Foram Trivedi
Can you tell me what is Pharmacy? May be a shop where the medicines are sold, right?
Well, I am writing this to inform you about Pharmacy as a career option in India. Pharmacy is a healthcare profession that has the power to save and sustain lives and is clearly an emerging career option in the recent times. Pharmacy is a branch of science that relates not only with selling the medicines at a medical store but it also involves an understanding of medicine/drug’s formulation, its suitability to the disease the patient is experiencing, its mechanism of action into the human body, its interactions with the food that you take and the other medicines you take concurrently, patient’s counselling along with the understanding of the regulatory requirements of a drug to be sold in a particular country.
To enter the course of Pharmacy, a candidate must have passed (10+2 or Std.XII) with Physics and Chemistry as main subjects and third optional subject as Biology or Mathematics. Diploma in Pharmacy (after Std.X) can also be an option to pursue Pharmacy.
Pharmacy career stream mainly involves the following courses:
B. Pharm (Bachelor of Pharmacy – 4 Years Course)
M. Pharm (Master of Pharmacy – 2 Years Course)
D. Pharm (Doctor of Pharmacy – 6 Years Course)
Doctorate
Post-Doctorate
Bachelor of Pharmacy (B. Pharm) is a 4 years’ course divided into 8 Semesters. The main subjects usually studied in B. Pharm involve:
Pharmaceutics – Theory and Practical
Human Anatomy and Physiology– Theory and Practical
Pharmacology– Theory and Practical
Pharmaceutical Microbiology– Theory and Practical
Pharmaceutical Analysis– Theory and Practical
Pharmaceutical Inorganic Chemistry – Theory and Practical
Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry – Theory and Practical
Medical Chemistry– Theory and Practical
Pharmacognosy– Theory and Practical
Pharmaceutical Jurisdiction – Theory
Quality Assurance – Theory
Novel Drug Delivery System – Theory
Pathophysiology – Theory
Biochemistry – Theory
Computer Applications in Pharmacy – Theory and Practical
Physical Pharmaceutics – Theory and Practical
Pharmaceutical Engineering
Medicinal Chemistry – Theory and Practical
Industrial Pharmacy – Theory and Practical
Herbal Drug Technology – Theory and Practical
Instrumental Method of Analysis – Theory and Practical
Biostatistics and Research Methodology – Theory
Social and Preventive Pharmacy – Theory
Pharmaceutical Marketing – Theory
Pharmaceutical Regulatory Science – Theory
Cosmetic Science – Theory
Advanced Instrumental Techniques – Theory
Project/Thesis Work
Masters of Pharmacy (M. Pharm) is a 2 years’ course divided into 4 Semesters. The main branches in which M. Pharm can be pursued are as follows:
Pharmaceutics
Novel Drug Delivery Systems
Pharmaceutical Analysis
Quality Assurance
Medicinal Chemistry
Pharmacology
Pharmacognocy /Herbal Drug Technology
Regulatory Affairs
Further the full time or part time Doctoral/Post-Doctoral Programmes can also be pursued depending on the subject expertise chosen. D. Pharm (Doctor of Pharmacy) is also an evolving branch of Pharmacy. It is basically a 6 Years course including 5 years’ of theoretical learning course + 1 Year of internship in a pharmaceutical company.
For higher education after B. Pharm., a candidate has to appear for Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT) which is a national level entrance examination for entry into M. Pharm Programmes. GPAT is three-hour computer based online test which is conducted in a single session. A few scholarships and financial assistance in form of stipend of ₹ 12,500/- (as of till date) are also given on eligible GPAT score. You can see the list of reputed colleges offering B.Pharm. in Gujarat as given below.
NIPER (National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research) institutes are the most prestigious institutes of Pharmaceutical Sciences in India for Post Graduate courses (M. Pharm) and doctoral/post-doctoral courses. There are 7 NIPER institutes in India and you can see the list/locations given below.
After completing graduation or higher education in Pharmacy, there are many job opportunities in private as well as government sectors.
Most preferred career options after choosing Pharmacy are as follows:
Job in various Pharmaceutical/ Cosmeceutical companies having initial positions of a Research and Development (R & D) Scientist
Drug Inspector – after passing through UPSC examinations
Pharmaceutical Marketing Jobs
Pathological Lab scientist
Health Inspectors
Pharmacist/Wholesaler
A Pharmacy graduate from Gujarat state has to register with Gujarat State Pharmacy Council (GSPC) to get License of Pharmacist after which one can work as licensed Pharmacist in any Pharmacy store within Gujarat.
To briefly introduce myself, I am Foram Trivedi working as a Regulatory Affairs Associate at Baxter Pharmaceuticals India Private Limited, Ahmedabad. I am a daughter of Prof.Dharmendra Dhirajlal Trivedi and Mrs. Meena Trivedi from Bhavnagar. I studied my (10+2) at Ambuja Vidya Niketan, Ambujanagar. I have done my B. Pharm. and M. Pharm. (in Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance) from Institute of Pharmacy, Nirma University, Ahmedabad. I had done my Industrial Project and Training at Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited, Mumbai during my M. Pharm. study. After that I have been a part of Pharmaceutical Companies such as Torrent Pharmaceuticals Limited, Ahmedabad and Syri Research Private Limited (a UK Subsidiary), Vadodara, as Regulatory Affairs Executive. My role and responsibilities mainly involve implementing the International standards and Regulations to build in the high quality medicinal products that are sold out globally, involving preparing the dossiers for fetching marketing authorisations of different medicinal products and their lifecycle management post approval. For more information, you can contact me on my below mentioned contact details: Mobile No.: +91 95123 88906, E-mail ID: foramtrivedi14@gmail.com.
List of Reputed Institutes offering Pharmacy courses in Gujarat:
Institute of Pharmacy Nirma University, Ahmedabad
MSU Borada – Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda
LM College of Pharmacy, Ahmedabad
BK Mody Government Pharmacy College, Rajkot
SAL Institute of Pharmacy, Ahmedabad
KBIPER Gandhinagar – KB Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research
Parul Institute of Pharmacy, Vadodara
Saurashtra University, Rajkot
Ramanbhai Patel College of Pharmacy, Changa
Saraswati Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Gandhinagar
LJ Institute of Pharmacy, Ahmedabad
Pioneer Pharmacy Degree College, Vadodara
Maliba Pharmacy College, Tarsadi
Smt BNB Swaminarayan Pharmacy College, Salvav
Babaria Institute of Pharmacy, Vadodara
Anand Pharmacy College, Anand
List of NIPER institutes in India:
NIPER S.A.S. Nagar, Mohali, Punjab
NIPER, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
NIPER, Hajipur, Bihar
NIPER, Hyderabad, Telangana
NIPER, Kolkata, West Bengal
NIPER, Guwahati, Assam
NIPER, Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh
