Career scope for pharmacy professionals

Friday, August 16, 2002 11:16 IST Dr K S Jain & Dr K N Gujar From ancient times Pharmacy is known as a branch associated with hea thcare ser!ices" The word Pharmacy has been deri!ed #rom the $reek word %&harmakon%, meaning drug" Today, the disci& ine o# Pharmacy has made enormous &rogress and has matured as a distinct y inde&endent branch as &harmaceutica sciences, main y through the ac'uisition o# the wea th o# know edge, research and a !ast array o# drugs ( thera&eutic remedies" )n ike the other curricu a Pharmacy is a &roduct, as we as, ser!ice re ated disci& ine, increasing its sco&e two* #o d"

It is involved in all the stages related to a drug, from its discovery, development, action, safety, formulation, use, quality control, packaging, storage, marketing, etc. Thus, today''s pharmacy professional is a ''drug expert'' in the real sense. The profession of pharmacy has transformed into a hub for the ''Global Healthcare'' and evolved as a multidisciplinary, multifaceted curriculum. The drugs pharma industry is a multibillion!dollar business. In the rapidly changing global scenario and the implementation of G"TT T#I$% in India, no& a matter of only a couple of years, the pharmaceutical industry and professionals &ill play a vital role in shaping up our national economy. This ne& decade is thus, bound to have an ever gro&ing demand of pharmacy professionals not only in the country, but even &orld&ide. "nticipating this demand the government has taken special steps to boost this unique discipline having a blend of both !! technology, as &ell as, health! sciences. %ome of the Indian universities like the 'niversity of $une, (agpur, )adodara, *handigarh etc., have given a special status to the pharmacy education by setting up a separate faculty of pharmaceutical %ciences. In India $harmacy +ducation is a t&o! tier system "fter ,-th %cience of %tate .oard one can opt for any of the t&o courses, namely /iploma 0/.$harm.1 and /egree 0..$harm1. Ho&ever the /iploma %tudents can also be included in /egree course directly in %econd 2ear ..$harm. Ho&ever, in the coming years the Government $harmacy *ouncil of India is planning to abolish the / $harm course and make . $harm the minimum qualification for any individual to become a pharmacy professional. The regulatory bodies for pharmacy colleges are namely, "ll India *ouncil of Technical +ducation 0"I*T+1, $harmacy *ouncil of India 0$*I1 and the respective 'niversity to &hich the college is affiliated to. Today pharmacy education like the pharmaceutical industry is also in the process of globali3ation. In order to have uniformity in course contents, requisite standards of education, technical faculty, facilities and infrastructure at international levels, colleges are going for accreditation and certifications from internationally approved regulating agencies. Career Opportunities " career in pharmacy, unfolds a vista full of opportunities leading to a golden future for a young career aspirant. The 4ob opportunities, &orking conditions, 4ob satisfaction and monetary benefits are excellent. The various vocations a pharmacy professional can opt, for, are discussed belo&5

