Career Option in Pharmacy

pharmacy, an integral part of the healthcare system, involves expertise on preparation, storage and dispensing drug formulations, as well as rational use of drug therapy. Today, there are many specializations in this field and ithas become a multifaceted, lucrative job option with opportunities across the world. A pharmacist complements medical professionals in all possible ways.

Education Details & Eligibility:

Eligibility: 10+2 with 50% in PCB.
To start your career in pharmacy, you need to opt for:
Pharma.D ( Doctor of pharmacy an integrated course 6 years including 1 year internship in hospitals)
B.Pharm (bachelor of pharmacy)
D.Pharm ( diploma in pharmacy)

Course Duration:

D.Pharm: It's a two-year diploma course in pharmacy.
B.Pharm: It's a complete four-year degree course in
Pharm.D: 6 years integrated course.

Pharmacy Syllabus:

Pharmaceutical chemistry emphasizes the application of basic chemical sciences to pharmacy. It deals with chemicals used as medicines - their identification, synthesis, measurements in amalgamation, isolation and purification. It also pays attention to the processes and tests used to determine the purity and strength of a chemical or its pharmaceutical form. The pharmacy student learns, for example, how to find out if aspirin is pure, or how to determine how much vitamin C is contained in a particular solution or tablet.

Pharmacognosy is the study of identification, source of and production of "natural drugs" or crude drugs those obtained from plants or animals, either directly or indirectly. For example, with a drug such as quinine, this study involves the source, commercial production, the marketing, the chief pure chemicals contained in the drug, and made use of the drug and its derivatives. Crude drugs are a major source for new drug molecules with great medicinal uses.

Pharmacology is concerned with understanding the action of drugs in the body. Attention is given to the effects of various doses of each medicinal substance and to the different ways in which medicine can be introduced into the body. The effects of poisons and the means to overcome them are studied in toxicology. Generally, animal tests are required to learn the physiological action of drugs.

Pharmaceutics - it encompasses areas like methods to characterize (physicochemical) drugs, excipients and dosage forms; preparations and dispensing of some extemporaneous galenicals; production of solids such as powders, tablets, capsules, liquids such as suspension, emulsions, drops, injectables and semisolid dosage forms in large scale, their formulation, machines used and quality control during production.

The total expense for doing D.Pharm and B.Pharm are as follows:

• D.Pharm: Rs 40, 000/year
• B.Pharm: Rs 50, 000/year
• Pharma.D: Rs 1,00,000/year

For details on colleges please visit www.StudyGuideIndia.com

Pharmacists distribute prescription drugs to individuals. They also advise their patients, as well as physicians and other health practitioners, on the selection, dosages, interactions, and side effects of medications. Pharmacists monitor the health and progress of patients to ensure the safe and effective use of medication. Compounding—the actual mixing of ingredients to form medications—is a small part of a pharmacist’s practice, because most medicines are produced by pharmaceutical companies in a standard dosage and drug delivery form. Most Pharmacists work in a community setting, such as a retail drugstore, or in a health care facility, such as a hospital.

Pharmacists in the community dispense medications, counsel patients on the use of prescription and over-the-counter medications, and advise physicians about patients’ medication therapy. Some community pharmacists provide specialized services to help patients with conditions such as diabetes, asthma, smoking cessation, or high blood pressure; others also are trained to administer vaccinations.

Pharmacists in healthcare facilities dispense medications and advise the medical staff on the selection and effects of drugs. They may make sterile solutions to be administered intravenously.
They also plan, monitor and evaluate drug programs or regimens. They may counsel hospitalized patients on the use of drugs before the patients are discharged.

The clinical pharmacists coordinate with physician in handling emergency situations in decision-making, they also coordinate in clinical trials, and in the development of new drugs. Apart from hospitals, job openings also exist in industries that are in production, quality control and research and development of drug products.

The salary can be from Rs 25, 000 to 75, 000 for fresher graduates.

The International Society for pharmacy has linked to programs of study and online courses in pharmacy and to job postings.
Web site link:
http://www.pharmacy.purdue.edu/students/prospective/careeropts.phphttp://www.allpharmacyjobs.com/
http://www.pharmacy.org/job.html
http://www.greatpharmacyjobs.com/