Pharm D Course Details and Career Guide 2022 Latest Update
– Pharm D Course Details –
This article provides Pharm D Course Details. Pharmacy is the branch of health sciences that deals with the preparation and dispensing of drugs. The program trains students in clinical pharmacy, pharmacy practice, and pharmaceutical care.
Overview
Pharmacy courses not only open up suitable job opportunities, but you can also get a decent salary after pursuing pharmacy-centric programs from various colleges across the country.
Its aim is to ensure the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs. A good pharmacist is one who is a regular learner and has a scientific aptitude.
During their course tenure, pharmacists perform extensive laboratory research and prepare medicines that recover ailing patients.
Pharm D (Doctor of Pharmacy) is a well-known Doctorate Degree program in Pharmacy. It is also known by the name of Pharm D. It is 6 years (5 years academic program + 1-year internship) long course.
In this article, you will be enlightened more on Pharm D course details, eligibility criteria, admission process, syllabus, PG courses, career prospects, job profiles, and scope.
About Pharm D
In Western and European countries, Pharmacists are healthcare professionals. Over there, Pharm D is the professional degree required to practise as a pharmacist.
Sadly, the B Pharm course available in India is not up to the mark, when compared to the Pharm D course.
B Pharm lacks quality in areas of studies such as clinical pharmacy, pharmaceutical care, patient care, etc. In May 2008, they officially introduced the course of Pharm D in India.
In India, there are 2 formats in which this course is available-
1. Regular Pharm D program (6 years long)
2. Pharm D (Post-Baccalaureate) program (3 years long)
However, they may pursue regular Pharm D courses by students who have passed 12th Science board examination. Post-Baccalaureate Pharm D course is for B Pharm graduates to pursue.
The course includes regular pharmacy subjects and clinical pharmacy practices. Therefore, this course is called an ‘integrated course’.
The program trains students in clinical pharmacy, pharmacy practice, and pharmaceutical care.
At the end of the course, students gain skills such as diagnosis and treatment of diseases, selection and therapeutic usage of drugs, monitoring of patients, etc.
In short, Pharm D graduates can perform many tasks that MBBS graduates are capable of doing (monitoring patients, diagnosis, etc.).
What is Pharm. D (Doctor of Pharmacy)?
Pharm. D or Doctor of Pharmacy is a professional degree in the pharmacy stream. Pharm D course duration is six years in total inclusive of 5 years of learning and one year of internship for practical learning.
It is the only doctoral degree that can be pursued right after passing 10+2 qualifying examinations.
Moreover, Pharm D can also be pursued by B. Pharm graduates by seeking admissions to lateral entry courses, i.e. Pharm D (Post Baccalaureate).
What is Post Baccalaureate Pharm D?
In addition to a 6-year regular course of Pharm D, there is also a 3 year Post Baccalaureate Pharm D course that is only 3 years long and can be taken up by students who have already done B. Pharm.
Since these candidates already have basic knowledge regarding the course, they will need only 3 years to receive the professional Pharm D course and use the “Dr” title before their name.
Why Study Pharmacy?
As you can see that the field of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences is very broad. Likewise, the career opportunities after studying Pharmacy are also very wide and open – both in terms of job profiles and job sectors.
The first advantage of studying Pharmacy is that you study a variety of subjects. You can have the opportunity to study the fundamental basics of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics (to some extent though).
Besides having a broad overview of applied subjects like Pharmacology, Pharmaceutics, Medicinal Chemistry, Clinical Pharmacy, Biochemistry, etc.
The field gives you a good opportunity to understand what interests you. Hence, after graduation, you can have multiple career options (jobs and higher studies).
A majority of B. Pharm (or Pharm. D) students end up in the field of Pharmacy because they could not crack the Medical Entrance Exams or could not get into one of the top engineering colleges.
Difference Between B. Pharm and Pharm D
The Bachelor of Pharmacy gives you a good foundation in drugs and prescription medication and its relationship with factors related to the pharmaceutical industry.
Whereas the Doctor of Pharmacy is a more hands-on clinical and practical approach to patients’ prescriptions in a hospital.
This is a wider scope for employment because the job opportunities in clinics, hospitals, and community centers have a higher requirement for pharmacists.
With a B. Pharm, your options are more limited to drug manufacturers, sales and marketing of drugs, and R & D for Pharmaceutical companies.
Pharm D Eligibility Criteria
Pharm D (6 years long course): Science stream students (any group- Mathematics or Biology), who have passed 10+2 board examination from a recognized board.
OR Diploma in Pharmacy holders (from a PCI recognized institute) are eligible to pursue this course.
