Is Pharm D or PharmD(PB) is a professional doctorate degree or an academic doctorate degree?
why is it so that Pharm D course has been initially started in South Indian states only?
why GPAT or any other entrance exam is not undertaking all subjects of Pharm D course?
whether Pharm D is approved by UGC?
Doctor of Pharmacy Education in India-Its Genesis and Prospects: A Critical Study based on the Global Vs. Indian Scenario
The
post1920 period, particularly the 1940 to 1970s, witnessed
many scientific developments and achievements in the area of
Hospital and Clinical Pharmacy in USA and such developments
helped for starting Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D) in American
Universities in the 1950s as an innovative program in pharmacy.
Pharm.D.is
a professional doctor degree in Pharmacy and has become a global
program by 2000 AD. The Pharm.D students are provided with the
opportunity to gain experience in patient care at hospital and
community levels, in close association with other health care
professionals.Universities conducting Pharm.D have to continuously
enhance the curriculum with new course offerings that reflect the
pharmacist’s importance as a frontline health care provider.
The
first effort to introduce Pharm.D in India was initiated in Government
Medical College ; Trivandrum in 1999 when the syllabus and regulations
framed with the help of some American Universities got approved by the
Board of Studies and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of
Kerala. It was designed as a post graduate program,but could
not be started for some reasons.
Later
in 2008, the Pharmacy council of India (PCI) managed to
introduce both six year regular PharmD and the three year post
baccalaureate Pharm.D in the country through a Gazette notification of
Government of India dated 16th May 2008. The norms and regulations for
Pharm.D program were also prescribed and notified.
By
2013 November, the PCI had given approval to over 140
institutions mainly in South Indian States. Only four Government
institutions have so far started Pharm.D in India.
The Indian Pharm.D needs the care and active involvements of pharmacy practice professionals in its growing stages.
Keywords:
Doctor of Pharmacy in India, Genesis of Indian Pharm.D
Pharm D course
In 1953 Heber .W. Youngken Jr of University of Washington wrote an article entitled
The term 'Clinical Pharmacy' was not seriously used in any book even in the early 1960's. In 1961 Dr. John Autian at University of Wisconsin used the term
Pharm D course
INTRODUCTION
Pharmacy
as a profession and as a health care discipline has gone
through phenomenal changes and development during the last few
decades, at global as well as regional levels.
In the past, Pharmacists were known by names like alchemists, apothecaries and compounders.
Modern
pharmacists are professionally qualified,scientifically trained
and technically competent health care professionals knowing the
secrets and facts of drugs and medicines. Contemporary pharmacy
education is highly scientific and generally students spend 4 to
10 years at University levels to acquire and mould their
competency and skills.
Pharmacy
Practice has a vital role in drug therapy, health care and other
related areas.The areas and activities of community pharmacy,
hospital pharmacy and clinical pharmacy constitute the various
functions of pharmacy practice. The role of modern pharmacist has evolved dramatically from the product (medicine) orientation to patient care outcomes.
Independent pharmacies were first established in 12th century in Italy and then in neighboring countries like France and Germany. However pharmacy education at
College/
University level started only in 1777 in Paris in France.
Later in 1803 six schools of pharmacy were started in
France.
Private pharmacy educational institutions arose in Bavaria, the south east state
in Germany in 1808
.
It was in 1821 the first American Pharmacy College-Philadelphia College of Pharmacy-
admitted
the first batch of pharmacy students which was followed by
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy (1823) and New York College of
Pharmacy (1829).
Since then the focus of pharmacy education and pharmacy practice got oriented towards USA
innovations in Pharmacy Practice
The
post 1920 period, particularly the 1940 to 1970s, witnessed
many scientific developments and achievements in
the area of Hospital and Clinical Pharmacy in USA.
In 1953 Heber .W. Youngken Jr of University of Washington wrote an article entitled
"The
Washington Experiment- Clinical Pharmacy" in the American
Journal of Pharmaceutical Education.Through that article H.W.
Youngken brought to the notice of the world pharmacists how Prof.
L.Wait Rising of Washington had in 1945-46 initiated a research
program in teaching pharmacy students utilizing some of the
numerous professional prescriptions in Seattle. It has brought
forth a storm of protest from American Association of College of
Pharmacy (AACP) and the American Council in Pharmaceutical
Education (ACPE) in the 1950s.