Production & Manufacturing: " pharmacy professional can &ork as a production person 0chemist, officer, executive, manager, vice!president1, involved in the production of bulk drug intermediates or formulations and dosage forms. Industries in the cosmetics, soaps, toiletries segment also hire pharmacy professionals. 6ther segments &here opportunities exist are the field of dental products. /ental medicine is a speciali3ed field and so is its production. These involve products dedicated to dental care and hygiene like toothpaste, mouth&ashes, dental cavity fillers, etc. .lood and plasma products is another area hitherto untapped in India, but has immense potential &orld&ide and is coming up fast in the country. The products involve, blood of various groups, production of blood bags, haemoglobin, plasma, serum, clotting factors, antigens, antibodies, etc. $roduction of biological biotechnological products, surgical dressings, medical devices equipment, ayurvedic7 homoeopathic 7 unani medicines also involve the presence of pharmacy professionals in its production. 6ther areas &here pharmacy professionals are required are in production of veterinary medicine, perfumery, fragrances, nutraceuticals Research & Development: This forms the heart of any industry, as it is the key to gro&th and sustenance. 8ainly 8 $harms $h/s are in great demand in the various areas of $harmaceutical # /. 6ther areas &here professionals are required are9 ! (e& /rug /iscovery #esearch 0(//#19 /iscovering a ne& drug has assumed prime importance in the post!G"TT era. ! $rocess /evelopment 0$ /19 6ne of the important areas in bulk drugs industry is developing viable processes for the manufacture of drugs and intermediates for their commercial production. ! :ormulation /evelopment 0: /19 The success of any pharma company lies in the quality of its products, i.e., its formulations dosage forms. ! *linical Trials, .ioequivalence studies, Toxicological %tudies9 These are some of the areas of clinical research &hich are in high demand as they are involved in the systematic evaluation of potential drug substances prior to getting them approved by the authorities. Analysis & Testing "ny drug or dosage form for human use has to be of excellent quality and purity, free from any impurities. The permissible limits of impurities, &hich either occurs through the manufacturing process, equipment, ra& materials, handling or storage, are very stringent. Therefore, ;uality control 0;*1 and ;uality "ssurance 0;"1 are

the most integral areas of the drug pharmaceutical industry. Highly speciali3ed and trained staff is required to handle sensitive analytical procedures sophisticated equipment. 8$harm $h/s in $harm "nalysis 7;.". are highly preferred for this 4ob. Marketing "ny business is incomplete &ithout the marketing sales aspect, as the universal fact is that any thing produced has to be sold. The $harma. %ales 8arketing is a highly technical field offers excellent opportunities for the pharmacy graduates. "dditional qualification like 8...". adds to their arsenal. "n aspirant of a highly bright future can enter through various openings like starting his o&n retail or &holesale drug store or becoming a professional sales representative 0kno&n as medical %ales #epresentative or 8.#.1 to the levels of International 8arketing +xports. The monetary re&ards and perks are the best. Hospital Pharmacy "nother opening for a $harmacy professional is as a <#egistered $harmacist< in the hospitals or drug stores. This is a very sought after professional especially in countries like the '.%.". *anada. The trend is already set in many hospitals in the country. This is a key position and the $harmacist plays an important role form preparing prescription to the patient''s medial history after the 8edical doctor has diagnosed the disease. The $harmacist is the best!informed qualified drug expert &hose advice is sought by every body regarding the dosage, incompatibilities and side effects of drugs. Community Pharmacy This concept, &hich is already very old in developed =estern countries, is rapidly catching up the Healthcare service in our country. Through the services of community pharmacy a $harmacist becomes a vital link bet&een the patients and the products i.e., drugs. The pharmacist also serves a vital link bet&een the patients and other healthcare professionals, especially the medical experts. ! *ounseling the patients regarding the use of the drugs and dosage forms ! $roviding up!to!date information on drugs7dosage forms to the patients, as &ell as, medical staff. ! 8aintaining patient records history

! Involved in the usage of self!diagnostic kits by the patients for disorders like diabetes, hypertension etc. ! $roviding supply of Home care dosage forms. Academics +xcellent opportunities for the professionals are available in teaching profession also. "s per the ".I.*.T.+. norms the minimum entry!level qualification as lecturer is 8.$harm. This is a profession associated &ith 4ob satisfaction and social status as

