PharmD Course in India - Kind Attn: Mr. Nagori

December 4, 2008

Dear A. R. Nagori:

Thanks for more feedback. Some of the queries raised by you have been answered to some extent in the article by Prof. S.Balasubramaniam (Please refer Message No. 6062, Pharmabiz Article published on Nov. 5th, 2008). I wish to reproduce a few relevant portions from the article here which address the queries raised by you. "they have initiated the work, even before starting this Pharm. D programme, by writing to Medical Council of India, sometime back, to start "Department of Pharmacy Services' in all the medical college hospitals. What happened to that request sent to MCI? PCI must come forward and publish the reply from MCI or the follow up action of PCI and/or MCI took on this matter. MCI must appreciate the role of a postgraduate pharmacist in safe and rational use of drugs, Pharmacovigilance and therapeutic drug monitoring, ADR and drug-drug interactions etc. Hence, PCI must constitute a committee and open dialogue with MCI, if

necessary, in all other important forums of doctors like IMA etc. It must convince the doctors that the services of highly qualified pharmacists are to help them by providing drug information, patients medication history and patient counselling etc. It is high time the PCI must start working on these lines so that when these Pharm D graduates come out of the colleges, the Department of Pharmacy Services will be available in all the big hospitals. Let us hope our PCI will take it in right spirit and proceed with suitable steps and let our voice of support give them the needed boost and energy to fight for a noble cause!"

So far as you apprehension regarding attempts to make fresh courses as money-making machines is concerned, in one of my earlier posts I tried to draw the attention to a career option listed in "India Today" magazine dated October 31st, 2008, wherein PharmD had been shown as a hot new option promosing to fetch Rs. 2.5 lakhs per month as initial salary to these candidates. How many members feel this lucrative offer is based on rational optimism. Regarding PharmD candidates to be allowed to prescribe medicines, I think it will be too early at this stage to demand that when the admissions to the new course have just begun and the first batch of trained professional will not be ready before 2011. As I mentioned earlier law of the land including Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Indian Medical Council Act, Medical Practitioners Act does not permit that as of now. However considering the skills acquired by the new

professionals and their competence, we can demand the same in future to a limited extent.

Notwithstanding all these facts, the whole idea of starting this new course is to give impetus to the clinical pharmacy services and generate trained and highly skilled manpower to fill the existing void by imparting rigorous and focussed training to candidates in clinical pharmacy practice. The whole exercise has been initiated with a noble cause and mission in mind rather than for generating money making machines. The efforts of PCI need to be lauded and appreciated in opening up new vistas in this arena in our country. We all have to work in tandem to achieve our desired goals and concerted efforts from all stake-holders are needed to change the pathetic situation existing at present. Therefore we all must do our bit to make this programme a big success. I have listed the opportunities for PharmD pass-outs in my reply to your previous post.

Looking forwar to your continued participation in this discussion.

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

From: abdul rehman nagori <pseudofarji@...>netrum Sent: Thursday, 4 December, 2008 11:59:49 PMSubject: Re: PharmD Course in India - Kind Attn: Mr. Nagori

one more point is that why the PCI n MCI can't work collectively for providing the PharmD professionals the right to prescribe drugs for basic ailments as these will be having a thorough understanding of the drugs and the expertise in drug interaction , if this can happen then some help will occur to our Indian Health scenario which is having a deficit in the doctor : population ratio, n the Pharm D professionals can work better then those RMP's working in the rural India (without MBBS degree) as PharmD will be having a real life hospital experience/ internship .Such powers are given in some developed countries, then why not in India. for allowing that we need to make some changes to the laws ,but that cant be done until both PCI n MCI work collectively on this issue.- Recently few universities have started the courses of M.Pharm in pharmacovigilance/ clinical

pharmacy/ hospital pharmacy/Pharmacy practice , but when all these courses are going to compete for quite same job opportunities then why these different degrees are given approval , is that some money game where seats in each new branch gives college extra income (getting approval for new course is quite easy comparing to getting approval for increasing the seats in existing branch) ??? and the point is that the main target of all these courses are hospitals which still not having adequate facilities to establish a pharmacy department, while the main source for pharma job in India is still the Industries which are completly overlooked in these courses else to the clinical trial industry.Regards, A.Rehman NagoriM.Pharm (Pharma Chem) ScholarNMIMS Univ, MumbaiVisit Pharma-World Website

