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Doctor of Pharmacy- 2-Nov-2009
In the next few years the Pharmacy studies in India is expected to undergo enormous changes.
Experts of pharmaceutical education state that the newly introduced six-year integrated Pham D course is likely to take Pharmacy education to International standards. The Indian Pharmacy council expects that this new course would help to augment the standards of Pharmacy education and Practices in India. This decree would be accepted by America, Britain and other developed countries.
The Pharm D course, which is known as Doctor of Pharmacy has already been introduced in America in the year 1955. Only after fifty years, the importance of this course has been felt in India. Most of the pharmaceutical education institutions in America have stopped providing B. Pharm., M. Pharm., B.S. Pharmacy, M.S. Pharmacy courses from 2002.
D.Pharm, a two-year Diploma studies in Pharmacy is offered only India. This course does not have any value at the International level. Even the B. Pharm course is not adequate enough to work in modern health care setup. In many places trained pharmacist are not used in pharmacy delivery counters.
In a health care set up, the Pharmacists must be the first line of contact. As for as India is concerned they are last line of contact by delivering the Medicine. The Pharm.D has been introduced, as an attempt to use the Pharmacist experience in the field of Medicine.
The Pharmacy council has permitted to provide Pharm.D course in all the 24 institutions across the entire country. Among the approved colleges, 7 are found in Tamil Nadu, 6 in Karnataka, 8 in Andhra Pradesh, one each in Kerala, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
Those colleges that want to provide the Pharm, D course needed to have 350 bedded hospital attached with the college. This six-year course is offered as hospital and society based studies for five years and one-year of internship in the hospital. The Pharm D students also join the doctors in treating the patients in the hospital. After the completion of studies they come out as Clinical Pharmacist, equivalent to a doctor. In the Pharm D course, the students are taught about the various different medicines for the diseases. They also provide guidance to the patients on the dosage of medicines and the side effects.
Pharm. D course, which is equivalent to M.D, M.S deals with subjects like diagnostic methods, treatment methods, methods of providing medicine, therapeutic outcome, Pharmco economics and Pharmco therapy. The Pharmacy council has provided approval for the admission of only 30 students in a batch. Along with the usual pharmacy subjects, this course deals with subjects like the clinical Pharmacy. An international standard syllabus has been prepared.
Student who have completed plus two or D.Pharm can join this course. Apart from which graduates with B.Pharm and M. Pharm can also join this course. Those students completing pharmacy studies in India can excel in foreign countries too.
