ annual Pharmacists Awards and presented eight pharmacists with awards during Pharmacy Week 2013;
- Attended the annual CAP conference in 2013 and 2014 and presented the country reports.
- The PSJ was successful in the bid to host the CAP conference in Jamaica in 2016
- Website of the PSJ has been revived and is being continually updated. Members can now submit forms online and will soon be privy to exclusive information