From: Geer M. Ishaq <ishaqgeer (DOT) co.in>netrumgroups (DOT) comSent: Thursday, 4 December, 2008 10:42:17 PMSubject: PharmD Course in India - Kind Attn: Dr. Nagori

Dear A. R. Nagori:

Concerns enlisted by you are all genuine and equally shared by me. It will be of help if PCI, particularly its dynamic president Prof. B. Suresh who also happens to be the present president of IPA comes forward with its point of view in these matters, perhaps by answering these frequently asked questions in the â€œPresident Speaksâ€ Column of monthly official publication of IPA, namely â€œPharma Timesâ€. However it is largely believed that the Pharm D students can pursue career opportunities in various fields including institutional practice, community pharmacy practice, managed care, drug information and long term care, consultant role, clinical liaisons with pharmaceutical industry, patient education and clinical trial research. Moreover to run the Pharm D course a college is required to have a 350-bedded hospital of its own. Even if

half of the total number of about 600 pharmacy colleges in India develop their own 350-bedded hospitals, a good number of PharmD pass-outs can find suitable placement in these hospitals besides other new as well as existing hospitals in private, corporate and government sector.

The Pharm D degree provides registered pharmacists with the knowledge and skills of current diagnostic methods, treatment modalities, drug delivery system, therapeutics outcome, pharmaco-economics, and pharmacotherapy to meet the rapid changes in the healthcare system. The new course is also intended to bring Indian pharmacy education at par with the western model and will provide opportunities for Indian students to practice in foreign countries too. Hitherto, the four-year programme was not recognised in Western countries, thus severely affecting the job opportunities for Indian Pharmacy graduates. So PCI contemplated this 6 Year PharmD Course so that it will be accepted abroad.

Moreover day by day, Pharmacovigilance is gaining ground in India with more regional and peripheral centres being set up across the country. Every pharmaceutical company is likely to have its own pharmacovigilance department in future thus opening up vistas for PharmD pass-outs in the pharmaceutical industry too. Besides these candidates can also be of tremendous help in hospitals as well as pharmaceutical industry in carrying out pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, therapeutic drug monitoring and adverse drug reaction monitoring and post-marketing surveillance studies. However when it comes to applying for government jobs like Drug Inspectors where B.Pharm or M.Pharm. is the requisite qualification, pharmD pass-outs may have a tough day due to statutory qualifications. Necessary amendments shall be needed to accommodate them in

government service where B.Pharm/M.Pharm is the qualification prescribed.Keep posting, 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

From: abdul rehman nagori <pseudofarji>netrumgroups (DOT) comSent: Thursday, 4 December, 2008 8:06:45 PMSubject: Re: PharmD Course in India

Thanks Dr Geer for the attached article.It is indeed a very good and well informed article on the Job prospect of the PharmD in India.some queries i have regarding this course are :- does the PharmD professionals will be equivalent in education as the PhD or PG or are they going to just be a graduate after putting 6 years ??- It is less likely that in next 3 years the hospital pharmacy services in India going to be upto the International Standards, so in that case what are the other options to them ?- What is the future of the M.Pharma in Clinical Pharmacy / Hospital Pharmacy / Pharmacy Practice courses that are run by various universities , these professionals are finding it hard to get jobs in hospitals in India and most of them shifting to CRO's . then in this case what will be the future of these courses ?- the current B.Pharma course is

mainly Industry oriented , and so they can get jobs in the industries , but the PharmD syllabus is completly designed as pharmacy practice intensive, so that means that these persons are devoid of any job opportunity in the large pharmaceutical formulation industry of India.- one good option in sight is the clinical trials as the related laws are agreed to be changed to allow the clinical trials on large scale in India, but already those various diploma courses are there as well as the Pharmacology MPharm students are there, so why the course is then started at a fee that the students are not going to pay back to bank in even 10 years after completing the course (since most of the students now study by bank loans), when the other courses are there that can be completed at a less fee and still make u eligible for same job opportunity or may be more??

