Clinical pharmacy in a nutshell
Clinical pharmacy is a stream of Pharmacy that includes direct patient care with the extensive usage of medications to optimize the health outcomes of patients. Clinical pharmacy aims to promote wellness and the prevention of diseases. The practice of clinical pharmacy has adopted a pharmaceutical care philosophy. The clinical pharmacy movement is considered to have been instigated inside hospitals and clinics, although clinical pharmacists all over the world attend to patients in all healthcare environments. The clinical pharmacy provides extensive education in the biomedical, pharmaceutical, social behavior and clinical sciences.
The sudden upsurge of covid cases in this pandemic afflicted world has led to an increase in the importance of the field of medicine. Anyone who holds a fascination for the field of medicine, especially pharmacy, should find a clinical pharmacy to be the right fit. A good grasp of clinical pharmacy discourages any irrational or reckless use of drugs besides concerning the procurement of the drugs into the market from the industry and its channelization to the patients for use. The clinical pharmacy serves to ensure the safety and efficacy of the drugs after marketing. This course can be pursued at the graduation as well as post-graduation level.
Eligibility Criteria To Pursue Clinical Pharmacy:-
A candidate is required to fulfil some norms to opt for Clinical Pharmacy Course at their undergraduate or postgraduate level. The most basic and common norms are—
(1) For Undergraduate Level-
- The candidate must have pursued Science Stream in the 12th standard.
- Candidates must have passed with an aggregate of 50% in the 12th.
- Candidate should have completed 12th from a recognized institution affiliated to a recognized board.
- The applicant must have completed 17 years of age
(2)For Post-Graduate Level:-
- The candidate has to take various entrance examinations for different universities
- The candidate must have pursued graduation in Pharmacy
- The candidate must own a minimum 50% aggregate score in their undergraduate Pharm course
Entrance exams like UPSEE, NIPER JEE, and NPAT are also conducted at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels to shortlist candidates in various universities and colleges.
Top 10 Colleges Offering A Degree in Clinical Pharmacy With Their Fees.
| Name of the institution | Course(s) offered |
| Jadavpur University, Kolkata | Rs 2,400 - Rs 2,00,000 |
| RCPIPER, Shirpur | Rs 3,05,000 |
| Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education And Research, Chandigarh | |
| Bharat School of Pharmacy, Hyderabad | Rs 2,20,000 |
| DIPSAR, New Delhi | Rs 40,800 |
| CMC Vellore | Rs 1,67,000 |
| Sumandeep Vidyapeeth, Vadodara | Rs 90,000 |
| NIPER, Mohali | Rs 90,000 |
| RTMNU, Nagpur | Rs 17,70,000 |
| Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, | Rs 38,4000 |
Scope of Studying Clinical Pharmacy
Clinical Pharmacy has immense scope in the present world. The services of clinical pharmacy are of considerable value as they act as a guide to the physicians for rational and safe use of drugs.
- Drug Information:- Deals with the discovery, usage and management of the same in the use of medications.
- Drug Utilization:- Focuses on the marketing, distribution, prescription and use of drugs. It lays a notable emphasis on the resulting social, medical and economic consequences.
- Drug Evaluation and Selection:- This refers to the study of drugs using our sense organs like perceiving the odour, shape, texture, etc. whereas the selection of drugs revolves around the market approval of the pharmaceutical product.
- Medical Therapy Management:- This aims at improving people’s understanding of their health and the proper management of their medications.
- Formal Education and Training Programs: - Concentrates on discovery, development, production and distribution of drug products and the circulation of related knowledge.
- Disease State Management, etc.
Although the field of pharmacy is taking baby steps toward development, clinical pharmacists form the major support to the Indian healthcare system. The profession is still in its budding stage at present however, the prospect of clinical pharmacy looks pretty bright in the near future.
Syllabus of Clinical Pharmacy
It is a 4-year course that broadly involves a detailed study of the following subjects-
- Pharmaceutical Analysis-I
- Remedial Mathematical Biology
- Pharmacognosy-I
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry-I
- Basic Electronics & Computer Applications
- Pharmaceutics -I
- Advanced Mathematics
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry -II
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry-III
- Anatomy, Physiology & Health Education (APHE) -I
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry-IV (Organic Chemistry - II)
- Pharmacognosy -II
- Pharmaceutical Analysis - II
- A P HE-II
- Pharmaceutics - III (Unit Operations - II)
- Pharmaceutical Microbiology
- Pharmacognosy - III
- Pathophysiology of Common Diseases
- Pharmaceutics -N (Dispensing & Community Pharmacy)
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry - V (Biochemistry)'
- Pharmaceutics - V (Pharmaceutical Technology I)
- Pharmacology - I
- Pharmacognosy -N
- Pharmaceutics -VI (Hospital pharmacy)
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry - VI (Medicinal Chemistry -I)
- Pharmaceutical Jurisprudence & Ethics
- Pharmaceutics -VII (Biopharmaceutics & Pharmacokinetics)
- Pharmacology -II
- Pharmacognosy - V (Chemistry of Natural Products)
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
- Pharmaceutics - VIII (Pharmaceutical Technology - II)
- Pharmaceutical Industrial Management
- Pharmacology -III
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry _ VII (Medicinal Chemistry - II)
- Elective (Theory)
- Pharmaceutics - IX
- Pharmaceutical Analysis - III
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry - VIII (Medicinal Chemistry - III)
- Pharmacognosy - VI
- Pharmacology - IV (Clinical Pharmacy & Drug Interactions)
- Project related to Elective
- Model Academic Programme and Evaluation Scheme Books
Top Career Profiles after Pursuing Clinical Pharmacy
If you are someone who is looking for a blend of clinical research and the development of new drugs to cure different health problems, clinical pharmacy is your cue. A handsome salary with job security and many travelling opportunities will always await anyone who wishes to establish a career in Pharmacy this field. That being said, given below are some of the best careers profiles one may opt for—
- Clinical Biochemist
- Clinical Data Analyst
- Clinical Operations Manager
- Clinical Pharmacy Coordinator
- Clinical Pharmacist
- Drug Inspector
- Analytical Chemist
- Consultant Pharmacist
- Dispensary Manager
- Clinical Biochemist
Top Industries to Work in After Pursuing Clinical Pharmacy
Clinical pharmacy is a rapidly growing field with a persistently increasing demand in various sectors and industries. Hence, people who have studied this subject end up landing jobs in the best and most wanted sectors. The top recruiters include—
- Colleges and Universities
- Pharmaceutical firms
- Healthcare
- Online Pharmaceutical Portals
- Research centres
- Pharmacovigilance
- Administrators
- Chemical Industry
- Consumer Products
- Marketing, etc.
Skills One Must Own to Achieve a Successful Career in This Field
Being a clinical pharmacist is not a piece of cake nor is everyone cut out for this. One must cautiously introspect to evaluate whether they can be deemed fit for this course. Some of the must-haves a budding clinical pharmacist should possess are-
- Diligence
- dedication
- Curiosity and interest in the subject
- Consistency
- Medical and scientific research skills
- Ability to retain any gained knowledge
- Medical writing
- Ethics and professionalism
- The capability of adeptly making decisions
- Good communication skills
- Patience
- Logical and rational thinking
To sum up
Clinical pharmacy aims to vivify patient care. It adeptly prepares a person for the same. The pedagogy involves classrooms, seminars, research projects, viva voice, practical training, etc. If figuring out ways of developing drugs has been your interest, realizing it by pursuing Clinical Pharmacy will only make you feel better. Good knowledge of clinical pharmacy will let you deliver authentic patient care besides giving you confidence in making efficient and safe clinical decisions.