D Pharmacy

In the past recent years, the Pharmaceutical industry has seen a fast-paced rise with unique inventions of varied life-saving drugs. As the medical science is swimming with path-breaking researches and technologies, there are a plethora of new job opportunities arising especially in the Pharmaceutical sector. For those wanting to study a degree in this domain, the most popular programs include Bachelor of Pharmacy, M Pharm, PhD in Pharmacy, amongst others. However, if you are planning to opt for a short-term yet specialised course, then you must consider Diploma in Pharmacy. Let’s take a look at what D Pharmacy comprises of, top universities you can choose from as well as the career prospects it offers. 

Also Read: Masters in Pharmacy in Canada: A Guide

Overview

The aim of this diploma program is to impart the foundational knowledge of the ever-growing field of Pharmacy. Generally offered as a 1-2 year course, students get to learn about the basic processes behind the formation of various pharmaceutical drugs. Along with this, D Pharmacy also incorporates a multitude of principles of medical management and constitutes an array of topics such as Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmacology etc.

Why D Pharmacy?

• D Pharmacy easily gets you a job in private and government hospitals or stores
• Centers such as NGOs, health clinics, community healthcare clinics provide pharmacist positions where you can check the prescription and give medicines
• Giant pharmaceutical companies hire for various job positions such as Process controller, Manufacturing head, and quality controller.
• Medical representative is a very attractive job profile with handsome salary
• Initiate your own pharmacy outlet to sell medicines in wholesale or other medical surgical items.
• Improve your interpersonal skills and enhance your profile with gaining experience

Also read: Career in Pharmacy

Who Should Undertake a D Pharmacy?

• Students who want to work in healthcare must seek a D.Pharmacy degree.
• Candidates can apply for admission to the D Pharma programme if they desire to start with a diploma programme and pursue a career in the pharmaceutical industry.
• Candidates can enrol in a D Pharmacy programme in addition to an MBA in Pharmaceutical Management.

When to opt a D Pharmacy?

• After finishing their 10+2 requirements, candidates can enrol in a D.Pharmacy course.
• Students must have completed their 10+2 in the Science stream in order to pursue a D.Pharmacy.
• After completing their 10+2, students with a minimum of 50% in their overall grades who want to work in the pharmaceutical business can also apply.

Eligibility Criteria for D Pharmacy

To acquire admission in any of the leading universities across the globe, students must fulfil some key prerequisites. To begin with, one must have the usual formal schooling of 10+2 with mandatory BiPC subjects. Moreover, students must qualify any English language proficiency test like IELTS, TOEFL, PTE etc. Also, it is advised that the applicant must have lucrative Letters of Recommendation (LOR) and Statement of Purpose (SOP). It is also sternly advised that the applicant must check the eligibility criteria of their chosen university on its official website. 

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Skills

The must-haves skill sets of pharmacists are mentioned below.

• Accurate record keeping as per Food and Drug Act (FDA)
• Safe and accurate processing of prescriptions
• Dispensing and compounding of medicines
• Purchasing ,Merchandising and Inventory control
• Drug approval processes
• Regulatory requirements involving testing, screening and clinical trials of drugs
• Pharmaceutical Jurisprudence
• Patient provider relationships
• Narcotics control
• Third party Billing
• Computer processing

Course details

Here are some of the basic details about the D Pharmacy course- duration of the course, fees, and scholarships available.

Duration

Course Duration of Diploma in Pharmacy [D.Pharm.] is around 2 Years with the minimum age limit of 17 years.

Fees

The average fee of D Pharm course is INR 45,000 to 1, 00,000 per annum. It may be more or less depending on the institution, private, semi-private, or government. 

Scholarships

Some of the International scholarships available for International students to pursue pharmacy courses are mentioned below:

• Richard Cullen And Siu-Kuen Chan Scholarship At International House
• Education Future International Scholarship
• Out-Of-State Competitive Tuition Discount In USA
• Laurentian University Academic Excellence Scholarships
• School Of Nursing International Awards In USA 
• Purdue University Trustees Scholarship
• Pathway To Victoria International Scholarship In Australia

Subjects Covered 

The syllabus of D Pharmacy strives to impart students with a plethora of basic concepts in order to establish a strong foundation for further bachelor’s and master’s level courses. Since the program is offered by many leading universities of India and abroad, the curriculum of the course tends to differ. The following table elucidates some of the essential subjects that are a part of the program: 

Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Pharmacology and Toxicology	Human Anatomy and Physiology
Pharmaceutics	Drug Store and Business Management	Pharmacognosy
Biochemistry and Clinical Physiology	Hospital and Clinical Pharmacy	Pharmaceutical Jurisprudence
Health Education and Community Pharmacy	Advanced Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Clinical Bio-Chemistry

Note: The subjects mentioned above are just for indicative purposes and may differ from one university to another.