The term 'Clinical Pharmacy' was not seriously used in any book even in the early 1960's. In 1961 Dr. John Autian at University of Wisconsin used the term
'Clinical Pharmacy' as a proposal to replace 'Compounding and dispensing' and
in
the same year Dr.Glenn Sperandio coined the term Clinical Pharmacy
in American Journal of Hospital Pharmacy in his "Hospital
Pharmacy Notes".
Dr.
Sperandio explained that direct contact with person or persons
is the essential of "Clinical" in any specialty. In 1969, Clinical
Pharmacy was linked with "patient orientation". Today Clinical
Pharmacy denotes the practice of pharmacy near the bed side of
the patient and is practiced by both hospital pharmacists and
community pharmacists.
The
first scientific residency program in pharmacy in USA was developed
by Harvey A.K. Whitney at University of Michigan hospital in 1927.
Due to the innovative thinking of people like Paul F Parker, many clinical pharmacy activities were introduced in pharmacy in the 1960s.
The ward rounds, clinical postings, clerkship and the residency are the core components of the Pharm.D program. It is through these the students get accustomed to real hospital practice situation and oriented to the evidence based therapy concepts.
Due to the innovative thinking of people like Paul F Parker, many clinical pharmacy activities were introduced in pharmacy in the 1960s.
Inspired
from the success of Whitney’s experiment on Drug Information
Center in Michigan University, Paul F Parker opened the first
Drug Information Center at a Pharmacy School in 1962. Other
Universities like the University of Kentucky had also
taken leading roles in developing Clinical Pharmacy programs in the world.
The
first unit dose distribution program in a hospital set up in USA was
initiated at the University of Kentucky in 1965. In 1968 the pharmacy
residency program was started at
University
of Kentucky which helps to award both Pharm.D degree
and residency certificates to the students.
The
introduction of Post graduate programs in hospital pharmacy, clinical
pharmacy and starting of Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D)
programs contributed positively for the development and
popularisation of pharmacy practice in USA and other countries.
-
What
is Doctor of Pharmacy or Pharm.D The Doctor of Pharmacy degree,
abbreviated as Pharm.D.or Pharm.D,is a professional doctor degree in
Pharmacy .It is very much similar to professional degrees like Doctor of
Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) in USA or equal
qualifications in other countries.
Today
Pharm.D became a global program available in all most all countries in
the world. The duration of the program varies from five years ( eg. USA,
Pakistan) to eight or nine years (eg. Ghana,France) of academic
education at the University/ College levels.
In some countries like Hungry,Netherland, Portugal etc. It is a post graduate program
while
in yet other countries Pharm.D is considered as superior to
masters qualification and post graduates are admitted to the
program. During the last few years ,Pharm. D
became popular even in the Middle East countries.
Through
the Pharm.D programs the pharmacists are trained to become
active and integral members of the patient care team. Increasing
emphasis on improving quality of medication use and
enhancing medication safety have dramatically increased the demand for
clinical pharmacy and the Pharm.D program in all parts of the
world.
The ward rounds, clinical postings, clerkship and the residency are the core components of the Pharm.D program. It is through these the students get accustomed to real hospital practice situation and oriented to the evidence based therapy concepts.
The
clinical rotations provide students the opportunity to apply
knowledge acquired in the classroom to the practice of pharmacy
in different patient care settings.The Universities and pharmacy
schools through the Pharm.D program prepare pharmacists who can
assume expanded responsibilities in the care of patients and
assure the provision of rational and effective drug therapy both in
public and private set ups. ThePharm.D students are provided with the
opportunity to gain experience in patient care in close
relationships with health practitioners like physicians,
nurses, biochemists,nutritionists and other health care
professionals.The Universities conducting the program have
to continuously enhance the curriculum with new courseofferings
that reflect the pharmacist's importance as a frontline health
care provider.
Problem-
based learning and active exposure to clinical opportunities will help
the students attain necessary skills and personalize the
education to reflect their individual interests and
professional goals.
