Doctor of Pharmacy(Pharm.D) is a Professional Doctorate program in Pharmacy. In short, it is referred as Pharm.D which means Pharmaciae Doctor in Latin. Pharm.D is a SIXYEAR pre-PhD, post graduate professional degree program with FIVE years of academics along with hospital ward rounds and ONE year of internship. The Pharm.D graduates are entitled to use “Dr.” as prefix to their name. Government of India and Pharmacy Council of India(PCI) introduced this professional doctorate level program in 2008.
ELIGIBILITY:
- For Pharm.D. Part-I Course:
- For Pharm.D. (Post Baccalaureate) Course:
For admission, candidates need to clear Common Entrance Examinations conducted at Central or State levels.
ABOUT THE COURSE:
- Pharm.D (regular):
The duration of the course is of six years (five years for study and one-yearinternship).
The period of six years is in two phases:
Phase I – First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth academic year.
Phase II – Internshipsixth year involving posting in speciality unitswherein a student is exposed to actual pharmacy practice or clinical pharmacy services.
- Pharm.D. (Post Baccalaureate):
The duration of the course is for three academic years (two years for study and one-year internship).
The period of three years is of two phases:
Phase I –First and Second academic year.
Phase II –Internshipduring third year with posting in speciality units.
COURSE OF STUDY:
THEORY:
The course of study includes various subjects such as Human Anatomy and Physiology, Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmacology, Pharmacotherapeutics, Hospital/Clinical Pharmacy, Pharmacoepidemiology, Clinical Research, Pharmacokinetics etc.,
PRACTICAL:
Hospital posting: Every student shall be posted in constituent hospital insecond, third & fourth year course. In the fifth year, student shall attend half a day attending ward rounds daily as a part of clerkship.
Project work: This shall be carried out under the supervision of a teacher, to develop data collection and reporting skills in the area of community, hospital and clinical pharmacy which is to be presented in a written report and as a seminar at the end of the fifth year.
INTERNSHIP:
Internship or residency training for period of twelve months include postings in speciality units.
i. For first six months in General Medicine department, and
ii. Then two months each in three other speciality departments such as Surgery, Paediatrics, Gynaecology and obstetrics, Psychiatry, Skin and VD and Orthopaedics
CAREER PROSPECTS:
As Pharmacy is an independent branch of science dealing with all the aspects of medicinal drugs and pharmaceuticals. Pharm.D program provides numerous opportunities in areas such as Academics, Management, Administration, Research and Development, Quality assurance and other Technical advancements in Healthcare sectors.
Few of the major employment fields for the Pharm.D graduates are:
- Clinical Pharmacist
- Research Scientist
- Pharmacovigilance officer
- Hospital Pharmacy Director
- Hospital Staff Pharmacist
- Pharmacist in Charge
- Regulatory Affairs Manager
- Quality Assurance Manager
- Analytical Chemist
- Drug Inspector
- Drug Interaction Specialists
- Nutritionists
- Community practitioner
- Medical Writer
- Lecturer
- Pharmaceutical Advisor
Key roles:
- Clinical Pharmacist: Ensuring that the prescribed medications for the patients contribute to the possible health outcomes and evaluating the appropriateness and effectiveness of the medications while working together with physicians, other health professionals.
- Research Scientist: Identifying the project goals, research methods, variables, and other test parameters to perform research and develop new strategies for drug therapy.
- Pharmacovigilance Officer: To monitor and report the effectiveness and adverse effects or side effects of pharmaceutical products found in population or in hospitals or research trials and submitting the reports to UMC.
- Hospital Pharmacist or Director: Monitoring the details of drugs distributed to the in-patients or out-patients and regularly evaluating the Inventory stock.
- Pharmacist: Counselling the patient or their representatives to promote medication adherence and also playing a key role in hospital committees.
- Quality Assurance Manager: Assuring consistent quality of production by developing good automated manufacturing practice, validating processes, providing documentation to develop and maintain quality standards.
- Analytical Chemist: Assessing the chemical structure and nature of substances in different areas such as drug development, forensic analysis, pharmacokinetic and toxicological studies.
- Drug Inspector: Controlling drug piracy and duplicity by checking chemist shops and pharmaceutical companies from doing any illegal things against rules and taking necessary actions according to Law.
- Drug Interaction Specialist: Checking or reviewing the prescriptions of patients for any possible interactions that may lead to poor health outcome and thus promoting rational drug therapy.
- Pharmaceutical Advisor: The Advisor provides major contribution towards the evaluation, critiquing and communication of important medical or scientific information and assist clinical research teams in training and supporting the sales force on pharmaceutical drug advertising.
- Medical Writer: Medical writer applies the principles of clinical research in developing clinical trial documents effectively and clearly describing research results, product use, and other information ensuring that the content, format and structure of their documents comply with regulatory, journal, or other guidelines for publications in websites, magazines, newsletters or journals.
- Community Practitioner: To prescribe drugs for common illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders etc., and are reasonable alternatives to medical graduates in many small-scale organizations.
Many pharmaceutical companies and organisations were hiring Pharm.D graduates such as: State level organisations - Tamilnadu Medical Services Corporation, Kerala Medical Services Corporation and West Bengal Medical Services Corporation and some private organisations such as - Novartis, Biocon, Pfizer, Accenture, GlaxoSmithKline, Dr Reddy’s, Ranbaxy, Mankind, etc.,
Apart from this, candidates can practice as a pharmacist at government as well as private hospitals. And also, can work as NGOs in the health domain, especially in rural areas.
There is a great scope for an aspirant to work abroad as a clinical pharmacist by clearing the general tests.
FURTHER STUDIES:
- After completion of Pharm.D, graduates can also opt for a Ph.D. programme directly.
- One can also pursue any PG Diploma courses in Clinical Research, Pharmacovigilance, Regulatory Affairs, Clinical Data Management etc.,
- There are MBA courses in hospital management and Clinical SAS, SPSS programming are other better options.
- Some institutes abroad provide MD and MS programmes for Pharm.D graduates.