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Eligibility

• The following requirements must be met by applicants for the Diploma in Pharmacy programme.
• Students must have taken Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology as required subjects.
• The candidate must receive an overall grade point average of at least 50%.
• Candidates from the SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy layer), DAA, and other categories will receive a 10% mark reduction.

Admission Process for D Pharmacists

Pharma D Typically, admission is determined by a candidate’s performance on an entrance exam. GPAT, AU AIMEE, and other significant entrance tests are some of the ones used for this purpose. Additionally, some universities provide merit-based admittance. Below is a list of the numerous processes that make up the admissions process.

Admission based on merit

• Send the application to the colleges or universities where you want to study.
• achieve success on your Class 12 exams
• Colleges publish their merit lists in due time. Verify your admissions eligibility for the course you want to enrol in
• Visit the college and present the necessary documentation if qualified

Admission based on entrance

The steps to apply for admission determined by entrance exam are as follows:

• Online registration is required for candidates, who must do so by going to the conducting body’s official website
• Carefully complete the application form with all relevant information
• Scan and upload any necessary documents, including grade reports. Only a specific format must be used for document uploads, according to the institute’s application page.
• Obtain the necessary application fee
• After each application has been evaluated for eligibility, admit cards are made available. To utilise it on the day of the exam, the admit card must be downloaded and printed
• Study according to the syllabus and sample questions. Show up for the test on the scheduled date
• Results are made public a few weeks after the exam day. A candidate can go to the next phase if they successfully pass the admission exams
• Students who passed the entrance exams are given counselling. Now, the student can enrol in the D Pharma course

Top Universities Offering D Pharmacy in India & Abroad

There are numerous academic institutions around the world that offer specialised diplomas and certificates in the Pharmaceutical domain.

For the candidates wanting to attain overseas education with D Pharmacy, below are some of the leading international universities and their prospective courses you need to consider:

Equivalent Diploma/Certificate Courses	D Pharmacy Universities Abroad
Diploma of Pharmacy Studies	University of Tasmania
Practice Certificate in Independent Prescribing (Pharmacy)	University of Hertfordshire
Overseas Pharmacist	Aston University
Pharmacist Prescribing Programme	University of Bath
Pharmacy Technician	Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning

Also read: Best Pharmacy Colleges in India

Below we have listed some of the major and top-notch medical institutes and colleges in India offering D Pharmacy.

• Manipal Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Karnataka 
• DIT University, Uttarakhand
• JSS College of Pharmacy, Ooty 
• Dev Bhoomi Group of Institutions 
• Om Sai Paramedical College 

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Career Scope of D Pharmacy

Once you have completed D Pharmacy, there are a plethora of career prospects that await you. If you want to delve deeper into this specialised domain, you can go for grabbing higher-level degrees available at bachelor’s or a master’s level after which you can pursue job profiles like Drug Inspector, Drug Controller, Technical Supervisor, Quality Analyst, Production Executive. Below we have curated a list of some of the major job opportunities available for those who have completed a diploma in Pharmacy:

• Consultant Pharmacists
• Clinical Pharmacist
• Dispensary Pharmacist
• Community Pharmacist
• Hospital Pharmacist
• Medicines Management Technician
• Medical Transcriptionist
• Pharmacy Assistant

Companies Hiring for D Pharmacy

The top recruiters for pharmacists includes the following

• Johnson & Johnson 
• Pfizer 
• Roche
• Novartis
• Merck & Co.
• GlaxoSmithKline
• Sanofi AbbVie

Also read: PhD in Pharmacy

Salary in D Pharmacy

In India, the average starting salary for D Pharm candidates is around INR 2,00,000 to 3,00,000 per year. Abroad, the salary can be $15-$25 (INR 1095-1826) dollars per hour. The yearly package of $139,679 (INR 1.01 Cr)is also provided to some candidates in the USA. Experience and field expertise are the deciding factors for higher pay.

Entrance Exams

There are many national and state-level entrance exams for D Pharma program: w

Exam Name	Registration Dates	Exam Dates
GUJCET	January 6, 2023 – January 20, 2023	April 2023
BITSAT	2nd week of February 2023 – 2nd week of May 2023	3rd week of June 2023
MH CET	February 10, 2023 to May 15, 2023	June 15, 2023 to June 20, 2023

FAQs

Thus, we hope that this blog was informative to you about D Pharmacy and its essentials. If you are aiming to pursue this program and browsing for top medical institutions, take the help of Leverage Edu’s AI tool to narrow down suitable course and university combinations which align with your interests and career aspirations.