The
Pharm.D program combines rigorous basic science education with
extensive and varied clinical and pharmacy practice
experiences. It helps the graduates to contribute positively for
revolutionizing the future of health care through new
discoveries and innovations to improve patient lives.
The Universities conducting the program have to continuously enhance the curriculum
with new course offerings that reflect the pharmacist's importance as a frontline health care provider.
The
Pharm.D is not equal to doctor of philosophy (PhD) and is
intended for people who want to practice as pharmacists. The
Pharm.D people are in a better position to pursue
for the PhD in matters related to health care and drug therapy aspects compared to
all other post graduates (M.Pharm) in pharmacy.
Many
Colleges and Universities in US and other countries offer a
dual Pharm.D /PhD degree program for students with strong interest
in research who also want to practice as pharmacists. The
Pharm.D curriculum is designed to produce pharmacists who
have the abilities and skills necessary to achieve outcomes related
to pharmaceutical care to patients, and ensure safe and
effective drug therapy with the support of professional
pharmaceutical knowledge and information.
First Pharm . D Course and its impact in Pharmacy education
The
Pharm.D program as it is understood and popularized today, originated
as an innovation program of University of Southern California
(USC) in 1950 as a six year program. The USC is a
private research University in USA established in 1880 with its
main campus in Los Angeles, California. USC started its first
Pharmacy School - USC School of Pharmacy - in Southern California in
1905.
The takeoff of the Pharm.D in USA was not smooth and resistance free.
It
has to face some unfriendly reactions and resistances from certain
corners within the country. In 1955, the University of
California at San Francisco (UCSF) also started Pharm. D and by
1960 many other Universities in USA started Pharm.D. It took about
two decades for getting Pharm. D popularized in USA and other
parts of the world. Those who opposed the program in the
beginning later started welcoming it and by 1970s students from
other countries joined the program in large number.
In 1973 UCSF started Department of Clinical Pharmacy as an
independent unit which was responsible for the development of the
first clinical pharmacy curriculum in the world. Today the
clinical pharmacy residency program of UCSF is the largest in USA
The
US authorities adopted Pharm.D as a national professional degree
program by 1980s. In 1992, the American Association of
College of Pharmacy (AACP) and other pharmacy professional
organizations took a joint decision to make Pharm D as the minimum
requirement for practice of Pharmacy in USA. The Accreditation
Council for Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE), the national organization
that accredits pharmacy degree courses, also endorsed the decision.
For the next few years they were jointly doing the homework for
implementation of the decision.
All
the existing pharmacists with B.Pharm / B.S and M.Pharm
qualifications were provided sufficient opportunities to take
Pharm.D through various modules in the 1990s. The Universities
framed their own modules for part- time and distance/ e-learning
process of Pharm.D for existing licensed pharmacists.
Till
1998 both B.S (Pharmacy) and Pharm.D programs of 5 year duration were
conducted in America. In 1998 orders were issued to all American
Universities to replace their B.S (Pharmacy) and B.Pharm with
Pharm.D focusing on clinical and community pharmacy practice.
Since the graduating class of 2006, the BS Pharm / B.Pharm degree has
been completely replaced by Pharm.D degree in USA ( Carrie 2008).
All these developments have positively influenced the pharmacy
educational institutions and authorities in other countries in
the world to take proper precautions in their education system. Today
Pharm.D or its equivalent degree is required to sit for the
North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX), one
component of the licensure process required to practice as a
pharmacist in U.S. states
Professional status of Pharmacy after Pharm. D
The
‘Gallup poll’ in USA is well known among
professionals all over the world. It was initiated by George Gallup in
1978 with the objective of evaluating various professions which are
supposed to serve humanity in the country. The main question asked
to the participants of the Gallup poll is "How would you rate
the honesty and ethical standards of people in these different
fields?” The Americans rate the honesty and ethical standards of 28 or
more professions/ occupations surveyed by the Gallup poll. The
pharmacists are ranked in No 1 or No 2 positions among all professionals
in USA for the last thirty or more years
A
similar type of rating known as ‘Morgan poll’ is
conducted in Australia since 1994. The Australians too rate their
professions based on ethics and honesty. The nursing profession
and pharmacy were closely ranked as No 1 and 2 up to 2002. Since
then there is always a tight fight between Pharmacy and Nursing for the
first position. In Canada in 2012 Pharmacists were ranked at No
1 position among all professionals
This
is not the case with USA or Australia or Canada alone. Throughout the
world where well regulated pharmacy education and practice
systems are in existence, pharmacy or pharmaceutical sciences
has emerged as a high profile, sought after profession. It is
mainly because of the services, innovations and achievements in
the areas of hospital, community and clinical pharmacies.
