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Pharmacy profession is a recession proof career. This is because the pharma industry is the lifeline of the healthcare sector. Even in difficult times of a slowing economy, where trade and industrial activity are reduced, pharmacy profession endures as patient care is critical and crucial, said Prof. R Raveendra, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Cauvery College of Pharmacy, Mysuru.
It is being positioned globally as a promising career option because it offers growth and job satisfaction. Pharmacy graduates, post graduates and doctorates need to constantly hone their skills and update their knowledge to maximize the growth avenues. The role of a pharmacist goes much beyond working at pharmacy outlets which is the stepping stone for a rewarding career in areas of manufacture, research, regulatory, marketing pharmacokinetics, pharmacognosy, pharmacovigilance and disease surveillance, to name a few.
The career in pharmacy interfaces with the medical profession where exposure to drug formulations, its active ingredients, use of transdermal patches, assessment of adverse drug interactions, monitoring patient drug compliance, and prevention of medication errors makes this branch much-sought after. There is a need to bring to the fore the lucrative and career growth opportunities to students and their parents. There has been considerable paucity of professional counselling in this stream across schools where students decide the career options, noted Prof. Raveendra adding that the Covid pandemic provided some importance on the indispensability of pharmacy profession in a healthcare setting.
Hence pharmacy is an important aspect of the healthcare sector because it deals with the preparation and distribution of medications used to treat patients. While most people believe that after taking a pharmacy exam, aspirants will only be able to operate in pharmacies but the reality is that there is more to the profession. A pharmacy degree a recognized college will help candidates pursue a variety of career opportunities, he noted.
A pharmacist is a key link between doctors and patients. In a hospital environment or a medical store, they may serve as a drug specialist. A career in pharmacy is recession-proof since medicine is used to cure diseases and increase the quality of life which will exist even if there is unemployment and inflation. As a result, those who choose pharmacy as a career path will have access to workforce even as a slowdown affects other industrial sectors. Pharmacy graduates serving in a pharmacy store can still hold on because of his recognition as a qualified knowledgeable drug specialists.
According to Prof. Raveendra, the field of medicine is on the constant look for new drugs for treatments. It is here a pharmacist plays a critical role by contributing to research on novel molecules that could be developed into formulations which are safe and efficacious. This takes them to job avenues like toxicological investigation, clinical trials and pharmacovigilance, he said.
Therefore students pursuing pharmacy need to consider the quality of academic institutions, faculty and lab infrastructure besides scope for industry training to be armed with the knowhow to pursue in a profession that is recession proof, he said.
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