Career in Pharmacy

The field of Pharmacy has always been an ever-thriving, dynamic, diverse and growing age-old profession. Emerging as one of the multifaceted domains, the position of Pharmacy in the medical healthcare sector has been, unfortunately, underestimated and even goes unrecognized. This may be because many people tend to believe that the role of a pharmacist is just to sit in the shop (chemist) and sell the medicines to the customer as prescribed by the doctor. However, that is not the case. There is much more to the field of Pharmacy than the general public thinks it to be. Through this blog, let us give you insightful knowledge on everything you need to know about a successful career in Pharmacy.

Career in Pharmacy: Overview

Pharmacists are the ones responsible for administering a controlled amount of medication to patients within the proper dosage and clearing them with the directions to use a particular medicine. Some pharmacists also advise patients on matters related to exercise, nutrition and other health-related issues. They are the healthcare professionals who seek to ensure that people receive maximum benefit from medicines and treatments. For this, they have to keep themselves up-to-date on all the advancements and developments occurring in the technologies, manufacturing, the ways to use medicines, the laws governing drugs and pharmacy, etc. Due to the nature of their work, pharmacists generally remain behind the curtain while doctors are often in the limelight. Though, a career in pharmacy is one of the noble professions, just like a doctor and a teacher, which majorly contributes to the well-being of the country through its medicines.

Also Read: Masters in Pharmacy in Canada

Why Career in Pharmacy?

Before diving into the surplus career opportunities in pharmacy, let’s have a look on why the pharmacy industry is so appealing.

Importance of a Pharmacist

A pharmacist plays a central role between doctors and medical staff. They can be considered the bridge between the patient and the medical domain. The drug specialists are in a close network with the patients as well as healthcare professionals.

Job Relevance

Medicine is the primary requirement in the medical line. The jobs in pharmacy never fall short. The drug store industry requires highly qualified drug specialists with legitimate degrees.

Constant Research

The pharmacy career is based on the research industry in the medical line. There is a requirement for pharmacists to continuously examine the new medications and formulations in the market. Give their input on improvement and perform toxicological investigations. They also help in the development of clinical trials.

Working Hours

Pharmacists are required 24×7 due to their speciality. They can choose a proper work-life balance and earn rewards accordingly. This profession allows them to enjoy life at home and hours at work.

Multiple Work Domain

Pharmacists have the feasibility to work with regulatory bodies like FDA and CDSCO. Here they manage and oversee the implementation of pharmaceutical industry guidelines. An understanding of the pharmacy field and a certified degree is enough to get hired for a regulatory role such as drug inspector, drug controller, and so on.

Requirements 

Anyone can become a pharmacist after clearing higher secondary education. 

Eligibility 

The basic requirements to pursue a pharmacist course after class 12th are mentioned below:

• 10+2 degree with a minimum of 55% marks
• The subject combination of physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics
• English proficiency test scores in GRE/IELTS/TOEFL
• A clear curriculum vitae
• Recommendation letters, statement of purpose, any other document

Also read: Why Pursue an MBA after B Pharmacy?

Courses

The course option available after class 12th are:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy- B Pharma
• Doctor Degree in Pharmacy- Pharma D
• Diploma in Pharmacy- D Pharma

Students after obtaining their bachelor’s degree in pharmacy can pursue a specialisation course in 

• Masters Degree in Pharmacy. 

The specialisation includes industrial pharmacy, pharmaceutical analysis, pharmaceutics, pharmacology, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmaceutical biotechnology, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, and many more.

Subjects

The commonly taught subjects in a pharmaceutical course are mentioned below

• Human Anatomy
• Human physiology
• Chemistry
• Biochemistry
• Pharmacology
• Quality assurance
• Drug development
• Drug testing

Also read: B Pharmacy Subjects

Pharmacy Universities Abroad

Some of the popular universities abroad providing the pharmacy course are mentioned below:

• University of Oxford
• Monash University
• Harvard University
• University of Toronto
• UCL
• University of Cambridge
• University of Nottingham
• University of California
• University of North Carolina
• University of Manchester

Pharmacy Universities in India

Some of the most popular Indian Institutions providing a course in pharmacy subject are mentioned below:

• Jamia Hamdard University, New Delhi
• Punjab University, Chandigarh
• Chandigarh University, Chandigarh
• National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Mumbai
• Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai
• Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani
• National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Hyderabad
• Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal
• JSS College of Pharmacy, Ooty
• Shobhaben Pratapbhai Patel School of Pharmacy & Technology Management, Mumbai
• Annamalai University, Chidambaram
• SRM College of Pharmacy, Kanchipuram
• Institute of Pharmacy, Nirma University, Ahmedabad
• Delhi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research (DIPSAR), New Delhi
• Dibrugarh University, Dibrugarh

Scholarships

Some of the scholarships available to pursue a career in pharmacy are mentioned below:

• Education Future International Scholarship
• Bruce Lee Foundation Scholarships
• Anu Judith Wright Scholarship
• Frank and Mary Labriola Scholarship

Career in Pharmacy: Areas of Employment

Pursuing a career in Pharmacy, either in India or abroad entails large career opportunities for all medical students. The demand for professional pharmacists is constantly increasing, and owing to this, they can work in different areas of employment that are given below.

Pharmaceutical Industries: Pursuing a career in Pharmacy, a pharmacist can work in these types of industries where they are usually not in direct contact with the general public. They work in the processing, manufacturing, trials, storage, and delivery, establish regulations of safety and control the quality of drugs and medicines. A pharmacist can even work in the research and development department of the industry and work towards sales and marketing of pharmaceutical products.

Hospital Pharmacies: A career in Pharmacy can make a professional work for Hospital Pharmacies. Almost all the hospitals in the country, government and private, have established their own hospital pharmacies within the hospital premises, wherein the doctors and nurses can directly interact on matters related to healthcare like medicines, surgery and other patient-care products.

Also Read: M Pharm

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Retail Pharmacy: The medical stores that you generally see at every nook and corner in your district are known as retail pharmacies. In contact with the general public, retail pharmacies dispense medicines and drugs to the customers/patients as prescribed by the doctors or nurses, advise them with the directions to use a particular prescribed medicine, informing and educating the medical practitioners of the potential health effects or side-effects if any, and work towards marketing and sales of the health-care products.

Other workplaces where a career in Pharmacy is the most in demand:

• Home Infusion and Chemotherapy
• Nuclear Pharmacy 
• Research Pharmacy
• Academia
• Clinical Research Organizations
• Pathological Labs
• Drug regulatory organizations like CDSCO, WHO, FDA, etc.

Read: Diploma in Pharmacy

Popular Job Profiles 

While the students are on the verge of completing their studies and looking forward to pursuing a career in Pharmacy, here are the most popular job profiles they can work towards. 

• Drug Inspector
• Drug Therapist
• Biochemists
• Biophysicists
• Regulatory affairs officers
• Academician
• Product development scientist
• Medical sales executive
• Entrepreneurship (retail pharmacy)

Salary & Scope

Pharmacy graduates can go for higher studies such as Masters’s degree two on a specialisation in pharmaceutical courses. Pharma graduates are required in the domains of healthcare, research, marketing, vigilance, technology, and so on. There are a number of job roles such as drug controller, drug inspector, quality assurance officer, and so on. The demand has significantly increased for pharmacists specifically for big data analysis and healthcare management.

The states and districts that pay Pharmacists the highest mean salary are California $144,050 (INR 1.05Cr), Alaska $142,610 (INR 1.04 Cr), Vermont $135,650 (INR 99.01 lacs), Oregon $135,150 (INR 98 lacs), and Maine $134,670 (INR 98.38 lacs).
According to the Glassdoor website, the national average salary for Pharmacists is ₹19,594 per month in India. The salary range varies depending on the years of experience, skill sets, knowledge depth, and so on. The experience of 5-10 years can give you a job of up to INR 40,000 each month.

Also read: PhD in Pharmacy

Future Scope

The healthcare industry has specific rules for pharmacists and this is an ever-evolving profile. The pharmacy industry requires candidates with excellent computational, theoretical, technical, and management skills. Besides having technical knowledge in depth, they must be able to work with scientists and come up with new health technologies. Since the pharma sector is data and technology-driven, a pharmacist can grow simultaneously.

FAQ

Pursuing a career in Pharmacy is one of the most sought-after courses all around the world. If you are looking forward to studying either a Bachelor of Pharmacy or a PhD in Pharmacy, reach out to Leverage Edu. Our experts will help you find the best career path. Call us immediately at 1800 57 2000 for a 30-minute free career counselling session and get the answers to all your questions.