PHARMACY AS A CAREER

🎉There is wide scope of pharmacy profession. A PHARMACIST is a specialist in medication, Custodian of medical information, Companion of physician, Counsellor to the patient and Guardian of the public health. So he can perform number of roles.

💊Besides he can adopt any one of the following field -

1. Community pharmacy

2. Wholesale pharmacy

3. Industrial pharmacy

a) Production

b) Analytical and quality control

c) Research and development

d) Pharmaceutical marketing

4. Pharmacy Education

5. Hospital Pharmacy

6. Clinical pharmacy

7. Drug control administration

a) Advisory agency

b) Analytical agency

c) Licensing authority

8. Pharmaceutical journalism

9. Radio pharmacy

10. Organisational management.

11. Pharmacovigilance

12. Medical Writing

13. Medical coding

1. Community pharmacy: Pharmacist having an attitude for business can open retail drug

store to serve the community. Some big drug store engages number of pharmacists, so as to run them smoothly. Most available professional, no pre appointment is needed talk with him. He does not charge for his professional advice.

2. Whole sale pharmacy: It offers opportunities to a limited number to run wholesale business of drugs and medicines. Wholesaler serves as middleman between manufacturer and retailer. Wholesaler buys goods in large quantities from producer and sells them to retailers.

They keep huge stock of goods to meet the requirements of retailer. They provide credit and thus finance the retail trade.

3. Industrial Pharmacy:

i.Production

ii.Analytical and quality control

iii.Research and development

iv.Marketing and sale

v.Quality assurance

vi.Regulatory Affairs

i) Production: Work as a manufacturing chemist. He has to supervise the production of

various types of pharmaceutical formulations, packaging, labelling and storage.

Small unit – Single chemist

Big unit - Number of chemists were appointed.

Qualification: B.Pharm

ii) Analytical and Quality control:

Analytical chemist – tests the raw materials and finished goods.

✔️Requirement depends on work load on the lab.

✔️They can give outside if analytical setup not there in the lab.

✔️Qualification: B.Pharm.

iii) Research and development:

Many industries have separate R&D unit.

Qualification: Mpharm or Doctorate of pharmacy

✔️Synthesis of new compounds to be used as drugs, cosmetics, excipients, industrial

chemicals and preservatives.

✔️Isolation and purification of active principles of plant and animals

✔️Preparation of drugs in suitable dosage forms designed and to find the

bioavailability of drugs.

✔️Physical, chemical and biological standard of drugs.

✔️Research on pharmacodynamics and toxicology of new drugs.

✔️Stability of dosage forms during its storage and finding its date of expiry.

✔️The investigation of suitability of proposed packaging materials and containers

iv) Pharmaceutical marketing and sale:

✔️The performance of pharmaceutical business activities that direct the flow of

pharmaceutical formulations and services from the producer to the

consumers.

✔️The pharmaceutical marketing is an indirect marketing where consumers have no choice to buy the medicines of its own.

✔️He has to purchase the drugs, which is prescribed by physician.

✔️Pharmaceutical industry engages the medical representatives or dealer man

to make contact with the individual physician at regular intervals for the purpose of sales production.

✔️Sales representatives, field officers or sales managers.

v) Quality assurance:

In developing products and services, quality assurance is any systematic process of checking to see whether a product or service being developed is meeting specified requirements.Many companies have a separate department devoted to quality assurance.

A quality assurance

system is said to increase customer confidence and a company's credibility, to improve work processes and efficiency, and to enable a company to better compete with others.

vi) Regulatory Affairs: A regulatory affair is the profession to ensure companies comply

with all the regulations and laws pertaining to their business. Regulatory affairs is a

comparatively new profession which was developed from the desire of government to protect public Health by controlling the safety and efficacy of the products in areas including

Pharmaceuticals, veterinary medicines, medical devices, pesticides, agrochemicals, cosmetics and complimentary medicines.

4. Pharmacy education:

Due to rapid growth of pharmaceutical industry and expansion of the health services in the country, demand of pharmacists has increased.To fulfil the demand increase the number of pharmacy institutions in the country, need for qualified and experience faculty members.

Qualification: M pharm.

5. Hospital pharmacy: Practice in the hospital under the professional hospital supervision.

Role: Hospital pharmacist

Responsibility : Procuring, storage, Compounding, Dispensing of drugs, Manufacture of

transfusion fluid, Quality control, Supply of drugs to various inwards, Research, Education,

training.

Less than1000 bed hospital – 3 pharmacist and more than 100 bed hospital more than three pharmacists were appointed.

6. Drug control administration: Drug administration’s run both at the level of central and state government according to D&C act.

Advisory agency: Includes drug technical advisory board and Drug consultative committee to advice on technical matters related to Drugs and cosmetics.

Analytical agency:

Includes -Central drug laboratory

-State drug laboratory

Function: Analysis and testing of drugs and cosmetics done by Govt analyst. Samples are

taken by the Drug inspectors from licensed manufactured houses and retailed establishments.

7. Licensing Authority:

a. Licensing authorities are appointed by the central government to licenses for import for

drugs.

b. The state government will appoint licensing authorities for their respective territories to

issue licences for the manufacture and sale of drugs and cosmetics.

c. State drug controller or director drug control administration is the licensing authority.

d. State Drug controller is assisted by deputy drug controller, assistant drug controller, senior

drug inspectors and drug inspectors.

e. Ample of scope for graduates and post graduates.

8. Pharmaceutical Journalism:

Offer rewarding experience for limited number of pharmacists with writing and editing

skills.

9. Radio Pharmacy or (Nuclear pharmacy):

✔️Radioactive drugs used for diagnosis and therapy.

✔️The pharmacists are trained to handle properly and store these radioactive drugs.

10. Clinical pharmacy:

Role: Clinical pharmacist

Responsibilities: Companion with physician, Patient counseling, Ward round with doctor and nurse. Giving Medication information to doctor & Patient, monitoring adverse drug

reaction.

11. Organisational management: Offers an opportunity for pharmacist, who wishes to serve national and state pharmaceutical associations and boards of pharmacy in various capacities. PCI and AICTE Drug control board, State pharmacy council perceps with

organisational interests and talents will be great demand.

12. Pharmacovigilance: Offers opportunities for pharmacist related drug safety, it is the

pharmacological science relating to the collection, detection, assessment, monitoring, and prevention of adverse effects with pharmaceutical products.

13. Medical Writing: Medical Writing is an integral part of clinical research. Medical

Writers work closely with our colleagues in the biostatistical, pharmacovigilance, project

management, and clinical data management teams to deliver accurate, timely, and cost

effective documents to the highest ethical and scientific standards.

14. Medical Coding: Medical Coder stake medical reports from doctors, which may include a patient's condition, the doctor's diagnosis, a prescription, and whatever procedures the doctor or healthcare provider performed on the patient, and turn that into a set of codes, which make up a crucial part of the medical claim.

15. Entrepreneurship: Pharmacist can play major role in Entrepreneurship in the field of

pharmacy. Pharmacist can establish community pharmacy, Pharmaceutical industry.

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