Pharmacy education in India
The pharmacy education in India is not very old. It was started at the University level
CONCLUSION
Pharmacy education in India
The pharmacy education in India is not very old. It was started at the University level
only
in 1932 in Banaras Hindu University (BHU) by a thirty year
old youth, Mahadeva Lal Schroff popularly known as M.L.
Schroff. Originally it was a B .Sc. programme and got converted
into a B.Pharm course in 1937. Schroff
could
start pharmacy education in India just because of the
encouragement and support he got from Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya,
a national figure who was the
Vice Chancellor of the BHU those days
The growth of pharmacy education in India was in ‘bonsai style' till 1980s.
At
the time of independence there were only five pharmacy
colleges in the country which increased to 16 by 1967.
However during the period 2000 - 2008 hundreds of new pharmacy
degree colleges were started in India. The number of degree
colleges increased to around 900 by 2009 and by 2013 there are
about 1500 pharmacy colleges imparting diploma, degree ,
M.Pharm, Pharm.D and PhD programs. Only about 15 per cent of
the Indian Pharmacy Colleges are situated in the health care
campus attached to the hospitals or medical institutions and
most of them are in the South Indian states like Kerala,
Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Right from 1950s, highly qualified
graduate and post graduate pharmacists started working in the
hospital pharmacies attached to major hospitals like
Medical colleges in India. They were engaged in different teaching
positions in the department of pharmacology and were well
respected and accepted by the medical professionals in those
institutions. In the 1970s, some academicians like Dr.P.C.Dandiya,
Professors Gode and Gambir (Department of
Pharmacology, Institute of Medical Sciences, BHU), Prof.
R.D. Kulkarni (Department of Pharmacology, Grant Medical
College, Bombay) and Dr.B.D.Miglani (Delhi University) tried
to bring the evolution of clinical pharmacy in the West, into the
Indian pharmacy profession. However, clinical pharmacy could make an
impact in Indian pharmacy only by 1990s. Dr. B.D. Miglani, the
father of Indian Hospital Pharmacy and a living giant of pharmacy
practice in the country was responsible for starting the first post
graduate course in
Hospital
and Clinical Pharmacy in India in Delhi College of Pharmacy( now
known as DIPSAR) in 1984. In 1996 C MC Vellore started a post
graduate diploma course in Clinical Pharmacy and in the next year (
1997) the J.S.S Hospital & College of Pharmacy Mysore started a
post graduate programme (M.Pharm) in Pharmacy Practice
giving special importance to Clinical Pharmacy.
In
the next 5 years period, many institutions in India, from various
states and Universities, (K.M.College of Pharmacy, Madurai;
Periyar College of Pharmacy Trichy;
SRIPMS,
Coimbatore; JSSOoty;Govt. Medical College. Trivandrum; Annamalai
University, Chidambaram, College of Pharmacy, Manipal; KLE’s
College of Pharmacy, Belgaum; Al Ameen College of Pharmacy,
Bangalore, Hamdard College of Pharmacy, Delhi, NIPER, Chandigarh
etc.) Initiated similar post graduate programmes in Pharmacy
Practice. By 2013, there are over 100 institutions in India imparting
such programs. The important pharmacy education programs currently
offered in India include
India is perhaps the only country in the world which is having a diploma course (D.Pharm) as the minimum qualification for registering as a professional pharmacist with the statutory Council or agency for getting approval or license for the practice of pharmacy. Other countries have made degree in pharmacy (B.Pharm /M.Pharm/Pharm.D) as the minimum qualification for the practice of pharmacy.
i)
Diploma in pharmacy (D.Pharm, a 2 year program after 10+2)
ii)
Bachelor of pharmacy (B.Pharm, a 4 year program after 10+2)
iii)
Master of pharmacy ( M.Pharm, a 2 year program after B.Pharm)
iv)
Doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D, a 6 year program after 10+2)
v)
Doctor of Pharmacy ( Pharm.D) P.B. 3 year program after B.Pharm
vi)
Doctor of philosophy (Ph.D, generally 3 years work after M.Pharm).
