Pharmacy and Medical Education in India
What is the response to Pharma D?
What are the career options?
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Pharm. D. (Doctor of Pharmacy) is a relatively new course which is highly accepted in western countries. Graduates of this stream go on to work as Qualified Clinical Pharmacists with great scope Globally and fast emerging in India. Pharm.D. is now an integrated six year course, while earlier, B.Pharm. students had to take-up separate examinations and be trained under Pharm.D. programme to qualify for the practice of pharmacy profession in the western countries.
Pharm.D. Course Details
Duration of the course. –
a) Pharm.D: The duration of the course shall be six academic years (five years of study and one year of internship or residency) full time with each academic year spread over a period of not less than two hundred working days. The period of six years duration is divided into two phases –Phase I – consisting of First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth academic year.
Phase II – consisting of internship or residency training during sixth year involving posting in speciality units. It is a phase of training wherein a student is exposed to actual pharmacy practice or clinical pharmacy services and acquires skill under supervision so that he or she may become capable of functioning independently.
b) Pharm.D. (Post Baccalaureate): The duration of the course shall be for three academic years (two years of study and one year internship or residency) full time with each academic year spread over a period of not less than two hundred working days. The period of three years duration is divided into two phases –
Phase I – consisting of First and Second academic year.
Phase II – consisting of Internship or residency training during third year involving posting in speciality units. It is a phase of training wherein a student is exposed to actual pharmacy practice or clinical pharmacy services, and acquires skill under supervision so that he or she may become capable of functioning independently.
Minimum qualification for admission to. –
a) Pharm.D. Part-I Course – A pass in any of the following examinations -
(1) 10+2 examination with Physics and Chemistry as compulsory subjects along with one of the following subjects:
Mathematics or Biology.
(2) A pass in D.Pharm course from an institution approved by the Pharmacy Council of India under section 12 of the Pharmacy Act.
(3) Any other qualification approved by the Pharmacy Council of India as equivalent to any of the above examinations.
Provided that a student should complete the age of 17 years on or before 31st December of the year of admission to the course.
b) Pharm.D. (Post Baccalaureate) Course -
A pass in B.Pharm from an institution approved by the Pharmacy Council of India under section 12 of the Pharmacy Act
What is the response to Pharma D?
With the introduction of Pharm.D. programme in India (strong presence/colleges in Karnataka), qualified candidates are be in a better position to take-up the practice this rewarding profession in foreign countries and be equipped to take on specialized roles in the emerging healthcare and pharmaceutical industry in India which is growing rapidly to match up to international standards. The response is very encouraging and in just a few years of rolling out this course, we have seen immense response from students who are pursuing an alternate yet very serious career in the healthcare segment. The response for this course has been very good from the students coming from other states and other countries as well.
Also a good response from B.Pharm. graduates seeking clinical practice as their career option. This course is a 3 years course after B.Pharm. and is called Post Baccalaureate Pharm.D. programme.
What are the career options?
The qualified Pharm.D. (Doctor of Pharmacy)professionals have the opportunity to work asQualified Clinical Pharmacists in hospitals and nursing homes. A separate pharmacy practice department
catering to the needs of the hospital, based on the bed strength can function to add value to the services available in the hospital. The candidates can work in clinical research organizations, managing and analyzing clinical data. They can be employed in drug design and development, in Pharmacovigilence and other related offshoot emerging branches in this area. In several western countries, a qualified professional is entitled to a professional consultation fee just like doctors, while playing a role that is almost equally important. The students are trained in a hospital environment and the knowledge gained is unique so that the services can match the requirement from the doctors as well as the patients.
Additional details on the topic.
With the advent of qualified Pharm.D. professionals, the lacuna that has been present because of the absence of qualified clinical pharmacists now will be filled. This will help both the patients as well as doctors in so many different ways including the choice of best drugs, avoidance of drug drug interactions, allergies, toxicities and so on. The response for this course has been very good from the students coming from accross India and foreign countries. Unfortunately, there is no much awareness about this programme in India. Actually, there is a good response even from B.Pharm. graduates seeking clinical practice as their career option. This course is a 3 years course after B.Pharm. and is called Post Baccalaureate Pharm.D. programme. For the commencement of Pharm.D. programme, strict requirements have been stipulated by the Pharmacy Council of India, New Delhi. Only those pharmacy colleges with a standing of not less than 10 years are eligible to apply for the commencement of the course. Also, a 500 bedded hospital is required to be available for training the students. Post graduate faculty trained in the department of Pharmacy Practice / Clinical Pharmacy are required to be appointed.
The impact of globalization has made it inevitable for India to provide the essential qualified personnel as well as the technical support in this field which is why this new course has been launched, so get India on par with the global best. There is a strong need for bringing awareness amongst the local population about this promising profession which is going to function as an very promising alternative career in medicine.
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