Re: PharmD Course in India - Prospects & Constraints

[Guest guest]

Dear all,

Congrates Dr.Geer for coming up with this topic.i would

just like to intitiate the discussion with a small introduction of

the course

Pharmacy Council of India is set to introduce 6 years Pharm.D.

(Doctorate in Pharmacy)course in country from the academic year

2008, said by Dr. B.Suresh (President of PCI) in Pharm.D. awareness

program held at Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences on 1st

March 2008.

Near about 20 Pharmacy colleges including Manipal college of

Pharmaceutical sciences are going to start Pharm. D. program from

current academic year. PCI approved intake of only 30 students per

batch to maintain the quality of program. Proper integrated hospital

facilities are mandatory for getting approval for this course by the

college.

Curriculum for the course is finalized, which will include regular

Pharmacy subjects as well as sufficient exposure in clinical

pharmacy practices (Hospital rounds and partial Clinical training in

4th & 5th year and complete 1 year training in the hospital in last

year of the course). The course is framed in such a way that, it can

meet international standards. . Any one can join this program with

minimum qualification of 10+2 (Science –Biology or Mathematics).

PCI will continue its B.Pharm as well as M.Pharm (Pharmacy Practice)

program as such in future. B.Pharm and M.Pharm passed candidates can

also do Pharm.D. by undergoing 3 year course framed by PCI which

will mainly concentrate on clinical exposure and Pharmacy Practice.

Dr.Santosh

In netrum , " Geer M. Ishaq " <ishaqgeer@...> wrote:

>

> Dear Members:

> I welcome you all to the new discussion, " Pharm.D. Course in

India - Prospects & Constraints " . This discussion topic has actually

been proposed by Prof. Vijay Thawani sir in the wake of a large

number of queries related to the course proping up on

various internet educational as well as non-educational fora.

Moreover there has been a lot of debate eversince Pharmacy Council

of India issued notification for starting this course in May this

year, regarding the prospects of this course in India. Though the

idea seems to have been conceived with a view to upgrade the

standards of pharmacy education in our country and make pharmacy

education more patient oriented, several quarters are of the view

that considering the fact that clinical pharmacy is still in its

infancy in India, there is hardly any scope for the new course

within India. The course is of six year duration post 10+2 and of

three years post B.Pharm.

>

> Over the next five days we will thoroughly discuss various pros

and cons of the new course as also its prospects in India and

abroad. We will also look into the various constraints being faced

today in the practice of clinical pharmacy in India and the

challenges that the new course as well as the candidates who opt for

it are going to face in years to come. Effort will be to have a free

and fair discussion without any inhibitions or restrictions

whatsoever. By the end of the discussion it is expected that some

fruitful suggestions will come up as to how this course can be

made really meaningful particularly in the Indian context and how

we can make best use of the professionals emerging out of this new

course. I wish to make one thing clear at the outset that

though PharmD means " Doctor of Pharmacy " , its pass-outs shall not

be having a priviledge of calling themselves as " doctors " or that

of prescribing drugs to patients since law of the

> land (Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, Medical Practitioners

Act, Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1942 etc) does not permit so. With

these few words I urge upon all members of this august forum to

bless us with their kind opinion about the course, its prospects,

various constraints, challenges, opportunities, strengths,

weaknesses and threats so that the younger generation desirous of

availing the benefits of this course may get educated and their

decision shall be balanced and well thought-out rather than hasty

and ill-conceived.

> With regards

>  

> Dr. Geer M. Ishaq

> Assistant Professor

> Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences

> University of Kashmir

> Srinagar-190006 (J & K)

> Ph: 9419970971, 9906673100

> Website: http://ishaqgeer.googlepages.com

>

>

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[Guest guest]

Dear Dr. Ishaq and allThank you for your initiationIt is the right time to discuss about the Pharm D CourseMany people think that the course is designed to cater the needs of aspirants who wish to become pharmacists in USAAs Dr. Ishaq rightly told, the profession of clinical pharmacy is still infant in IndiaOur college, Vaagdevi College of Pharmacy, Warangal, AP got permission to this course both six year and three year (Pharm D and Pharm D Post Baccalaureate)Many aspirants and their parents are visiting our institution to inquire about the courseThe major concerns of the parents/aspirants are1. The high fee structure. Is it worth of spending about 1 to 1.5 lakhs per year?2. Unclear prospects of the course after a long study of six years3. Is it equal to M Pharm? If not, what is the future4. Can a student, after

completion of Pharm D, work in any industry, like CROs?When compared to six year programme, the three year programme (after B Pharm) has more interesting to the B Pharm graduates. However, the candidates are first preferring M Pharm, and if they are not succeeded, then they are looking for Pharm D.Hence I feel that it is required to concentrate on these aspectsWith best wishesDr. SrisailamContact: Office: Dr. Srisailam Keshetti, Associate Professor, Vaagdevi College of Pharmacy, Ramnagar, Hanamkonda, Warangal - 506001, AP, INDIA, Ph. +91 870 2455111(O), Fax +91 870 2544949. Residence: Dr. Srisailam Keshetti, H.No. 5-11-531, Naimnagar, Hanamkonda, Warangal - 506009, AP, India, Ph. +91 98493 05115, +91 92468 94465 Alternate email id: ksrisailam@... Permanent Address: Dr. Srisailam Keshetti, H.No. 2-10-2095, Bhagya