India is perhaps the only country in the world which is having a diploma course (D.Pharm) as the minimum qualification for registering as a professional pharmacist with the statutory Council or agency for getting approval or license for the practice of pharmacy. Other countries have made degree in pharmacy (B.Pharm /M.Pharm/Pharm.D) as the minimum qualification for the practice of pharmacy.
In
countries like US, one must have a Pharm D degree and then pass
the state pharmacy licensure examination and complete pharmacy
internship for a period (500-2000 Hrs. depending upon the individual
states) for getting registered as a pharmacist.
The
pharmaceutical industry in India has attained tremendous
growth and development during the last few decades. However the
pharmacy practice is only in the developing stage. With growing
internationalization of the pharmaceutical industry and the
globalization of the pharmacy education program, the standards of
pharmacy education and pharmacy practice needs to be of world
class standards. Starting of Pharm. D in India The first effort to
introduce Pharm.D in India was initiated in Trivandrum
Government Medical College in 1999 when the syllabus and
regulations framed by K.G.Revikumar , the head of Hospital
and Clinical Pharmacy, of the Medical College with the help of
some American Universities got approved by the Board of
Studies and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of
Kerala. However the program could not be started as Revikumar was
transferred to Calicut Medical College subsequently.It was
designed as a post graduate program aimed at moulding a team of young pharmacy practice professionals and teachers
In 2002 the Foreign Pharmacy Graduation Equivalency Committee ( FPGEC) in USA mandated a 5 year pharmacy graduation program to be eligible to take their Foreign Pharmacy Graduation Equivalency Examination (FPGEE). Naturally the pharmacists from South Asian countries including India got upset and put in a quandary. Indian pharmacy graduates with 4 year B.Pharm degree were not permitted to appear for the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) as a prequalification for practice of pharmacy. It was in that background the Indian authorities started thinking seriously about the introduction of Pharm.D in India. The Pharmacy council of India (PCI) managed to introduce a six year regular Pharm. D and the three year post baccalaureate Pharm.D in 2008 in the country through a Gazette notification of Government of India dated 16 th May 2008. The norms and regulations for Pharm.D program were also prescribed and notified. Interestingly by the time the notification for Pharm.D came out, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has sanctioned Rs.50 lakhs to Annamalai University in Tamil Nadu, a public University, for starting Pharm.D as an innovative program. By the time Govt. notification came for Pharm.D, Annamalai University got the grant from UGC for the program. Annamalai University is the first institution in India notified for Pharm.D admission in the first week of June 2008
Immediately after starting Pharm.D, Annamalai University tried to establish some tie-up with certain American Universities. In February 2009 Dr. James Scott from Western University, California visited Annamalai University to study the situation and the facilities available at the University for running the program. In that connection Dr. Scott visited and studied the facilities in some other centres in south India like Amrita School of Pharmacy (Amrita University, Kochi,Kerala), Alshifa College of Pharmacy (Kerala University of Health Sciences), KLE College of Pharmacy ( KLE University, Belgaum) and Sri Ramachandra University, Porur, Chennai. The opportunity to popularise the Pharm.D in India with the help of UGC and AICTE was not exploited and used by PCI. Pharmacy professionals working in public Universities and Govt. institutions are not taking steps to popularise Pharm.D in the country.
By 2013 November, the PCI had given approval to over 140 institutions covering states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, UP and Punjab for starting Pharm.D in India. Rajasthan, Punjab and UP have one each, Gujarat two and Maharashtra three colleges. Out of them about 130 have already started the Pharm.D program. However the fact that only four Government institutions - two in Maharashtra, one each in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, have started Pharm.D course. It shows that involvement of government institutions in the course is currently nominal and insignificant. In Maharashtra out of the three PCI approved institutions, two are in government sector one at Aurangabad and another at Amarabati. In Tamil Nadu out of 18 institutions one, Annamalai University, is in Government sector. In Kerala the Pharm.D was not started in Trivandrum Medical College even though they got the PCI approval in 2011. Some Pharmacy teachers propagate the message that it is a program designed for exporting Pharm.Ds to other countries and that it is designed for the rich and affordable sections of society.
