A wide range of activities were presented at the EuroPharm Forum Professional Development Day, which took place on 10 October 2003 in Helsinki, Finland. Activities were focused on what pharmacists could do to guide the public in making healthy choices, and how they could support and sustain a working relationship with other key players in the health care team.

100 participants attended and 30 posters were exhibited. Two key note speakers gave the overall picture: Dr Aushra Shatchkute from the WHO Regional Office for Europe, opened the scene by addressing the topic from the WHO point of view, focusing on the importance of a multidisciplinary approach and what WHO expects from the professions; the Prof Marja Airaksinen, Finland, gave the participants a picture of what a country and its professional associations can do to adjust its activities to the WHO policies and establish new practices. The other five speakers gave a comprehensive view on what's going on in European pharmacies. They presented different models and pharmacy-based practices, all established to provide better services and to promote health with focus on what pharmacists can do to make a difference.

Lectures were followed by a poster exhibition marketplace that had been arranged for networking and sharing of information and knowledge. The 30 posters gave concrete examples on what is going on in European pharmacies to provide better services and to promote health. Dr Dick Tromp chaired the marketplace, guiding participants through the exhibition by interviewing poster owners thereby providing good opportunities for interactive exchange of experiences and considerations about pharmacists' responsibility in addressing the public health issue and exploring what kind of actions were necessary, and how pharmacists could commit themselves to executing such actions.