Career in
Pharmacy in Pakistan
|
Pharm.
D degree or B.Pharmacy in Pakistan
Due
to limited number of medical colleges’ seats in Pakistan, thousands of
students every year failed to get admission, but admission in
medial
college is not the only choice. If you are really interested in
medical
profession then many other career choices are waiting for you.
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is an applied branch of physical education. The world of
medicine is very wide. It is not necessary that a student having
M.B.B.S degree can only enter in this field. Pharmacy is as important
field of medicine as
M.B.B.S. It is the pharmacist who decides which
medicine is useful to the patient among various medicines.
Eligibility
Students having intermediate (pre-medical) are eligible for admission in
B.Pharmacy. B.Pharmacy course
in Pakistan consists of four years.
Following
universities offer B.Pharmacy and now Pharm.D Degree course:
-
Faculty of
Pharmacy, University of Karachi
-
Faculty of
Pharmacy, University of Punjab
-
Faculty of
Pharmacy, University of Peshawar
-
Faculty of
Pharmacy, University of Balochistan, Quata
-
Faculty of
Pharmacy, University of Gomal, Dera Ismail Khan
-
Faculty of Pharmacy,
University of Sindh, Jamshoro
for more details about colleges/universities
>>>
Admissions are given on merit as there are numerous students but limited
seats. After completing B.Pharmacy course one can start ones career in
community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, industrial and research pharmacy.
Those who work in medical shops and stores are called community
pharmacists. Hospital pharmacists works in public and private sector’s
hospitals. B.Pharmacy degree holder can also get lucrative jobs in
pharmaceutical companies performing legal, professional and
administrative responsibilities there. Industrial and research
pharmacists works in research and development, quality control,
production and marketing departments of the pharmaceutical companies.
Every year in Pakistan, thousands of students get B.Pharmacy degree.
There are more than 10 thousand registered pharmacists in Pakistan
today. One can start ones own business as community pharmacist in this
field by establishing a shop or store in ones own locality. There are
also opportunities for further education and one can get M.Pharmacy and
PhD in Pharmacy.
Pharm.D (5 years of duration) in Pakistan
A new
course of Pharmacy is being adopted by the medical universities /
colleges named Pharm.D (5 years of duration) which will gradually be
replaced with the prevailing courses in Pakistan.
Read
more about Pharm.D
>>>
Personal qualities
Profession of Pharmacy can be very shining and brilliant for those youth
who are shrewd, frugal and careful in every matter as well as have
logical minded. Aptitude towards science is the fundamental
importance. Those who want to start their own business must be business
minded. Administrative skills are also very important in this field.
Nature of Work in Practical life
Pharmacists can have the opportunities to work in the following
branches:
Community Pharmacist:
Community pharmacist works in medical stores. His work is to prepare
the medicine according to the prescription of the doctor. Medicine
normally are packed and sealed. He provides not only medicine but
directions about prevention and dosage. Pharmacist also provides any
further clarification about the medicine asked by the buyer.
Hospital pharmacist:
They
work in small and large hospitals of public and private sector. Their
responsibilities include providing medicines to the patients and to
perform legal and administrative duties. They keep an eye on the
preservation of medicine and how do the nurses keep on providing it to
the patients.
Industrial Research Pharmacist:
Industrial research pharmacists have opportunities to get jobs in one of
the following branches:
-
Research and
Development
-
Quality control
-
Production
-
Marketing
Working environment
Professionals in pharmacy have to work in an organized manner. They have
to convey their instructions and information in such a way that there
remains no chance of mistake. Any mistake or ambiguity can caused damage
to the life of the patients.
Those
pharmacists who work in the medical stores have to look the precautions
about medicines carefully. Professional Pharmacists working in the
industrial organisations perform as per the requirement of the concerned
branch i.e. research and development, production, quality control and
marketing. Professionals in the marketing field have to work out side
the office and often travel out station.
Opportunities, Future prospects
According to the available data, there are more than 1000 hospitals,
five thousands dispensaries, one thousand child health centers, five
hundred village health centers and one thousand basic health centers,
more than five hundred tuberculosis treatment centers in Pakistan.
Private sector contribution in this regard is unknown as the data is not
available. Thus with this numerous opportunities in the field of
pharmacy, bright and lucrative career options are available.
Registration of pharmacists
According to the Pakistan Pharmacy act 1967, every qualified
professional pharmacist must register himself in the Pakistan Pharmacy
Council. This registration is carried out under the Provincial Pharmacy
council. A qualified pharmacist must have completed two hundreds hours
of practical training in any authorized industrial pharmaceutical
Organization or branch of pharmacy of any registered and authorized
hospital.
Personal Business opportunities
Qualified professional can set up a drug store. Pharmaceutical
organizations offer attractive commission on the purchase of their
medicine, therefore ample chances of success and profit are there in
this field.
Further details
For
further details one can contact from following bodies:
-
Pakistan Pharmacist
Association, Faculty of Pharmacy, Old Campus, Punjab University,
Lahore.
-
Parma Carnes, 8-
Idress Chamber, Talpur Road, I.I Chandigar Road, Karachi
-
Pakistan Pharmacy
Council, 41- Pakistan Secretariat, Sharae Iraq, Karachi.