Table 1:Pharm.D Colleges in India approved by PCI (As on Oct 2013)
State Private Colleges Government Colleges
In 2002 the Foreign Pharmacy Graduation Equivalency Committee ( FPGEC) in USA mandated a 5 year pharmacy graduation program to be eligible to take their Foreign Pharmacy Graduation Equivalency Examination (FPGEE). Naturally the pharmacists from South Asian countries including India got upset and put in a quandary. Indian pharmacy graduates with 4 year B.Pharm degree were not permitted to appear for the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) as a prequalification for practice of pharmacy. It was in that background the Indian authorities started thinking seriously about the introduction of Pharm.D in India. The Pharmacy council of India (PCI) managed to introduce a six year regular Pharm. D and the three year post baccalaureate Pharm.D in 2008 in the country through a Gazette notification of Government of India dated 16 th May 2008. The norms and regulations for Pharm.D program were also prescribed and notified. Interestingly by the time the notification for Pharm.D came out, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has sanctioned Rs.50 lakhs to Annamalai University in Tamil Nadu, a public University, for starting Pharm.D as an innovative program. By the time Govt. notification came for Pharm.D, Annamalai University got the grant from UGC for the program. Annamalai University is the first institution in India notified for Pharm.D admission in the first week of June 2008
Immediately after starting Pharm.D, Annamalai University tried to establish some tie-up with certain American Universities. In February 2009 Dr. James Scott from Western University, California visited Annamalai University to study the situation and the facilities available at the University for running the program. In that connection Dr. Scott visited and studied the facilities in some other centres in south India like Amrita School of Pharmacy (Amrita University, Kochi,Kerala), Alshifa College of Pharmacy (Kerala University of Health Sciences), KLE College of Pharmacy ( KLE University, Belgaum) and Sri Ramachandra University, Porur, Chennai. The opportunity to popularise the Pharm.D in India with the help of UGC and AICTE was not exploited and used by PCI. Pharmacy professionals working in public Universities and Govt. institutions are not taking steps to popularise Pharm.D in the country.
By 2013 November, the PCI had given approval to over 140 institutions covering states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, UP and Punjab for starting Pharm.D in India. Rajasthan, Punjab and UP have one each, Gujarat two and Maharashtra three colleges. Out of them about 130 have already started the Pharm.D program. However the fact that only four Government institutions - two in Maharashtra, one each in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, have started Pharm.D course. It shows that involvement of government institutions in the course is currently nominal and insignificant. In Maharashtra out of the three PCI approved institutions, two are in government sector one at Aurangabad and another at Amarabati. In Tamil Nadu out of 18 institutions one, Annamalai University, is in Government sector. In Kerala the Pharm.D was not started in Trivandrum Medical College even though they got the PCI approval in 2011. Some Pharmacy teachers propagate the message that it is a program designed for exporting Pharm.Ds to other countries and that it is designed for the rich and affordable sections of society.
Table 1:Pharm.D Colleges in India approved by PCI (As on Oct 2013)
State Private Colleges Government Colleges
Andhra Pradesh 70 01
Gujarat 02 Nil
Karnataka 32 Nil
Kerala 11 Nil
Maharashtra 01 02
Punjab 01 Nil
Rajasthan 01 Nil
Tamil Nadu 17 01
Uttar Pradesh 01 NIL
programs like Pharm.D. Steps have to be taken steps to
promote,
popularise, encourage and support public sector institutions to
start Pharm.D. The involvement of government institutions is
essential in popularising and ensuring job opportunities for Pharm.D
in India. After the 16th May 2008 Gazette notification of Pharm.D, PCI
invited first applications for starting Pharm.D in India in July
2008 giving just one month time for the institutions to plan
and apply for the course. Still they received about 50 applications
from pharmacy colleges in states like Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh
and Orissa.Inspections were conducted in August 2008 and in
September PCI approved about twenty pharmacy institutions from Tamil
Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala for starting
Pharm.D course from the
academic year 2008-09
.