- Its clear that the major intention behind starting this course in India is NAPLEX exam for practicing Pharmacy in US, NAPLEX exam has changed its rule and according to new rules only those professionals are allowed to write the exam that have done 6 year degree in Pharmacy. but then the question is how many students from India write that exam and willing to practice in US ??The decision to start the course is very good and appreciated, but my opinions is that the parents and students must be clearly told about the scope of the PharmD course and the current scenario in its field in India.but instead of that the private universities starting the course created a hype that the course is very new and very good ,with a very lucrative earning potential Regards, Abdul Rehman NagoriM.Pharm (Pharma Chem) ScholarNMIMS Univ, MumbaiVisit Pharma-World Website

From: ishaqgeer <ishaqgeer (DOT) co.in>netrumgroups (DOT) comSent: Thursday, 4 December, 2008 7:29:22 PMSubject: PharmD Course in India - Kind Attn: Dr. Vijay

Dear Sir:

Thanks a lot for your expert opinion on the topic. Truly well qualified, highly skilled and competent clinical pharmacy professionals in our hospitals is the need of the hour, a void that the proposed new course is expected to fill by providing rigorously trained professionals vide six years of focussed training. First batch of PharmD pass-outs will come out in the year 2014 and first batch of post-baccalaurate PharmD candidates shall be ready by the year 2011. Though the situation at present does not seem to be quite promising, it is very likely to change for good by the year 2014. It will be quite rational to expect a paradigm shift in our hospital pharmacy services by that time keeping in view the worldwide growing awareness about the role that a clinical pharmacist can play in dissemination of patient healthcare. With more and more new hospitals coming up in every state, private healthcare sector flourishing at a great pace, greater

government investments in healthcare and sophistication of drug delivery services, it seems that by the year 2014, situation will not be as bad as it is today for trained clinical pharmacists. Hopefully there will be good number of opportunities for the budding new professionals in India. I am stating these facts in the wake of a large number of reservations being expressed regarding the opportunities available to PharmD pass-outs. One such article published in Pharmabiz on November 5th, 2008 is reproduced below for the interest and interaction of netrum members:

With regards

Dr. Geer M. Ishaq

Welcome Pharm D! Where is opportunity?

Wednesday, November 05, 2008 08:00 IST Prof. S. BalasubramanianPharmacy Council of India (PCI) has recently opened a new era in the pharmacy education by starting the Pharm D programme. No doubt, it is a welcome step that is supposed to take the pharmacy profession to a higher level, hitherto unknown to Indian pharmacists. Definitely the PCI president Dr B Suresh and his team deserve appreciation from all the pharmacists. They did a wonderful job in persuading Govt of India to permit such a course. On going through the requirements, the facilities and faculties, syllabus and training published in the website of PCI, one can imagine the homework done by PCI and the committee formed for the purpose.By starting this course, this author's suggestion made 5 years ago for bifurcating B. Pharm and undergraduate level specialization ["Re-energizing pharmacy education - A proposal" Pharmabiz

- 14-8-2003 and "Pharmacy education at cross roads - challenges ahead" -Presentation in 55th IPC Chennai] is being implemented though in a different way. So far so good! However, there are few unavoidable questions which creep into the mind of an onlooker. The foremost one being, where these Pharm. D holders will be employed in India? Without any job provided for these people how the course could succeed? Leave alone educated fore thinking people who asks questions on each and every thing. Think of lay parent who wishes to admit his son or daughter in this course. The first question he asks on introducing this course to him is where my son or daughter will get the job? Is it not? The next question may be on the salary level.What answer the colleges which are starting this course going to give to the anticipating parents? As of now, Pharm D course seems to satisfy the requirements of foreign employment. Well. Then the next question is how

