Bridge course a booster shot for D Pharm students to accelerate career growth: Dr. TV Narayana

B Pharm (Practice), bridge course, is seen as a good move by the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) as the course which has already started in some Deemed Universities in the country is expected to transform the career prospects and is a booster shot for the Diploma in Pharmacy holders' professional growth, said Dr. TV Narayana, president, Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA).

The very task of upgrading the standard of D Pharm holders to degree is much needed today. The course is open to candidates who have been employed for a period of three years. The candidate will be able to fine-tune his or her know-how on drug dispensing, adverse drug reaction, patient counselling, rational & irrational drug combination and medication dosage advice which will be very much beneficial for the employed chemists and druggists, he added. 

The bridge course enables candidates to develop a wide range of knowledge. It will help fast tracking career growth and even enable one to embark on an entrepreneurial path too.

In fact, nowhere in the world Diploma in Pharmacy exists. Globally the minimum qualification for a registered pharmacist is graduation. The best part is the syllabus of this bridge course which is current and comprehensive. The students will definitely learn something valuable. The format is user-friendly and any practicing diploma in pharmacy holder will be able to handle the subjects in a time-constrained environment.

Moreover, studying these subjects when he is already employed in a pharmacy outlet will keep him further updated and in tune with the requirements of his future career prospects, Dr. Narayana told Pharmabiz. 

Incidentally Dr. Narayana is also the director of Vikas Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh and was the Vice President & Chairperson of Education Division, Indian Pharmaceutical Association since 2008 before he took over the leadership status at IPA.

Stating that the best part of the curriculum is that it is student receptive with no need to attend routine lectures and examinations, Dr Narayana noted that the format is more towards updating the D Pharm candidates to remain current in the practices with multiple choice of questions and the part time classes makes it interesting to attend and arm knowledge. 

Going by the tangible career growth and possibility of seeking new job avenues, many colleges including those in the south India have started this. For instance Vikas Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences is now undergoing inspection by the Andhra University this week to conduct the bridge course after it was approved for the same by the Pharmacy Council of India. 

However, the technical issue here is that affiliated Universities are reluctant to approve the B Pharma (Practice) bridge course only because UGC guideline mandates that any degree programme should be of three years. But this is a four-year programme for the candidate as after Plus 2 he completes two-year D Pharm before taking on another 2 year of B Pharm bridge course. Currently only deemed universities like JSS Mysuru and Ooty besides Vinayaka Mission in Salem Tamil Nadu have started the programme, said Dr. Narayana.

Source: http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=115748&sid=1