Subsequently
few more institutions were approved for starting the
program.Some of them were given the permission to start both
Pharm.D and Pharm.D post baccalaureate.
The PCI condition that permission to start Pharm.D will be
given to only such institutions which were conducting B.Pharm course for the previous four years is not a wise
decision. Such a condition indirectly helped to make
Pharm.D a parallel B.Pharm course in India.
Teachers started teaching Pharm.D students many
subjects (like anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacognosy
etc.) in the same manner they were teaching B.Pharm
students.The practical classes and the examinations are
also carried out and conducted in an identical manner.
In
some colleges both B.Pharm and Pharm.D classes are clubbed
together for certain subjects.There are no specific guidelines for
practical, assignments, clerkship, internship and
residencies.Hardly 15 per cent of Indian pharmacy colleges
are situated in health care campus or attached to a hospital.
As per the 2008 Pharm.D Regulations of PCI
hospitals with 300 bed capacity is required for starting
Pharm.D
with 30 students intake. It can be either an own or a ‘rented’
hospital with the support of an MOU. The hospital is needed for
providing training, clerkship and residencies for the students.
The tie-up or memorandum of undertaking
(MOU) provision is found misused or improperly used by
majority of Pharm.D Colleges in the country.
Many Pharm.D colleges use the MOU only for PCI inspection purpose and not for academic activities.
Job Opportunities for Indian Pharm.D
What is the employment potential for the Pharm.D
graduates in India?
From the experiences of other
countries, the job opportunities for the Pharm.D
rests mainly with the Pharmacy Practice areas like
Community
Pharmacies, Hospital Pharmacies, Clinical Pharmacies, Clinical
Research including clinical trials,
Pharmacovigilance and Pharmacoeconomic
centres in industries, government and private
institutions.
The Indian community Pharmacies have to be made professional both in outlook and practice.
Innovative practice culture is required in Indian community
pharmacies. Qualified pharmacist have to be attracted to
community
and hospital pharmacies. Registered pharmacists alone
should be given licence and permission to establish and run community
pharmacies. The current Pharm.D syllabus and Regulations give very
little focus for employability of the graduates coming out of the
Universities and schools/colleges of Pharmacy. Those who frame
the syllabus and Regulations of a course should be responsible
like
the parents of well brought up children. Why and for what
purpose Pharm.D was introduced in India have to be reflected in
the syllabus and Regulation. Students who join the course and spend
six years at the universities should be able to contribute
positively for the development and
popularisation of pharmacy practice in the country.
Preceptorship and Mentoring in Pharm.
In
countries where the Pharm.D program is well established
and developed, they have by this time established a system
for providing clerkship (rotationship), internship, residency and
fellowship components of Pharm.D programs.
Unfortunately
in India no existing facilities are available for such activities and
the Pharm.D teachers are not trained or oriented for such
works.
Terms like preceptors, clerkship administrator, rotations
director,
mentor etc. may be new to Indian pharmacy teachers. Students
should be lead to where they should be. Both clerkship and
residency components of Indian Pharm.D
needs to be made more effective
to ensure placements in India. Clerkship and residency should
help for the acquisition and development of required
professional skills.
Clerkship is a gateway to world of real pharmacy practice
and
should be developed as an excellent opportunity to find
career path for Pharm.Ds. Many of the students may stick with what they
know and believe. However a few will be
prompted
to step out of their comforts and traditional locations and dare to
see a different and challenging side of practice because of
Preceptorship and mentoring. Home infusion, geriatric care homes,
prison pharmacy, pet animal pharmacy, satellite
pharmacies, part-time pharmacies,
family planning pharmacies, managed care pharmacies and
insurance pharmacies are examples of concept originated
in
the minds of Pharm.Ds during their clerkships, internships
and residencies. Mentorship helps to support, inspire, motivate and
guide students in both professional and
personal
growth and developments. Good mentorship is essential to polish
the thinking power of students and prompt them for
challenging and innovative professional activities.
The term Preceptorship is well known to the American
The term Preceptorship is well known to the American
Pharmacists and medical doctors right from the beginning of 20th century, though it was introduced in their nursing
profession only in late 1970s. However the concept of
preceptors and Preceptorship are new to Indian
pharmacy
education.
