Few lines about Pharm D Course
Pharmacy is the branch of science that deals with the research, development and distribution of medicines and drugs. The pharmacy field prepares the individuals under the supervision of pharmacists to prepare medications, provide medications and related assistance to patients and manage pharmacy clinical and business operations.
The Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm D) is a 6-years doctorate level course in pharmacy. The students who have completed their PUC or 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry and Biology as core subjects can join this course. Even the students who have completed their Diploma in Pharmacy (D.Pharma) are also eligible to apply for Pharm D course. The course aims to prepare the students to manage the patient medication therapy and improve patient outcomes. The course is designed to train the students about various topics like clinical pharmacy, pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical care. The students of Pharm D will gain skills and extensive knowledge in diagnosis and treatment of diseases, selection and therapeutic usage of drugs monitoring of patients, etc.
The Pharm D students are easily hired by many pharmaceutical companies at good positions. The present article tries to explore the top 5 jobs that are available for the skilled Pharm D professionals.
1. Pharmacologist
As a pharmacologist one is responsible to understand how medicines and other drugs work and how it is processed by the body. A Pharmacologist is responsible to develop the medicines according to the formulations and should always be aware of the effects caused by them (if any).
Role of a pharmacologist
As a pharmacologist one is required to investigate how the drugs interact with biological systems. He/she is responsible to carry out in-vitro research or in vivo research to predict the effects of certain drugs on humans
Duties of Pharmacologist
As a pharmacologist one is responsible to:
- Design, plan and conduct controlled experiments and clinical trials to improve understanding of drug’s activity
- Use computers, high technology measuring systems and other sophisticated equipment to collect, analyse and interpret data
- Apply and develop the results of research to work through a variety of pharmaceutical applications
- Prepare clinical plans and proposals for future drug developmental tests
- Organise and oversee tests of new drugs and medicines, ensure quality control and secure approval for their use from respective authorities
- Coordinate with regulatory authorities to ensure compliance with local, national and international regulations
- Plan, coordinate and supervise the duties of other technical staff and train mentor early-career pharmaceuticals
Skills required to become a Pharmacologist
As a pharmacologist one is expected to have following skills:
- Much of the role is lab based, working as part of a scientific research team
- Opportunities are available throughout the world
- Most major pharmaceutical companies have global officers and there are universities and research organisations across the world, so there are excellent opportunities for overseas employment
- Strong IT skills including retrieval and analysis
- Experimental work may involve working with hazardous and toxic materials which is carried out in sterile conditions, one is expected to wear protective clothing for health and safety reasons and to avoid cross-contamination
2. Clinical Pharmacist
The Clinical Pharmacists are responsible for the purchase and supply of medicines used in clinics and hospitals. As a clinical pharmacist one should have in-depth knowledge of medicines that are used in clinics and hospitals.
Role of Clinical Pharmacists
Clinical Pharmacists are responsible to dispense prescriptions for patients. The Clinical Pharmacists are also involved in purchasing and quality testing of medicines and drugs. As a clinical pharmacist one is responsible to keep the well-stocked medicines every time and should be aware of all the medicines that are available.
Duties of a Clinical Pharmacist
As a Clinical Pharmacist one is responsible to:
- Check prescriptions for errors and ensure that they are all appropriate and safe for the patient
- Provide advice and dosage of medicines and the most appropriate form of medication, that may be an injection, ointment, tablet or an inhaler to the patients
- Discuss treatments with patients, relatives, community pharmacists and general practitioners
- Make sure the medicines are stored securely
- Supervise the work of fellow and junior staff members
- Be well-versed with latest developments in the pharmacy industry contribute to research and development
- Write guidelines for drug use within the clinics or hospital premises
- Provide information on sale and expenditure of medicines and drugs
- Prepare and quality check sterile medications of various intravenous medications
Skills required for a Clinical Pharmacist
As a clinical pharmacist one is expected to have the following skills:
- They should be ready to work in dispensary and on the wards with regular patient contact on a daily basis
- Excellent communication skills for dealing with patients and health professionals
- The ability to work carefully, methodically and accurately with medicines and doses this is vital as mistake could prove fatal
- The ability to use scientific knowledge to solve problems
- Interpersonal skills and a caring and sympathetic manner as the work involves contact with patients on a ward and in out-patient departments
3. Research Scientist (Medical)
The research scientists (medical) are those who involve themselves in research and development of new drugs or a vaccine. They will be working with different pharmaceutical products to develop a new drug or a vaccine for an organisation.
Role of Research Scientist
As a research scientist, one is required to plan and conduct experiments to increase the body of scientific knowledge on topics related to medicines. As a research scientist he/she is required to improve existing drugs treatments and other medically-related products for the benefit of mankind.
