Pharmacists fume over neglect of Pharm D graduates as Clinical/Community Pharmacist in India*

Pharmacists fume over neglect of Pharm D graduates as Clinical/Community Pharmacist in India*

Pharm D courses were introduced to create a special cadre of clinical pharmacists to record adverse drug reaction.Pharmacists were unhappy with the Pharmacy Council of India stating that the Central and state governments must amend rules to recruit pharmacists, without specifying that a separate post had to be created for clinical pharmacists in hospitals. The Doctor of Pharmacy Association (DPA), which includes Pharm D graduates, said this was the same reply they got in 2015. DPA national president Dr Sai Kumar Katam said, “Pharm D courses were introduced to create a special cadre of clinical pharmacists to record adverse drug reaction, advise on drug dosage to patients on prescription from doctors and also carry out other works like immunisation in all hospitals with JCI/NABH/ISO accrediatation and as a Community Pharmacist in the Community healthcare centres.

There is a reason for creating these specialists.“But instead of recognising and placing them in the right sector, they are merely stating that they must be placed as pharmacists in Clinical Pharmacy. There are already B Pharm and M Pharm graduates working in the sector. But it must be understood that these two courses are not equivalent to Pharm D which is a grade higher.”

Pharm D graduates could work along with Physicians,Surgeons and Nurses along with other medical professionals, during bedside practice and be of great help in monitoring various drugs advised to patients and update the knowledge of entire medical team. Presently, the complete system depended on Physicians for the diagnosis, drug delivery and also observes & reports drug reaction. A Pharm D specialist can monitor drug delivery, dosage and drug reaction reducing the work of Physicians. Hence the course was not merely to dispense medicines but to also follow up, they said.

Senior pharmacist Dr Sanjay Reddy said, “It is high time the government gave due recognition to pharmacists as Clinical pharmacist in clinical pharmacy, Pharmacovigilancer, Community pharmacist in Community health centers, Industrial Pharmacist in Manufacturing companies, Researcher/ Pharma-Scientist, Clinical Preceptor in Pharmacy colleges and Dispensing pharmacist by involving them actively in the healthcare system. Health is a state subject and for that reason the policies of the Central governments have to be implemented by states and review the same routinely. The PCI has to actively follow not only with the Centre but also states.”

The issues of Clinical pharmacists now took centrestage again as PharmD students passing out of colleges did not get jobs and lack of proper salary scheme similar to other medical professionals, which was leading to frustration, and forcing them to opt for change in their profession which is taking advantage by MNC,. TS health minister Dr Laxma Reddy had been approached nearly four times in the last two months as Pharm D students were getting agitated over the government failure to make them part of the healthcare system

PHARM-D and Scope of Pharmacy

A Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.; New Latin Pharmaciae Doctor) is a professional doctorate in pharmacy. In some countries, it is a first professional degree, and a prerequisite for licensing to practice the profession of pharmacy or to become a Clinical pharmacist. In many countries they are allowed to practice independently and can prescribe the brand of drugs directly to the patients. Pharm.D program has significant experiential or clinical education components in introductory and advanced levels for the safe and effective use of drugs. Experiential education prepares graduates to be practice-ready as they already spent a significant amount of time training in areas of direct patient care and research. A Pharm D graduate can also use the prefix 'Dr' along with their name. ^[1]

Pharm D, a 6-year integrated course.

"Being a pharmacist is the most obvious choice.
THERE is tremendous scope for research and higher studies in pharmacy and job opportunities are vast. In the last few years, there has been a revolutionary growth in every area of the pharma field. With the increasing number of life-saving drugs and new methods and techniques of manufacturing and analysis of drugs, the responsibility of pharmacists has increased considerably.
Clinical Pharmacy,Hospital Pharmacy and Community Pharmacy are emerging in India, which involve planning, procuring, dispensing drugs apart from patient counselling. It is interesting to note that a considerable percentage of drug stores in the US are now owned by Indian pharmacy graduates.State and Central Governments appoint Drugs Inspectors to implement the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. A pharmacy graduate alone is eligible for this post and they are the only regulators in the field of Drugs Control Administration. A career in the field of pharmaceutical education combines teaching with research and sometimes, administrative activities. Though the posts require M.Phar/PhD degree, it is not difficult as the government and pharmaceutical industry support PG and research students through scholarships and fellowships. Research in drug development is another exciting area. In India many pharmaceutical industries like Dr. Reddy's, Ranbaxy, Cadilla, Glen-mark, Cipla, Aurobindo, Hetro have excellent divisions in R&D.
A degree in Pharmacy makes you eligible not only to seek employment in various drug, chemical, biotechnology and health care industries but also to start your own business. Pharmaceuticals is a fast growing industry. Government-sponsored industries are engaged in manufacture of live-saving drugs while manufacture of a major portion of bulk drugs and formulations is in the private sector. Here a young and enthusiastic pharmacist can make a mark with his entrepreneurial skills. There are opportunities for pharmacy graduates in marketing and pharmaceutical journalism also. They can serve as technical advisors or consultants for project-funding agencies to banks, financial institutions etc. By becoming a manufacturing chemist, a pharmacist can rise from the position of production supervisor to production manager and vice president.
Pharmacy education is set to undergo a sea-change in the next few years. The introduction of Pharm D., a six-year integrated postgraduate programme, is expected to take pharmacy education to international levels. Pharm D., is expected to provide plenty of opportunities to Indian students to practice pharmacy abroad. They can pursue careers in various fields, including institutional practice; community pharmacy practice;managed care; drug information and long-term care; consultant's role; clinical liaisons with pharmaceutical industry; patient education; and clinical trial research.
The 6-year course provides intensive training in pharmacy practice and clinical pharmacy services. It will include five years of clinical and community-based theory with ward rounds and one-year internship in hospitals. Students will work in coordination with doctors to treat patients. In the final year, the students will come out as clinical pharmacists, an essential component of health care, equal to doctors. Graduates will study in detail about drugs for different diseases. Pharmacists will advise patients about dose, action and side effects, while B.Pharm deals with different drug sources, synthesizing drugs,formulations, analysis, regulations, pharmacological actions, dosage and toxicology.
In a way, pharmacy is coming full circle, and we're seeing it lean more towards direct patient care. As the population grows and ages, people are taking more prescriptions, and there is more demand for pharmacists to have hands-on time with patients. More advanced-practice pharmacists are specialising and rounding with physicians and other health care providers in hospitals as part of a health care team. That's a win-win situation for patients.
The profession is changing and the opportunities are growing. There's more depth and breadth to what pharmacists are expected and asked to do. In a nutshell, pharmacy assures a bright and prosperous future.
Dr. Joel Thomas, Pharm D

m.phar

M.PHAR

PHARMACY PRACTICE RESEARCH (PPR)

The Pharmacy Practice Research Trust (PPRT) was an independent charity established in July 1999, by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. It aims were support and promote the professional practice and development of pharmacists and develop the field of Pharmacy Practice Research. In January 2013 the PPRT was wound up and a new charity Pharmacy Research UK was launched in its place.

PHARMACY PRACTICE RESEARCH (PPR) is research that focuses on the practice of pharmacy in contrast to lab-based research and establishes a solid evidence for new pharmacy practices and services. This is how we can frame our own set of guidelines for management of all diseases rather than adopting them from western countries. 

Even after a decade of this clinical course; there were fewer research activities. Pharmacy Practice Research is equally important in India which can fetch 1000's of job opportunities in various Central and State Research Organizations.