Preceptorship implies one-to-one teaching leaning relationship involving an experienced preceptor and a novice
Preceptorship implies one-to-one teaching leaning relationship involving an experienced preceptor and a novice
transitioning into practice.
Preceptor
helps the preceptee to connect the link between the theory
taught in class rooms and the practice set up in hospitals and
communities. Clerkship for obtaining clerical workmanship in pharmacy
practice aspects and will be very much useful during
residencies. It is not equal to ward rounds or clinical
postings. Clerkship is usually done outside own hospital while
internship is within the hospital by performing in-house jobs. The
clerkship co-ordinator or director will take the students in
small groups of 3-5 to other institutions including primary
health centres to speciality or superspeciality hospitals and
pharmacies during clerkship to acquire the skills for practice
in various situations with the support of departmental teachings
and discussions.It is not a simple requirement for
obtaining a degree.The work hours are that of full time job but
with week-end and on-call works as decided by the clerkship
director or administrator. Issues like why the student cohort is
divided into small groups for
clerkship/rotations
or who can be appointed as a clerkship administrator/
coordinator or director and what are their duties etc. need to be
defined to Indian Pharm.D teachers and students. Problem solving
and decision makes skills have to be developed in the students
with the support of
clerkship and residencies.The course duration has to be re-designated as 5+ 1 = 6years for Pharm.D regular program. Currently it is specified as 6 years. Since the students through P1 to P5 years of study acquire the skills for handing
clerkship and residencies.The course duration has to be re-designated as 5+ 1 = 6years for Pharm.D regular program. Currently it is specified as 6 years. Since the students through P1 to P5 years of study acquire the skills for handing
public
health, physiological investigations, biochemistry tests, lab data
interpretation etc. required for the hospital and
community practice situations they can contribute seriously for
the hospital health care programs during the general residency in
P6. They also have to practice hospital pharmacy and clinical
pharmacy in the hospitals.
Above all, the P6 Pharm.D have to act as preceptors and guides for all the junior students. If properly utilised, they will be more effective in teaching and training junior students
Above all, the P6 Pharm.D have to act as preceptors and guides for all the junior students. If properly utilised, they will be more effective in teaching and training junior students
than
their teachers.The students have to be paid proper stipend in P6
without charging any tuition fee. For finding suitable jobs in
Indian hospitals, the Pharm.D have to be specialised in
disciplines like Nephrology and Urology, Psychiatry, Neurology,
Oncology, Dermatology, Paediatrics,
Endocrinology/
Diabetology etc.so that the concerned medical specialists will
seek their support for drug therapy and various clinical
studies.The students have to be specialised in the drugs
used in those specialities.
CONCLUSION
The
pharmaceutical industry in India has attained tremendous
growth and development during the last few decades. So also the
Pharmacy education. However the
pharmacy
practice at community and hospital levels are not yet modernized
and made professional compared to international standards and
practices. The Pharm.D
program has to be utilized to rectify that gap.
With globalization of the pharmacy education program, the
standards of education and practice needs to be of
world class levels. The 6 year Pharm.D program
in India should help to establish an effective and trustworthy
relationship
between the pharmacy practice department and the health care
professionals in the hospitals and community set ups.The Pharm.D
students have to exhibit their calibre, competence and
capabilities in making the drug therapy and health care safer,
cost- effective and user friendly. In hospitals, the practicing
pharmacists, including pharmacy practice teachers, have to work in
tandem with other health
care
professionals.They have to acquire knowledge about other health
care professions through interactions, discussions and team work. In
spite of the number of deficiencies and weaknesses of the Indian Pharm.D
programmes, the experiences of the first 4 or 5 years of
Pharm.D in India show that it is a sought after pharmacy course in the country, though currently limited to certain south Indian states.
Students brilliant academic background and visions are joining the course The educated classes of people including the NRIs and internet information from across the world help
students to choose Pharm.D course. It is the responsibility
of the profession and the professionals to help them materialise their dreams and lead them to a better tomorrow.
They need the leadership by teachers who are good and capable guides, influential mentors and skilled preceptors
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