much percentage of these students will get job in abroad? Without any opportunity locally, where they will gain experience, till they go abroad for employment? These questions are not to discourage the people who did a nice job by starting the course, on the other hand, to point out the unfinished and important remaining part of the work, which they must follow it up.Of course knowingly or unknowingly, they have initiated the work, even before starting this Pharm. D programme, by writing to Medical Council of India, sometime back, to start "Department of Pharmacy Services' in all the medical college hospitals. What happened to that request sent to MCI? PCI must come forward and publish the reply from MCI or the follow up action of PCI and/or MCI took on this matter. PCI has knocked at the correct door, but the door is not yet opened. What it proposes to do next?Why our consumer organizations are keeping quiet? Consumers are being

denied the services of graduate and postgraduates pharmacists they deserve. First they should be educated. When modern, potent and complicated medicines are used in hospitals, why a qualified pharmacist is denied his role? Why our MCI and honourable doctors are adamant to employ a bullock cart driver to drive their Benz? MCI must be appreciated the role of a postgraduate pharmacist in safe and rational use of drug, Pharmacovigilance and therapeutic drug monitoring, ADR and drug-drug interactions etc.Lack of ADR monitoring in IndiaIn fact, in a recent IMA Conference at Hyderabad, a foreign invitee pointed out the lack of ADR monitoring in India. It is natural when there is vacuum and nobody appointed to look for ADR and its monitoring. In developed countries, it is being done by [graduate] clinical pharmacists. The Conference might have forgotten that we employ only diploma in pharmacy people as pharmacists here in India and there is no

clinical pharmacy services, why, even pharmacy department in our hospitals!Hence, PCI must constitute a committee and open dialogue with MCI, if necessary, in all other important forums of doctors like IMA etc. It must convince the doctors that the services of highly qualified pharmacists are to help them by providing drug information, patients medication history and patient counselling etc.It is high time the PCI must start working on these lines so that when these Pharm D graduates come out of the colleges, the Department of Pharmacy Services will be available in all the big hospitals. Given the slow movement of files in Govt offices it is not too earlier, as some may think, because Post Baccalaureate, i.e., lateral entry B. Pharm graduates into the Pharm D course will come out in 3 years.Already there are M. Pharm Pharmacy Practice and M. Pharm Pharmacology graduates available, who can also be employed in place of Pharm. D

graduates, as HODs of these departments as an interim or permanent arrangement. Naturally we have to strike a balance between these postgraduates [M. Pharm] and Pharm. D graduates as both undergo a 6 years pharmacy education after +2 they may have to be treated equally. Because of this M. Pharm studies some industry-oriented subjects in their B. Pharm, they can go to industries as well, whereas the Pharm. D holders are specially made for hospital job. Hence, without creating the job preparing manpower for it is akin to putting the cart before the horse!Otherwise the syllabus for Pharm. D programme seems to be adequate, may be in line with the expectations of the developed countries that employ these graduates in their hospitals. One glaring omission noticed by this author is absence of the subject 'alternative systems of medicines' especially our traditional systems like Ayurveda and Siddha in the syllabus. One chapter on this subject if

available in Pharmacognosy paper of II year Pharm D cannot be sufficient as the stakes involved are higher. Even the Western and other countries also use Phytomedicines in large scale. The medicines too have side effects, toxicity due to improper formulation etc. requiring monitoring by pharmacists similar to allopathic drugs.Hence "Phytotherapy" as a subject should be included in the syllabus. As there are only three subjects in the 5th year of the course, it can be inducted there. This also will give a local look to the course and leads to some service to our own people by these "Doctors in Pharmacy". It helps to avoid the image that the course is suitable only for foreign employment.Let us hope our PCI will take it in right spirit and proceed with suitable steps and let our voice of support give them the needed boost and energy to fight for a noble cause!(The author is Ex President of IPGA, Madurai)> >> > 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 >

teachersÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ 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> > > > > > Share files, take polls, and make new friends - all under > one roof. Go to http://in.promos. / groups/> >>