teaching is considered to be noble profession. The higher posts in the hierarchy and %r. >ecturer, #eader, "sst. $rofessor, $rofessor, $rincipal etc. The emoluments are satisfactory. .esides teaching "cademic related opportunities involve positions on #esearch $osts and Training programs. Regulatory Affairs >ocally the :./.". 0:oods /rugs *ontrol "dministration1 is the main regulatory body governing and implementing the rules and regulations for the /rug $harma industry. The :./.". has state branches and sub!branches all over the country. The 4ob opportunities for $harmacy graduates are excellent and range from the levels of a /rug Inspector 0/.I.1, %r. /.I., /eputy /rug *ontroller, "sst. /rug *ontroller, /rug *ontroller and finally /.*.I. 0/rug *ontroller of India1. This is highly respected and sought after profession. " graduate in $harmacy is the minimum eligibility. =ith globali3ation process reaching out to India, the geographical barriers have become obsolete. "ny country &ill have to compete and trade globally in order to progress and survive in the years to come. The ma4or drugs and pharma. *ompanies have reali3ed this fact and have stepped into the global area of competitive trade. If an Indian manufacturer &ants to sell his drug or formulation to a foreign country it is mandatory that he has to fulfill all the statutory requirements laid by the regulatory authorities of that country. "lso, his product needs to be perfectly as per the specifications laid do&n by the concerned regulatory authority. Thus, in order to enter into trade &ith the foreign countries it is mandatory to get the necessary approvals and sanctions as per the formats given by local regulatory authorities. +.g. "pprovals to be obtained from '.%.:./.". for '.%.", T.G.". for "ustralia (?@eeland, 8.*." and 8.*.8. for '.A. +uropean countries and I*H guidelines going to be uniform for international levels. %ince, the business involved is &orth multibillion dollars5 this branch has assumed tremendous significance and is bound to gro& enormously, in the $ost!G"TT era. 8any big players in the drugs pharma. field has already established separate #egulatory "ffairs /epartments in their companies. #egulatory experts are thus in great demand. %ince, the field is highly technical $harmacy professionals again fit in these positions. %imilarly, $atents and Trademarks, I.$.#. +xperts are also in high demand as far as the pharma. industry is concerned. Documentation !i"rary #nformation $ervices & Pharma% &ournalism: The #egulatory "ffairs as &ell as, $atenting $rocesses and Issues involve a lot of documentation &ork to be done and submitted to the concerned #egulatory "uthorities, in a highly speciali3ed and technical manner. $harmacy professionals are again fitting in the bill. 8ost of the ma4or Indian $harma. companies have established separate /ocumentation /epartments &ith a highly technical skilled staff for this purpose.

%imilarly, the # / ;.*. /epartments of the $harma. *ompanies need a &ealth of Technical information, &hich needs to be updated regularly, in order to match the pace of global competition. Therefore, >ibrary Information services is another field in much demand as far as the $harma. industry is concerned. :urthermore, &ith the advent boom of the Information Technology, .io!Informatics and +lectronic /ata #etrieval %ystems, this field is already scaling ne& heights. $harma! Bournalism is another area filled &ith great potentialities. This requires specialist technical personnel like pharmacy graduates on the editorial staff to cover the various aspects. There is already a very lucrative business in this field. Consultancy This is an ideal opportunity for highly technical and experienced pharmacy professionals to earn handsomely as self!employed entrepreneurs, even after the age of retirement. *onsultancy services in $harmacy are offered in various fields against very attractive financial fees ! #egulatory "ffairs ! /ocumentation ! "pprovals ! 8anufacturing $rocesses ! "nalytical %eries ! #esearch ! 8arket %urveys %ales $romotion

! Information #etrieval ! /ata 8anagement ! Turn Aey $ro4ects, etc. Opportunities A"road Golden opportunities galore for qualified $harmacy professionals in various courtiers including the '.%."., *anada, +uropean *ountries like '.A., :rance, Germany, "frican *ountries like %. "frica, (igeria, 2emen, Gulf *ountries like %audi "rabia, Au&ait, %outh +ast "sian *ountries like %ingapore, Aorea, Bapan, etc. and the "ustralian *ontinent including (.@ealand. There are plenty of higher education and research opportunities in the developed &estern countries along &ith excellent 4ob openings. The pharmaceutical career is one of the highest re&arding careers in these countries.

The monetary 4ob benefits abroad are highly exciting, 4ob profiles in "frican *ountries like, and(igeria, 2emen Gulf *ountries like %audi "rabia, Au&ait mainly as pharmacists in drug stores and hospitals.

In developed Western countries the job opportunities are manifold and almost in any one of the ten vocations discussed above.