PharmD or Doctor of pharmacy is a professional Doctorate in pharmacy. PharmD is the art and science of preparing and dispensing medicines. The course has been designed to train eligible candidates in clinical pharmacy, pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical care. Upon successful completion of the course, students gain skills in diagnosis and treatment of diseases, selection and therapeutic usage of drugs, monitoring of patients, etc. PharmD is a six year long course course inclusive of 5 years of learning and one year of internship. This is the only doctoral degree that can be pursued right after passing 10+2 qualifying examinations. Moreover, PharmD can also be pursued by B. Pharm. graduates by seeking admissions to lateral entry course.

Eligibility and entrance exam:

• Candidates must have completed 10+2 level of education from any state or national education board with Physics and Chemistry as compulsory subjects and Mathematics or Biology as additional subjects.
• Candidates holding a Pharm. Degree are also eligible for PharmD course, provided they fulfil all the above conditions as well.

Some of the major entrance examinations conducted in India for admission to the course are as follows:

• GPAT (Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test)
• UP-CPMT (Uttar Pradesh Combined Pre-Medical Test)
• PMET (Punjab Pre-Medical Entrance Test)
• UPSEE Pharmacy (Uttar Pradesh State Entrance Examination)
• Dayananda Sagar University admission test
• Maharashtra Common Entrance Test
• VELS Entrance examination
• Bharti Vidyapeeth Common Entrance Test
• Integral University Entrance Test

Besides these entrance examinations, some institutes in the country also have their own admission criteria in place and offer admission on the basis of the candidate’s score in such qualifying examination.

Top Institutes offering PharmD are:

• Government College of Pharmacy, Aurangabad

It was found in 1996 and is located in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra. It is affiliated to Dr. Baba Sahab Ambedkar Marathwada University and is approved by AICTE and Government of Maharashtra.

Total fee: 2.4 Lakh

• Government College of Pharmacy, Amravati

Established in the year 1996, this college is located in Amravati, Maharashtra. It is accredited from AICTE and is affiliated to the Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University.

             Total fee: 2.42 Lakhs

• Poona college of Pharmacy

It is a private college recognised by the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI). It was established in the year 1981 and is affiliated to the Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed-to-be University, Pune.

Total fees: 10.5 Lakhs

• JSS College of Pharmacy

It is a private college located in Mysuru, Karnataka and was established in the year 1973. It is affiliated to JSS University and offers 23 courses across 5 streams

Total fee: 15.01 Lakhs

• Integral University, Lucknow

It is recognised by UGC and approved by MCI and PCI. It was established in the year 2004 and is accredited by the NAAC.

Total fee: 7 Lakh

Career prospects and job options:

• The PharmD course offers a good return on investment as there are a lot of jobs available after completion of the programme. Candidates can practice as a pharmacist at government as well as private hospitals. Jobs are also available at NGOs working in the health domain, especially in rural areas.
• A great scope for jobs is also available in the pharmaceutical industries and pharmacy institutes. Candidates can also take up business opportunities and start their own pharmacy stores to provide medicines to patients and doctors. There are many areas in that they can work such as Pharmacist, Medicinal Instructor, Research profession, Marketing professional for Pharmaceutical Industry, Quality Control Officer and Drug Inspector.

Government jobs:

• Drug inspector
• Dispensing pharmacist
• Clinical pharmacist
• Nutritionist
• Drug advisor
• Drug interaction specialist
• Hospital Pharmacy Director

Private jobs:

• Lecturer
• Drug writer
• Retail Pharmacist
• Medical writer
• Pharmacist incharge
  

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A report by Akanksha Sharma for IHOIK education desk