In a landmark decision that will open up a plethora of opportunities for the Indian pharmacy students in the domestic and international arena, the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has decided to introduce Pharm.D and Pharm.D (Post Bacclaureate) courses for the first time in the country from the coming academic year. The curriculum for these courses will be tuned in such way to match with such courses at international level, especially that of USA.
After dilly-dallying on the issue for the last some years, a decision to this effect was taken by the PCI at its Central Council meeting held in New Delhi recently. The PCI will soon send its decision to the Union Health Ministry for notification. "The PCI has decided to introduce Pharm.D programmes in the country from the coming academic year. Since the PCI has the regulatory power to introduce new courses, there is no need to amend the Pharmacy Act. We are sending our decision to the Union Health Ministry to notify it", PCI president Dr B Suresh said.
"We have already discussed the issue with Union Health Minister Ramadoss and he has shown keen interest in it", he added.
All the pharmacy colleges in the country which fulfil the parameters set by the PCI like highly qualified faculty, spacious and quality labs, enough space to accommodate additional students, etc can start these courses from the coming academic year. While the Pharm.D course will be a six-year doctorate course after 10+2 on the lines of Pharm.D in US, the Pharm.D (Post Bacclaureate) programme will be of three years duration, which is meant for the B Pharm students who aspire for higher education.
The Pharm.D (Post Bacclaureate) programme has been introduced to serve as an interim measure and will be conducted till the first batch of Pharma.D students pass out. In both these courses, besides experiential rotation, one complete year will be devoted to residency. The M Pharm students can also take Pharm.D degree by undergoing an additional one year residency. Greater emphasis will be laid on clinical pharmacy practice, practice management, drug information, professional communication, etc which are integral part of any community healthcare network.
The introduction of these programmes with greater emphasis on clinical practice in line with the changes in the healthcare environment will not only open doors for new employment opportunities for the pharmacists in hospitals & community pharmacy and clinical practice but will also maximise the pharmacists' contribution in pharmaceutical and patient healthcare. Since these programmes will be of global standards comparable to similar programmes in foreign countries like US, Indian pharmacists will get good opportunities in the international pharmacy market.
The new courses would be of immense help to the Indian pharmacists going abroad to get employment as community pharmacists. In countries like US, Pharm.D is mandatory for working in pharmacies, and therefore the aspirants have no choice other than to choose a job with the industry. Presently, a large number of Indian pharmacists working in the US are kept out of community pharmacy jobs since 2003.