Some institutes do have the minimum mark criteria. According to these criteria, a student must have scored at least 50% marks in Physics, Chemistry, and Optional subject (Mathematics/Biology) in the 12th board examination.
Pharm D (Post-Baccalaureate): Graduates who have completed B Pharm from a PCI-recognized institute are eligible to pursue this course. Minimum aggregate marks required -50%. Some institutes do have minimum mark criteria.
Pharm D Admission Process
Admission usually takes place through State-wise/Central Medical Admission authority. It is based on merit marks.
Marks scored by a student in State/all India level entrance test (depending upon the type of institute you want admission in) and 12th Science board examination are taken into consideration.
Based on these marks, a merit list is made. Seats will be allotted to deserving students, based on the merit list.
Some Deemed Universities and reputed institutes have their own private entrance tests (online/regular). To get admission to such an institute, a student must pass the entrance test and the interview that follows it.
When it comes to the admission process, reservations and relaxations exist in the form of caste-based reservations & relaxations, NRI quota, and donation quota.
Eligible and capable candidates may make use of such reservations/relaxations.
Pharm D Course Content
Going through course content will help us get a better idea of the course structure. Below, I’ve listed some important subjects present in the Pharm D course.
The academic program is divided into 5 years. We will check out subjects present in each academic year.
1st-Year Subjects-
1. Human Anatomy and Physiology
2. Pharmaceutics
3. Medical Biochemistry
4. Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry
5. Pharmaceutical Inorganic Chemistry
6. Mathematics/Biology
2nd Year Subjects-
1. Pathophysiology
2. Pharmaceutical Microbiology
3. Pharmacognosy
4. Phytopharmaceuticals
5. Pharmacology
6. Community Pharmacy
7. Pharmacotherapeutics
3rd Year Subjects-
1. Pharmacology (Advanced)
2. Pharmaceutical Analysis
3. Pharmacotherapeutics 2
4. Pharmaceutical Jurisprudence
5. Medicinal Chemistry
6. Pharmaceutical Formulations
4th Year Subjects
1. Hospital Pharmacy
2. Clinical Pharmacy
3. Biostatistics
4. Research Methodology
5. Pharmacotherapeutics 3
6. Biopharmaceutics
7. Pharmacokinetics
8. Clinical Toxicology.
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5th Year Subjects-
1. Clinical Research
2. Clerkship
3. Pharmacoepidemiology
4. Pharmacoeconomics
5. Clinical Pharmacokinetics
6. Pharmacotherapeutic Drug Monitoring
7. Project work
It is evident that there are recurring subjects present in this course. Such subjects appear in over one academic year.
Practical sessions are present (along with theory classes) in the case of most of the subjects mentioned above. In the case of the final academic year, project work is also involved.
After completing 5 academic years, successful students have to go through a 1-year long internship (residency training).
Talking about modes of evaluation used in this course, there are 4 main types of examinations present- written examination, practical examination, oral test, and clerkship examination.
Note: The above course structure belongs to 6 years long Pharm D course. The course content and structure of the Post-Baccalaureate Pharm D course is may differ.
Course to Pursue After Completing Pharm D
MBA is a moral course to pursue after completing Pharm D. The 2 years long MBA course will help one gain key management skills, which will be useful in landing administrative jobs in the pharmaceutical industry and the healthcare sector.
Job Opportunities
Pharm D course will help one get a license to practice as a pharmacist in India and abroad. The course prepares students to practice as a pharmacist in supervised or independent environments.
Some places where one may practise are Government hospitals, Private hospitals, community health centres, nursing homes, and NGOs.
Pharm D course is accepted and recognized all around the world. It is the minimum Degree required to practice as a pharmacist in many developed countries.
This means that the ‘work abroad’ scope is very promising when it comes to this course.
Job opportunities are also available in the Pharmaceutical industry. One may take on technological, administrative, or marketing positions in this industry.
Teaching is another job opportunity. One may take on the job post of a lecturer/instructor at Pharmacy Colleges/institutes. Clinical research organizations and research labs also hire Pharm D Degree holders.
Common Job Profiles Available are-
1. Pharmacist
3. Research professional
4. Marketing professional (Pharmaceutical Industry)
5. Administrative posts (Pharmaceutical Industry)
6. Quality Control Officer (Pharmaceutical Industry
Places/areas where one may find a job are-
1. Government Hospitals
2. Private Hospitals
3. NGOs
4. Clinical Research Organization
5. Pharmaceutical Industry
6. Pharmacy Colleges/Institutes
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CSN Team.