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December 5, 2008

Hello,Ya those articles and all available info shows that PCI is working actively for the upliftment of pharmacy profession in India.but still the side of MCI is not clear, cause until PCI and MCI work together ,the Pharmacy profession cant be upgraded from its present status where its value in Indian scenario is just of a dispensing agent and no way equivalent to a doctor, while in the developed countries the Pharmacist is taken with same respect as that a doctor.- although i dont want to comment on any profession as such, but is that the MCI and the allied loby trying to keep pharmacist on the backfoot ??PharmD is a step from PCI to bring the two allied profession of Pharmacists n Doctors closer, but why the MCI has not came ahead with an enthusiasm to give the

due credit to the course yet??another thing in my mind is that , I hope that we will be getting many questions that are still unanswered during this discussion and whose answers can be given by the presidents of PCI n MCI , so is there any such possibility that the moderator of this discussion or somebody who knows the presidents personally can ask them about their replies for the queries ?? by this way we can also show our suggestions and feedback to those organization on this topic ,which may prove beneficial for the Indian healthcare system future.Regards, A.Rehman NagoriM.Pharm (Pharma Chem) ScholarNMIMS Univ, Mumbai

Visit Pharma-World WebsiteFrom: Geer M. Ishaq <ishaqgeer@...>netrum Sent: Friday, 5 December, 2008 12:44:42 PMSubject: PharmD Course in India - Kind Attn: Mr. Nagori

Dear A. R. Nagori:

Thanks for more feedback. Some of the queries raised by you have been answered to some extent in the article by Prof. S.Balasubramaniam (Please refer Message No. 6062, Pharmabiz Article published on Nov. 5th, 2008). I wish to reproduce a few relevant portions from the article here which address the queries raised by you. "they have initiated the work, even before starting this Pharm. D programme, by writing to Medical Council of India, sometime back, to start "Department of Pharmacy Services' in all the medical college hospitals. What happened to that request sent to MCI? PCI must come forward and publish the reply from MCI or the follow up action of PCI and/or MCI took on this matter. MCI must appreciate the role of a postgraduate pharmacist in safe and rational use of drugs, Pharmacovigilance and therapeutic drug monitoring, ADR and drug-drug interactions etc. Hence, PCI must constitute a committee and open dialogue with MCI, if

necessary, in all other important forums of doctors like IMA etc. It must convince the doctors that the services of highly qualified pharmacists are to help them by providing drug information, patients medication history and patient counselling etc. It is high time the PCI must start working on these lines so that when these Pharm D graduates come out of the colleges, the Department of Pharmacy Services will be available in all the big hospitals. Let us hope our PCI will take it in right spirit and proceed with suitable steps and let our voice of support give them the needed boost and energy to fight for a noble cause!"

So far as you apprehension regarding attempts to make fresh courses as money-making machines is concerned, in one of my earlier posts I tried to draw the attention to a career option listed in "India Today" magazine dated October 31st, 2008, wherein PharmD had been shown as a hot new option promosing to fetch Rs. 2.5 lakhs per month as initial salary to these candidates. How many members feel this lucrative offer is based on rational optimism. Regarding PharmD candidates to be allowed to prescribe medicines, I think it will be too early at this stage to demand that when the admissions to the new course have just begun and the first batch of trained professional will not be ready before 2011. As I mentioned earlier law of the land including Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Indian Medical Council Act, Medical Practitioners Act does not permit that as of now. However considering the skills acquired by the new

professionals and their competence, we can demand the same in future to a limited extent.

Notwithstanding all these facts, the whole idea of starting this new course is to give impetus to the clinical pharmacy services and generate trained and highly skilled manpower to fill the existing void by imparting rigorous and focussed training to candidates in clinical pharmacy practice. The whole exercise has been initiated with a noble cause and mission in mind rather than for generating money making machines. The efforts of PCI need to be lauded and appreciated in opening up new vistas in this arena in our country. We all have to work in tandem to achieve our desired goals and concerted efforts from all stake-holders are needed to change the pathetic situation existing at present. Therefore we all must do our bit to make this programme a big success. I have listed the opportunities for PharmD pass-outs in my reply to your previous post.

Looking forwar to your continued participation in this discussion.