Nagar, Karimnagar - 505001, AP, India. Ph: +91 878 6504465From: Geer M. Ishaq <ishaqgeer@...>Subject: PharmD Course in India - Prospects & Constraintsnetrum Date: Thursday, 4 December, 2008, 10:36 AM

Dear Members:

I welcome you all to the new discussion, "Pharm.D. Course in India - Prospects & Constraints" . This discussion topic has actually been proposed by Prof. Vijay Thawani sir in the wake of a large number of queries related to the course proping up on various internet educational as well as non-educational fora. Moreover there has been a lot of debate eversince Pharmacy Council of India issued notification for starting this course in May this year, regarding the prospects of this course in India. Though the idea seems to have been conceived with a view to upgrade the standards of pharmacy education in our country and make pharmacy education more patient oriented, several quarters are of the view that considering the fact that clinical pharmacy is still in its infancy in India, there is hardly any scope for the new course within India. The course is of six year duration post 10+2 and of three years post

B.Pharm.

Over the next five days we will thoroughly discuss various pros and cons of the new course as also its prospects in India and abroad. We will also look into the various constraints being faced today in the practice of clinical pharmacy in India and the challenges that the new course as well as the candidates who opt for it are going to face in years to come. Effort will be to have a free and fair discussion without any inhibitions or restrictions whatsoever. By the end of the discussion it is expected that some fruitful suggestions will come up as to how this course can be made really meaningful particularly in the Indian context and how we can make best use of the professionals emerging out of this new course. I wish to make one thing clear at the outset that though PharmD means "Doctor of Pharmacy", its pass-outs shall not be having a priviledge of calling themselves as "doctors"

or that of prescribing drugs to patients since law of the land (Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, Medical Practitioners Act, Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1942 etc) does not permit so. With these few words I urge upon all members of this august forum to bless us with their kind opinion about the course, its prospects, various constraints, challenges, opportunities, strengths, weaknesses and threats so that the younger generation desirous of availing the benefits of this course may get educated and their decision shall be balanced and well thought-out rather than hasty and ill-conceived.

With regards

Dr. Geer M. Ishaq

Assistant Professor

Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences

University of Kashmir

Srinagar-190006 (J & K)

Ph: 9419970971, 9906673100

Website: http://ishaqgeer. googlepages. com

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[Guest guest]

Hi,

I agree with Geer's contention that Pharm D will improve the

standard of Pharmacy education.

It certainly is not alternative or secondary to M Pharm. Rather it

is superior to M Pharm.

Yes the fee is stiff but then any new curriculum is costly.

No second opinion about the need of clinical Pharmcists. They are

the need of the progress.

Whether Pharm D provides the prefix of doctor or not does not matter

as long as the students qualifying will be the best pharmacists.

Vijay

>

> Dear Members:

> In the recent years pharmacy education has grown well enough to

generate highly skilled and technical manpower to man the wide

spectrum of pharmaceutical activities associated with the

manufacture and sale of medicines in the country. Pharma industry is

on an upward growth, with an expected growth of 9 per cent at 20

billion Euro business by 2015. Currently there are 600 degree and

500 diploma institutions churning out 50,000 graduates, 35,000

diploma holders, 1000 post-graduates and about 300 doctorates every

year in India.

> In spite of these facts, pharmacy profession is relatively young

in India and has passed through a chequered path. Today there is a

paradigm shift from the existing industry oriented approach to

service and patient-centered curriculum in pharmaceutical academic

parlance. There is a drastic change in the approach of Pharmacy

Council of India (PCI) to the problems plaguing the profession.

There is also a glaring attitudinal change in the student and

teachers’ perception of pharmacy profession. All these indications

auger well for the profession in realizing the ultimate objective of

producing a seven star pharmacist.

> In India, although pharmaceutical industry has advanced over the

last 25 years, the pharmacist here continues to be a backroom boy in

a pharmaceutical factory or a salesman in a retail pharmacy. This

image has to change and it can be done only by raising the

educational standards of pharmacists. There has been no serious

attempt to modify the curricula of pharmacy education in India for

several years. Whereas, manufacturing standards, quality control

practices, research activities and clinical practices in this

industry have undergone critical changes during these years.

> With these objectives in mind and with a view to raise the

standards of pharmacy education in India particularly with respect

to the emerging discipline of clinical pharmacy practice, Pharmacy

Council of India this year started a six-year integrated PharmD

course. The course is expected to produce pharmacy professionals who

could actively and directly contribute in the patient healthcare

system.

> Looking forwar to your inputs.

> With kind regards:

> Dr. Geer M. Ishaq

> Assistant Professor

> Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences

> University of Kashmir

> Srinagar-190006 (J & K)

> Ph: 9419970971, 9906673100

> Website: http://ishaqgeer.googlepages.com

>

>

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