Duties of a Research Scientist
As a responsible research Scientist, one is required to do the following:
- Plan and conduct experiments and analyse or interpret results
- Keep accurate records of work undertaken
- Use specialist computer software to analyse data and to produce diagrammatic representation of results
- Write and submit applications and progress reports to funding bodies, that support medical research
- Collaborate with industry, research institutes, hospitals and academia
- Carry out presentations or discussions at team meetings with colleagues
- Prepare presentations and deliver them at national and international scientific conferences
- Write original papers for publication in peer-reviews medical or scientific journals
- Read relevant scientific literature and journals to get updated
Skills required to become a Research Scientist?
As a research scientist, one is expected to do the following:
- Work is mainly laboratory-based with some time spent in the office planning and writing up experiments, sometimes may require field work
- With career progression the work becomes more office-based with a focus on writing grant applications, collaborating with other scientists, supervising staff, planning experiments, writing papers for publication and reviewing papers
- Care and attention to detail is required as work involves contact with potentially toxic or radioactive materials
- Working with animals or animal derived products such as embryonic stem cells, may form part of research. They should be capable to handle such ethical dilemmas that arise during their research
- Technical, scientific and numerical skills
- A methodical approach to research work
- Tenacity and patience when carrying out experiments
- The ability to work well in teams and to network and forge-links with collaborators
- The professionals are expected to develop problem solving skills and analytical thinking
4. Clinical research Associate
Clinical research is a competitive but growing field and can provide a rewarding career. As a clinical research associate, one is responsible to carry out drug trials on behalf of the company and is also required to get required permissions to make the drug for commercial usage.
Role of a Clinical Research Associate
As a clinical research associate, one is required to run clinical trials to test drugs for their effectiveness, risks and benefits. They are also responsible to ensure that they are safe and ready for mass production and are allowed to market. As a Clinical research associate, one is required to work on new and existing drugs and will usually work in pharmaceutical companies.
Duties of a Clinical Research Associate
As a Clinical research associate, one is needed to:
- Develop and write trial protocols for clinical trials
- Present trial protocols to a steering committee
- Design data collection forms, known as case report forms
- Coordinate with the ethics committee which safeguards the rights, safety and well-being of all trial subjects
- Manage regulatory authority applications and approvals that oversee the research and marketing of new and existing drugs
- Identify and assess the suitability of facilities to use as the clinical trial site
- Coordinate with doctors, Consultants or investigators on conducting the trials a trial site
- Setup trial sites and ensure that all the trial materials are available
- Prepare the reports about the trials conducted and send it to authorities
Skills required to become a Clinical Research Associate
As a Clinical Research Associate, one is expected to:
- Coordinate with the local authorities’ doctors for conducting medical trails in the area
- Ensure that the trials are conducted safely
- As a clinical research associate, one is expected to travel a lot to identify trial sites for conducting trials
- As a clinical research associate, one is required to take all the necessary precautions for conducting drug trials in pandemic situations like Covid 19
- The professionals are expected to motivate others and develop strong customer focus
- The professionals are required to multi-task with excellent decision-making skills
- The professionals are required to have a flexible and adaptable approach to work in the trials
5. Community Pharmacist
The community pharmacist is responsible to give prescribed medicines to the communities surrounding. He/she can set up a pharmacy shop to deliver the required medicines. They should have excellent knowledge about the drugs along with business skills.
Role of Community Pharmacist
As a Community Pharmacist one is responsible to dispense and distribute the medicines. A community pharmacist will work with legal and ethical guidelines to ensure the correct and safe supply of medical products to the general public.
Duties of Community Pharmacist
As a Community Pharmacist one is required to:
- Dispense prescription medicines to the public
- Ensure that different treatments are compatible
- Check dosage and ensure that medicines are correctly and safely supplied in the communities
- Supervise the preparation of any medicines if required
- Keep a register of all controlled drugs for legal and stock control purposes
- Coordinate with doctors about prescriptions
- Advice the public on the treatment of minor ailments
- Undertake medicine use reviews from the patients
- Manage, supervise and train pharmacy support staff
Skills required for a Community Pharmacist
As a community pharmacist one is expected to have the following skills:
- In case of a large pharmacy that opens 24 hours the community pharmacist is expected to work in shifts
- They are expected to go to the community and visit housebound patients to dispense the required medicines
- The work carries a high level of responsibility and demands professional attitude to work, the community pharmacists are required to show high level of commitment to their roles
- The people who are service oriented and have a concern for the welfare of communities can become a community pharmacist
- The community pharmacists are required to have an understanding of business principles
Concluding lines
The above mentioned are some of the top 5 jobs available in the pharmacy industry. The Pharm.D students can easily land in these skills and can expect an excellent growth in the career. They are also well paid by the pharmaceutical companies. The skilled professionals can expect excellent job opportunities and can reach high positions in a very short span of time.