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

From: abdul rehman nagori <pseudofarji>netrumgroups (DOT) comSent: Thursday, 4 December, 2008 11:59:49 PMSubject: Re: PharmD Course in India - Kind Attn: Mr. Nagori

one more point is that why the PCI n MCI can't work collectively for providing the PharmD professionals the right to prescribe drugs for basic ailments as these will be having a thorough understanding of the drugs and the expertise in drug interaction , if this can happen then some help will occur to our Indian Health scenario which is having a deficit in the doctor : population ratio, n the Pharm D professionals can work better then those RMP's working in the rural India (without MBBS degree) as PharmD will be having a real life hospital experience/ internship .Such powers are given in some developed countries, then why not in India. for allowing that we need to make some changes to the laws ,but that cant be done until both PCI n MCI work collectively on this issue.- Recently few universities have started the courses of M.Pharm in pharmacovigilance/ clinical

pharmacy/ hospital pharmacy/Pharmacy practice , but when all these courses are going to compete for quite same job opportunities then why these different degrees are given approval , is that some money game where seats in each new branch gives college extra income (getting approval for new course is quite easy comparing to getting approval for increasing the seats in existing branch) ??? and the point is that the main target of all these courses are hospitals which still not having adequate facilities to establish a pharmacy department, while the main source for pharma job in India is still the Industries which are completly overlooked in these courses else to the clinical trial industry.Regards, A.Rehman NagoriM.Pharm (Pharma Chem) ScholarNMIMS Univ, MumbaiVisit Pharma-World Website

From: Geer M. Ishaq <ishaqgeer (DOT) co.in>netrumgroups (DOT) comSent: Thursday, 4 December, 2008 10:42:17 PMSubject: PharmD Course in India - Kind Attn: Dr. Nagori

Dear A. R. Nagori:

Concerns enlisted by you are all genuine and equally shared by me. It will be of help if PCI, particularly its dynamic president Prof. B. Suresh who also happens to be the present president of IPA comes forward with its point of view in these matters, perhaps by answering these frequently asked questions in the â€œPresident Speaksâ€ Column of monthly official publication of IPA, namely â€œPharma Timesâ€. However it is largely believed that the Pharm D students can pursue career opportunities in various fields including institutional practice, community pharmacy practice, managed care, drug information and long term care, consultant role, clinical liaisons with pharmaceutical industry, patient education and clinical trial research. Moreover to run the Pharm D course a college is required to have a 350-bedded hospital of its own. Even if

half of the total number of about 600 pharmacy colleges in India develop their own 350-bedded hospitals, a good number of PharmD pass-outs can find suitable placement in these hospitals besides other new as well as existing hospitals in private, corporate and government sector.

The Pharm D degree provides registered pharmacists with the knowledge and skills of current diagnostic methods, treatment modalities, drug delivery system, therapeutics outcome, pharmaco-economics, and pharmacotherapy to meet the rapid changes in the healthcare system. The new course is also intended to bring Indian pharmacy education at par with the western model and will provide opportunities for Indian students to practice in foreign countries too. Hitherto, the four-year programme was not recognised in Western countries, thus severely affecting the job opportunities for Indian Pharmacy graduates. So PCI contemplated this 6 Year PharmD Course so that it will be accepted abroad.

Moreover day by day, Pharmacovigilance is gaining ground in India with more regional and peripheral centres being set up across the country. Every pharmaceutical company is likely to have its own pharmacovigilance department in future thus opening up vistas for PharmD pass-outs in the pharmaceutical industry too. Besides these candidates can also be of tremendous help in hospitals as well as pharmaceutical industry in carrying out pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, therapeutic drug monitoring and adverse drug reaction monitoring and post-marketing surveillance studies. However when it comes to applying for government jobs like Drug Inspectors where B.Pharm or M.Pharm. is the requisite qualification, pharmD pass-outs may have a tough day due to statutory qualifications. Necessary amendments shall be needed to accommodate them in

government service where B.Pharm/M.Pharm is the qualification prescribed.Keep posting, 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

From: abdul rehman nagori <pseudofarji>netrumgroups (DOT) comSent: Thursday, 4 December, 2008 8:06:45 PMSubject: Re: PharmD Course in India

