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Extending all support to the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) for its efforts to upgrade the standard and qualification of the working diploma pharmacists, the Bihar state branch of the Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA) has pointed out that the B. Pharm Practice course, the new academic initiative of the PCI will help in raising the standard and dignity of the profession and of the professionals.
Commenting on the bridge course and its poor acceptance by universities, Rabindralal Bandyopadhyay, the secretary of Bihar IPA, said the universities must be educated about the course and its beneficiaries. The bridge course is introduced for the experienced diploma holders and not intended for the plus two students. It is a blended course and such educational programs are popular in foreign countries. Bihar IPA will take steps to get the course introduced in the state through universities.
Taking the need of the bridge course, Rabindralal said now-a-days a pharmacist is not merely a dispenser of medicines, but a healthcare professional. The first Education Regulation framed in 1953 prescribed Diploma in Pharmacy as minimum qualification for entering into the profession of pharmacy. During the last 60 years period large-scale changes have occurred in pharmacy profession. With this development we need to develop the professional skill of the pharmacists and upgrade their standard and educational qualification. A common degree level basic education for a change in the educational programme of the pharmacists in tune with current requirements is urgently needed.
To a query, he said those universities which are not approving the course and restricting their affiliated colleges to conduct the course are obviously acting against the demand of the country’s citizens who need medicines and medication advice from pharmacy professionals. The conservative universities have to be educated and sensitized on this. The IPA Bihar state branch will take steps with the government to implement the Bridge Course of the PCI in all the colleges in the state with the support of the government and various professional associations, he said.
Dr R N Gupta, Professor at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences & Technology from the neighboring state of Jharkhand, said the B Pharm Practice, designed by PCI for working pharmacists engaged in hospitals and retail drug stores is a good course. It will provide opportunities to uplift their education. With this course, a diploma holder will become a pharmacy graduate after attending the classes in the evenings or holidays, and passing the examination on related subject. He wanted the working pharmacists to utilize this opportunity.
Meanwhile, some academic experts have commented that the private pharmacy colleges are the bottle-neck for the course to be taken ahead. The institutions are not supporting the bridge course because they consider it will affect their regular programmes. The universities disapprove the course because they do not want to annoy their affiliated colleges which are running regular courses like the B. Pharm.
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