A revamped pharmacy course is all set to open global job avenues for Indian pharmacists, reports Varuna Verma
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It was a chance email that led to the restructuring of pharmacy education in India. “Two pharmacy students wrote to me that they were not being able to find work as pharmacists in Saudi Arabia because their postgraduation was considered inadequate,” recalls B. Suresh, president of the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI). While India has a three-year graduate programme and a two-year masters in pharmacy, other countries — such as the US and the UK — offer a six-year doctorate degree in the subject.

And the one-year difference was proving expensive for Indian pharmacists. Says Suresh, “Indian students with a masters in the subject could not register as pharmacists in the US and European countries,” because of the “missing” year.

To address the problem, the PCI (www.pci.nic.in) introduced a six-year doctorate in pharmacy in select colleges last academic year. This year, the course is being offered in 39 colleges across the country. There are two ways to earn a doctorate in pharmacy (PharmD) — the first is through a six-year programme for students who have completed Class XII, and the second is through a three-year programme called PharmD Post Baccalaureate (PB).

Candidates who had physics, chemistry and either biology or maths in Plus Two are eligible for the PharmD course, while those with a BPharm are eligible for the PharmD (PB) course. Besides meeting the global six-year benchmark, the new programme will also focus more on clinical pharmacy. The current curriculum is more industry oriented. “We want to produce clinically competent pharmacists. They can work in hospitals, advise doctors on the best drugs to prescribe and also counsel patients,” says Suresh.

The PCI has granted permission to 39 colleges — 14 in Andhra Pradesh, 14 in Karnataka, nine in Tamil Nadu, one each in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra — for the PharmD course, and 15 institutions for the PharmD (PB) course. The programmes will commence in the current academic year. “The institutions had to undergo stringent checks before they were given the nod. The idea is to ensure quality education,” says Suresh.

The really new thing about the PharmD course is that it provides hands-on training. “In the sixth year, students will intern at a local hospital. They will be required to take daily rounds of the wards with doctors and help prescribe medicines,” says K.R. Mahadi, principal, Poona College of Pharmacy, Pune. This is an aspect that has been applauded by the industry. “Since it is an integrated programme, the focus will be more on industry and not pure academics. This is good news,” says Prabir Jha, senior vice-president and global chief of human resources at the Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.

Moreover, colleges that want to offer the PharmD course will have to have a tie-up with a 300-bed hospital within its municipal limits. “This is a major requirement an institution must adhere to,” says Suresh.

Besides, students will also study subjects such as patient counselling, drug reactions, drug-diet reactions and community pharmacy. Pharmacology, patho-physiology and other clinical subjects will also be included. “This will enable them to work in a hospital. They can be a second point of contact for patients, after the doctor,” says Ravi Chandran, principal, VEL College of Pharmacy, Chennai. The college has started offering both the six and three-year PharmD courses from this academic year.

“It took us three years to finalise the curriculum. We also took inputs from our MPharm clinical programme. The course was then vetted by international experts,” says Suresh of the PCI. He believes that the new course will put Indian pharmacy students in tune with the times.

“Pharmacists will be able to supplement a doctor’s role.
They can discuss medicines and diseases with patients and help them avoid drugs that may have side effects,” he says. According to a study reported by the US-based Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in 2006, medication errors harm 1.5 million people in that country and cost billions of dollars annually. Nearly a quarter of a million deaths occur in the US every year owing to drug errors. Errors are common at every stage, from prescribing and administering a drug to monitoring the patient’s response, the study found. Well-qualified pharmacists can minimise most of these errors.

Also, as biotechnology becomes more and more popular, pharmacists will need specialised drug information. “More biotechnology-based drugs are going to be available in the coming years. These are very individualised medicines and even a slight variation in dosage can be hazardous. Pharmacists need to know about them in great detail,” says N. Urupa, principal, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal.

So with the launch of this course, pharmacy will become a lucrative career option since there will be plenty of job opportunities. “Corporate hospitals in India are now hiring clinical pharmacists to assist doctors in drug prescription and for patient counselling,” points out Mahadi.

Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with him. “The six-year course is based on the US model wherein students intern with medical institutions to gain practical experience in their final year. We already offer the master of clinical pharmacy and pharmacy practice course — in collaboration with a corporate hospital close to our campus — to give students hands-on experience. But, despite our best efforts, not a single student has been absorbed by the hospital to date. Introducing a six-year format is not going to help students get jobs,” says Biswanath Sa, professor, department of pharmaceutical technology, Jadavpur University, Calcutta. Sa wants the government to make it mandatory for hospitals and nursing homes to reserve a certain percentage of jobs for students who have passed BPharm / MPharm. This might help pharmacy graduates in India, he feels.

Suresh, however, points out that clinical research is also a pretty lucrative career for pharmacists and India is now a hot zone for global pharmaceutical companies to carry out drug research. “PharmD graduates can lead and support clinical research. They can also work as clinical investigators. There are a lot of such jobs in the US and Europe,” he says.

Equipped with the new degree, they can also join the burgeoning clinical trial market in India which was projected to reach $300 million by the next year, according to a study by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in 2007. India has already become a global clinical trial hub where 122 trials are being conducted by top global pharmaceutical firms.

College knowledge

1) BVV Sangha’s Hanagal Shri Kumareshwar College of Pharmacy, Bagalkot (hskcop@rediffmail.com)

2) Visveswarapura Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Bangalore (www.vips.edu.in/bpharm.php)

3) JSS College of Pharmacy, Mysore (www.jsspharma.org)

4) Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal (www.manipal.edu/

manipalsite/Users/colpage.aspx?collegeid=6&Id=1)

5) Poona College of Pharmacy, Pune (www.bvuniversity.edu.in/poonacolpharm.html)

6) JSS College of Pharmacy, Ootacamund (www.jsscpooty.org)

7) Sri Ramakrishna Institute of Paramedical Sciences, Coimbatore (www.

sripmscop.com)

Sri Ramachandra College of Pharmacy, Chennai (www.srmc.edu/university/

srmcpharmacy.htm)

9) VEL’s College of Pharmacy, Chennai (www.velscollege.com/pharmacy/index.html)

10) PSG College of Pharmacy, Coimbatore (www.psgpharma.com)

Source: The telegraph (Kolkata, India)