Thanks Dr Geer for the attached article.It is indeed a very good and well informed article on the Job prospect of the PharmD in India.some queries i have regarding this course are :- does the PharmD professionals will be equivalent in education as the PhD or PG or are they going to just be a graduate after putting 6 years ??- It is less likely that in next 3 years the hospital pharmacy services in India going to be upto the International Standards, so in that case what are the other options to them ?- What is the future of the M.Pharma in Clinical Pharmacy / Hospital Pharmacy / Pharmacy Practice courses that are run by various universities , these professionals are finding it hard to get jobs in hospitals in India and most of them shifting to CRO's . then in this case what will be the future of these courses ?- the current B.Pharma course is

mainly Industry oriented , and so they can get jobs in the industries , but the PharmD syllabus is completly designed as pharmacy practice intensive, so that means that these persons are devoid of any job opportunity in the large pharmaceutical formulation industry of India.- one good option in sight is the clinical trials as the related laws are agreed to be changed to allow the clinical trials on large scale in India, but already those various diploma courses are there as well as the Pharmacology MPharm students are there, so why the course is then started at a fee that the students are not going to pay back to bank in even 10 years after completing the course (since most of the students now study by bank loans), when the other courses are there that can be completed at a less fee and still make u eligible for same job opportunity or may be more??

- Its clear that the major intention behind starting this course in India is NAPLEX exam for practicing Pharmacy in US, NAPLEX exam has changed its rule and according to new rules only those professionals are allowed to write the exam that have done 6 year degree in Pharmacy. but then the question is how many students from India write that exam and willing to practice in US ??The decision to start the course is very good and appreciated, but my opinions is that the parents and students must be clearly told about the scope of the PharmD course and the current scenario in its field in India.but instead of that the private universities starting the course created a hype that the course is very new and very good ,with a very lucrative earning potential Regards, Abdul Rehman NagoriM.Pharm (Pharma Chem) ScholarNMIMS Univ, MumbaiVisit Pharma-World Website

From: ishaqgeer <ishaqgeer (DOT) co.in>netrumgroups (DOT) comSent: Thursday, 4 December, 2008 7:29:22 PMSubject: PharmD Course in India - Kind Attn: Dr. Vijay

Dear Sir:

Thanks a lot for your expert opinion on the topic. Truly well qualified, highly skilled and competent clinical pharmacy professionals in our hospitals is the need of the hour, a void that the proposed new course is expected to fill by providing rigorously trained professionals vide six years of focussed training. First batch of PharmD pass-outs will come out in the year 2014 and first batch of post-baccalaurate PharmD candidates shall be ready by the year 2011. Though the situation at present does not seem to be quite promising, it is very likely to change for good by the year 2014. It will be quite rational to expect a paradigm shift in our hospital pharmacy services by that time keeping in view the worldwide growing awareness about the role that a clinical pharmacist can play in dissemination of patient healthcare. With more and more new hospitals coming up in every state, private healthcare sector flourishing at a great pace, greater

government investments in healthcare and sophistication of drug delivery services, it seems that by the year 2014, situation will not be as bad as it is today for trained clinical pharmacists. Hopefully there will be good number of opportunities for the budding new professionals in India. I am stating these facts in the wake of a large number of reservations being expressed regarding the opportunities available to PharmD pass-outs. One such article published in Pharmabiz on November 5th, 2008 is reproduced below for the interest and interaction of netrum members:

With regards

Dr. Geer M. Ishaq

Welcome Pharm D! Where is opportunity?

Wednesday, November 05, 2008 08:00 IST Prof. S. BalasubramanianPharmacy Council of India (PCI) has recently opened a new era in the pharmacy education by starting the Pharm D programme. No doubt, it is a welcome step that is supposed to take the pharmacy profession to a higher level, hitherto unknown to Indian pharmacists. Definitely the PCI president Dr B Suresh and his team deserve appreciation from all the pharmacists. They did a wonderful job in persuading Govt of India to permit such a course. On going through the requirements, the facilities and faculties, syllabus and training published in the website of PCI, one can imagine the homework done by PCI and the committee formed for the purpose.By starting this course, this author's suggestion made 5 years ago for bifurcating B. Pharm and undergraduate level specialization ["Re-energizing pharmacy education - A proposal"

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