Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) has constituted a Woking Group comprising of experts in pharma education to suggest ways and means to improve the educational system in India. The step is expected to help it become part of the Global Framework of Pharma Education of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), a 120-member global body of national associations of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists.

Once India becomes part of FIP's global framework, it will be a big boost to the pharma education in the country as the students passing out of the Indian pharma educational institutions will get equal status in all the member countries of the FIP. The educational qualifications of Indian institutions will be recognised in all the member countries of the FIP. There will be huge increase in the job opportunities for the pharma students in the country.

PCI vice-president PP Sharma is heading the Working Group. Other members of the Group are Dr SY Gave, Dr Parthasarathy, Dr Ravi and M Venkat Reddy. The Group will submit its findings to the PCI within two to three months, sources said.

Recognising the need to support and strengthen pharmacy education worldwide, FIP, along with WHO and UNESCO, formed the Pharmacy Education Taskforce. The Taskforce is a coordinating body of organisations, agencies, institutions, and individuals with the shared goal of catalysing actions to develop pharmacy education in the world.

The purpose of the Taskforce is to oversee the implementation of the Pharmacy Education Taskforce Action Plan 2008-2010. The Action Plan aims to enable the sustainability of a pharmacy workforce that is relevant to local needs. The Action Plan is dedicated to three domains of action: quality assurance, academic and institutional capacity, and competency and vision for pharmacy education.

For becoming part of the FIP global framework, Indian pharma education should be of international standard. The newly formed Working Group will find ways and means in this regard.

FIP's priorities have expanded both literally and figuratively to meet the needs and expectations of the profession in expanding healthcare services and integrating emerging scientific developments. Changes in pharmacy and the emergence of Pharmacy Practice as a cornerstone of the profession have led FIP to become globally visible for its advocacy on behalf of the role of the pharmacist in providing healthcare, while still maintaining its grounding in the pharmaceutical sciences.

Through the work of various individuals, working groups and taskforces, FIP initiates and implements numerous projects and programmes that are making a significant impact within global pharmacy practice, pharmaceutical sciences and community health.