Last Updated on December 31, 2023 by The Health Master
PUNE: Patient counseling, a drug regime for chronic and acute diseases, and a patient-centric syllabus are now part of pharmacy courses. The syllabus was updated after 30 years.
The changed syllabus now focuses on employability skills, practical skills and blended learning that would improve the standard of pharmacy education in India. Principals of city-based colleges followed up the syllabus change with the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) which issued a gazette notification on October 16 for diploma courses.
Principal of the Institute of Pharmacy, Azam Campus, V N Jagtap, a member of the panel that recommended the changes, said the old syllabus lacked demonstration of industrial equipment and their evaluation, novel drug delivery systems, pharmacy operation software and soft skills required for patient counseling. These have now been incorporated in the new syllabus.
The council released the education regulations 2020 for diploma course in pharmacy, (made under section 10 of the Pharmacy Act 1948), and published in the gazette of India, Extraordinary, part III Section 4, on October 16.
Jagtap said, “ An upgrade of the curriculum was necessary as students should be aware about new medicines and technologies which have come up in the healthcare sector. There is an increase in the number of multispecialty hospitals and medicine centres in the country.
Also read: Education Regulations 2020 for D Pharmacy notified: PCI
We need people who are aware about modern techniques of medicines, logistics, patient counseling, drug regimen given for chronic as well as acute diseases. The old syllabus for the diploma in pharmacy is not patient-centric. It was business centric.” Many faculty members and students of diploma colleges across the country had sought an urgent revision in the syllabus.
They said several chapters are outdated affecting the quality of graduates in the job market. The course work continued to impart techniques and medication lessons no longer practised in the medical field.
Atmaram Pawar, principal of Bharati Vidyapeeth University’s Poona College of Pharmacy, said, “This change in the syllabus will give the correct direction for diploma pharmacy students.”
P A Inamdar, president of Maharashtra Cosmopolitan Education Society, said, “We followed up with the council regularly on the syllabus upgrade. Students should be aware about new medicines and technologies which have come up in the healthcare sector.”
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