APTI ijopp - Indian Journal of Pharmacy Practice

Indian J. Pharm. Pract. 1(2), Jan-Mar, 2009Arab countries like Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia early 1980s. However, clinical pharmacy could make anwere intuitively conducting 5yr degree course impact in the pharmacy profession and the practice in(B.Pharm) since early 1990s and some of their India only in the 1990s. In the beginning, clinicalpharmacy colleges just changed the name of the course pharmacy was restricted to hospitals in India, but laterfrom B.Pharm to PharmD. Pakistan very smartly took spread to community settings. Today, Indian clinicalthe inadvisable shortcut by upgrading their degree to pharmacy also addresses industry-based issues likenew nomenclature of Pharm.D and increased 4 year to drug information, clinical trials, pharmacy journalism5 year duration. In some countries, including Pakistan and pharmacovigilance activities.the post-baccalaureate PharmD is of only one year The area of pharmaceutical sciences in India isduration and in most other countries, it is a two year developing day by day and the role of pharmacist is alsoprogram.undergoing major changes. The pharmaceuticalGenesis of Pharm D in India.industry in India has attained tremendous growth andThe pharmacy education in India is not much old. It wasdevelopment during the last three or four decades.initiated in Banaras Hindu University in 1932 by a thirtyWith growing internationalization of the pharmayear old youth, Mahadeva Lal Schroff popularly knownindustry and the globilization of the pharmacyas M.L. Schroff. He could start pharmacy education ineducation program, the standards of pharmacythe country just because of the encouragement andeducation need to be world class and the country is nosupport he got from Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, adoubt moving in that direction. The first effort innational figure and Vice chancellor of the Banarasintroducing PharmD in India was initiated inHindu University.In 1940, April the first M.Pharm course was started inTrivandrum Government Medical College in the 1990sthe Banaras Hindu University (BHU). Later, Schroffitself and in 1999 Dr.Revikumar K.G., Head ofworked as Principal of Birla College, Pilani duringHospital and Clinical Pharmacy, framed a curriculum(1949- 52) and was the Professor of pharmacy atfor starting PharmD in the University of Kerala,Saugar University (1958-60). In 1964, based on the Trivandrum with the help of some some Americaninvitation from Dr. Triguna Sen he organized the Universities (Fig1) and took it ahead. Though thedepartment of pharmacy at Jadavpur University, Board of Studies and the Faculty of Medicine clearedCalcutta. However, the growth of pharmacy education the proposal, it could not materialise due to somewas in the 'bonsai style' in the beginning. Even at the reasons at that time.time of independence there were only five pharmacyWhen the Foreign Pharmacy Graduation Equivalencycolleges in the country and it increased to 16 by 1967.Committee (FPGEC) in US mandated a 5 year pharmacyDuring the period 2000-2008 hundreds of newgraduation programme to be eligible to take the Foreignpharmacy degree colleges started in the country. ThePharmacy Graduation Equivalency Examinationnumber of degree colleges increased to around 900 by(FPGEE), quite naturally pharmacists from South2009. Only about 15 percent of the Indian Pharmacy Asian countries including India have got upset. ManyColleges are situated in the health care campus Indian Bachelor of Pharmacy graduates who hadattached to the hospitals or medical colleges.undergone the 4year B.Pharm course and went to USIn India, the post graduate pharmacists working in the for a job since 2003 were put in quandary. All thishospital pharmacies were engaged in different teaching prompted Indian authorities to think seriously about thepositions in the department of pharmacology of various introduction of PharmD in India.medical colleges. They were well respected and The Indian authorities could introduce the six yearaccepted by the medical students. Some academicians regular PharmD and the three year post baccalaureatein India, like Dr.P.C.Dandiya, Professors Gode and PharmD in 2008 in the country. The Gazette ofthGambir (Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Government of India, dated 16 May 2008 notified theMedical Sciences, BHU), Prof. R.D. Kulkarni norms for PharmD program. The current syllabus of the(Department of Pharmacology, Grant Medical College, PharmD include regular Pharmacy subjects and specificBombay) and Dr.B.D.Miglani (Delhi University) tried subjects like therapeutics and clinical pharmacy.to bring this evolution of clinical pharmacy in the West, Orientation and exposure in clinical, hospital andinto the Indian pharmacy profession in the 1970s and community pharmacy practices is also incorporated.13