The writing on the wall is clear – Pharmacy courses have higher employability results! In fact, Pharmacists constitute the third largest group of health professionals after physicians and nurses. Pharmacists work in a wide range of settings, the majority of which provide services directly to patients. Pharmacy practice varies, with more traditional (dispensing focused) practice settings intermingled with approaches with expanded patient care services in, for example, community, hospital, and health-system settings. The mission of pharmacy education is to prepare graduates who provide patient centered care that ensures optimal medication therapy outcomes and provides a foundation for specialization in specific areas of pharmacy practice; to participate in the education of patients, other healthcare providers, and future pharmacists; to conduct research and scholarly activity; and to provide service and leadership to the community.
Pharmacists are higher salaried professionals in US and other foreign countries, where pharmacists are allowed to practice clinical pharmacy. They have statutory system in which patient is diagnosed by physicians or doctors (which are their exact responsibility not to prescribe drugs) and then the patient sent ahead to pharmacist with diagnosis report. Pharmacist is allowed to prescribe the patient and normally who charge more than physician. In India also the same course called as “Pharm D” is introduced from the academic year 2008- 2009. The Pharmacy Council of India is the apex body controlling the course.
What makes Pharm D Programme so popular?

1. This study program facilitates the pharmacists to develop as professionals that are capable of providing patient care in cooperation with patients, doctors, and other members of an inter-professional health care team based upon sound therapeutics principles and evidence-based data, taking into account relevant legal, ethical, social cultural, economic and professional issues, emerging technologies, and evolving biomedical, pharmaceutical, social, or behavioral or administrative, and clinical sciences that may impart therapeutic outcomes.

2. Such a course prepares the pharmacists to manage and use resources of health care system, in co-operation with patients, doctors and other health care providers and administrative and supportive personnel, to promote health; to provide, assess, and coordinate safe, accurate, and time sensitive medication distribution; and to improve therapeutic outcomes of medication use.

3. It enables the pharmacists to work for health improvement, wellness, and disease prevention in co-operation with patients, communities, at-risk population and other members of an inter-professional team of health care providers.

4. Such a study program succeeds in demonstrating skills in monitoring of the National Health Programmes and schemes, oriented to provide preventive and promotive health care services to the community.

5. It helps the students to develop leadership qualities to function effectively as a member of health care team organized to deliver the health and family welfare services in existing socio-economic, political and cultural environment.

6. It aims to communicate effectively with patients and the community.

Some of the major fields and career choices after Pharm D students include -
The prime sectors which need the service of Pharm Ds are the pharmaceutical industries. They make new medicines and they need the professionals first than any other sector. Then the second priority comes to the hospitals or pharmacies where it is used or distributed. Production is may be one among ten divisions of an industry where Pharm Ds may not be needed. The numerous and diverse career options available to Pharm D students:

1. Clinical Research: Clinical research is a branch of medical science that determines the safety and effectiveness of medications, devices, diagnostic products and treatment regimens intended for human use. These may be used for prevention, treatment, diagnosis or for relieving symptoms of a disease. The term clinical research refers to the entire bibliography of a drug/device/biologic, in fact any test article from its inception in the lab to its introduction to the consumer market and beyond. Once the promising candidate or the molecule is identified in the lab, it is subjected to pre-clinical studies or animal studies where different aspects of the test (including its safety toxicity if applicable and efficacy, if possible at this early stage) are studied. The focus of clinical research is wide enough to include important items such as data management, medical writing, regulatory consultation, and biostatistics.

2. Pharmacovigilance: Pharmacovigilance (abbreviated PV or PhV) is the pharmacological science relating to the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects, particularly long-term and short-term side effects of medicines. Generally speaking, pharmacovigilance is the science of collecting, monitoring, researching, assessing and evaluating information from healthcare providers and patients on the adverse effects of medications, biological products, herbalism and traditional medicines with a view to:
identifying new information about hazards associated with medicines and
preventing harm to patients.

3. Research & Development: The phrase research and development refers to the “creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications”.

4. Medical Writing: Is the activity of producing scientific documentation by a specialized writer. The medical writer typically is not one of the scientists or doctors who performed the research. A medical writer, working with doctors, scientists, and other subject matter experts, creates documents that effectively and clearly describe research results, product use and other medical information. The medical writer also makes sure the documents comply with regulatory, journal, or other guidelines in terms of content, format and structure.

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