Stressing on the need to increase the quality of pharmacy education in the colleges, Ramesh Adepu, chairman of Hospital Pharmacy Division of Indian Pharmaceutical Association, said that pharmacy students must increase their knowledge on drugs and must be regularly trained to understand patient case records to find out adverse drug reactions at the hospitals.
While attending a one-day workshop on ‘Clinical pharmacy skills development programme' organized by Sultan-ul-Uloom College of Pharmacy in Hyderabad, the chairman stressed on the need for more training programmes for the pharmacy students during their course period so that they will get practical knowledge of patient case records, drugs prescribed and assessment of the drug reactions on the patients. “Practical knowledge is more important than theoretical aspects, if the pharmacists are not able to understand the case sheets of a patient and the various kinds of drugs prescribed to a patient, he cannot be able to assess the drug reactions on a patient. Therefore it is high time that the colleges must stress on practical training than giving importance to theory,” observed Ramesh Adepu.
Anupama Koneru, Principal of Sultan-Ul-Uloom College, addressing the inaugural function of the workshop sought the help of experts and experienced personalities to encourage the students to strengthen their knowledge about drugs, their dosage, adverse effects, drug interactions and generic drugs.
Participating in the programme, Ramesh Adepu helped the students to understand patient case record forms to identify if there are any drugs which are harmful to the patient or unnecessarily prescribed or lead to potential drug interactions. “Particularly, the doctors while treating a patient prescribe different kinds of medicines based on the patient’s complaints and symptoms; however they may not be aware of the internal drug reactions and may underestimate the side effects which may later become the major problem for the patient. This is where pharmacists should act and identify the adverse drug reactions and report to the concerned authorities to rectify and save the patient from potential damage,” opined Ramesh.
Overall the one day workshop helped the participant students to realize their role in patient counseling as pharmacists and the importance of acquiring all round knowledge in patient care.