Students taking diploma in pharmacy (D Pharm ) will be required to take a two year ‘bridge course’ in pharmacy before being allowed to register with the State pharmacy councils from 2017.
With this, all the new pharmacists will have to hold a degree-level qualification to enter the profession after two years. The aim is to increase the professional skills of the pharmacists and to upgrade their qualification and standard into a common degree level all over the country.
The course will take off from January 2015 and it is christened as ‘Bachelor Degree in Pharmacy Practice’ (B Pharm Practice), according to Dr B Suresh, president, PCI.
Those working in hospital pharmacies and community pharmacies can join the course, but the candidates should have a working experience of four years in the field.
After two years, for registration with respective pharmacy councils, the pharmacists should have a degree in pharmacy/pharmacy practice as minimum qualification and they only allowed to work as registered pharmacists in India. However, the existing registered D Pharm holders can continue in their career and their enrolment with the council will not be terminated, said the president.
Dr Suresh made this announcement while delivering the inaugural lecture at the National Pharmaceutical Scientific Seminar at Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday, December 6. The programme was organised by Kerala Pharmacy Council to commemorate the 8th death anniversary of Dr KG Adiyodi, the first president of the council.
Pharmacy colleges providing pharmacy degree and PG programmes are eligible to apply for approval from PCI to begin the course which is recommended as a link short term course for the benefit of diploma holders to raise their educational level to that of degree. The colleges can conduct the course on part-time basis either as evening course or on Saturdays and Sundays from morning to evening. A total of 180 hours of lecture-classes is required to complete one year syllabus. The colleges can tie up with universities for conducting the examinations.
Patient-counselling, hospital pharmacy management, community pharmacy management, pharmacovigilance and drug information dispensation are the major subjects selected for the course. There is difference in the syllabuses of the regular B Pharm course and of the B Pharm Practice course. The fee of the course will be decided by the PCI and intimated to the colleges in next week.