pharmacy curriculum and pedagogy need to be changed for better placement of students: an untold...

Journal of Current Pharmaceutical Research 2010; x(x): xx-xx

JCPR 2010; x(x): xx-xx

© 2010 Medipoeia

Received: 12/05/2010

Revised: 18/06/2010

Accepted: 20/06/2010

Ruchi Sharma,

RKDF college of pharmacy,

Indore (M.P.) India

Amit Gangwal

Vivacious herbal consultant,

Indore (M.P.) India

Viraj Negi

BM college of pharmacy,

Indore (M.P.) India

Correspondence:

Amit Gangwal

1635-b, scheme no. 71

Behind Ranjit Hanuman Temple

Indore 452009, (M.P.) India

E-mail: [email protected]

Mob.: 09770067373

Pharmacy curriculum and pedagogy need to be

changed for better placement of students: An untold

story of unsung heroes

Ruchi Sharma, Amit Gangwal and Viraj Negi

, Goli Divakar and Manoj K. Jangid

ABSTRACT

Objective: The Education is a must for a nation‟s progress irrespective of other problems

prevailing in that country. Education has the power to revamp the whole system or irregularities

or any gross root problems like food, clothing and shelter; three basic needs since the dawn of

civilization. In India many technical courses like engineering, pharmacy, management,

architecture, town planning etc. are being run under the aegis of various controlling bodies.

Pharmaceutical sciences is one of the most important branches dealing with medicines and thus

with the health of a nation. At present courses like diploma, degree, post-graduation and recently

launched Pharm. D. and five year integrated MBA (with pharma) are in force in country. Still

there are some lacunae in these curricula which is reflected by the unemployed people after doing

these courses. This review discusses basic problems and possible suggestions to make pharmacy

curricula foolproof along with pedagogy so that more and more students can be made employable

and versatile at the same time making them as tough as wild plants. Conclusion: The

formulation F2 was optimized based on good bioadhesive strength (19.0 ± 0.30 g) and sustained

in vitro drug permeation (85.68 % for 6 h). The chosen tablet containing 8 mg of Atorvastatin

calcium performed 6 h sustained drug release with desired therapeutic concentration.

Keywords: Pharma industry, Pharmacy, Pharm., Syllabi.

1. INTRODUCTION

HRD chief (Govt. of India) Kapil Sibbal promises that a revolution larger than the one in

the telecom sector awaits the education sector. The country is witnessing surging demand of

management courses, technical education and vocational training. This has led to a huge number

of educational and training institutes opening up in the country. In a landmark decision, the foreign

education bill got the cabinet approval recently, which is going to give a tough competition to

domestic players. At a time when gates are being opened for foreign players, students are not only

going to get an overseas degree in country itself, but also total experience and exposure. HRD

ministry is planning to help students evolve into global citizens. Curricula, faculty and research

excellence are the areas which are to be looked into.

Several technical course (viz architecture, engineering, management, hotel management,

medical courses, pharmacy etc.) are being offered in colleges run by government and private

players with some providing state of the art infrastructure, while others are gasping for facilities

(but constantly churning out imperfect products i. e. unemployable graduates and in some cases

post graduates too).

Pharmaceutical science is highly specific and health related profession. Varied courses

available in this technical domain are D. Pharm., B. Pharm., M. Pharm., Ph. D. and recently

started courses like Pharm. D. and five year integrated course in management with pharmacy. In

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a time when pharmacy education and pharmacists in many other

part of the world are gaining importance, in India these health

professionals are still mistaken as someone who did some sort of

course in farmacy. This is due to lack of focus and orientation in

pharmacy education in India. This review draws attention towards

lacunae of pharmacy syllabi & education system at large and

possible ways to make pharmacy field and students (enrolled for

different courses in pharmacy) more dynamic, updated and

employable. Purpose of the write up is not to promote or rebuke

pharmacy education or institutes or policy makers, but to address

the growing unemployment. The addressees of this article could be

such people as faculties, students, management of pharmacy

colleges, policy makers etc.

2. PRESENT STATE OF AFFAIRS

The numbers of pharmaceutical industries (may it be

small, medium or full fledged MNCs) are very very less, let alone

herbal industries, compared to mammoth figures of institutes

offering courses of pharmacy. To make situation grimmer, each

year more and more colleges are being opened after the so called

strict regulation and inspection of different govt. bodies and

concerned university.

Perhaps only pharmacy students perform practicals

rigorously in all the four years (many of them useless then also

repeatedly), mug-up what not, without even seeing many common

instruments (like HPLC, HPTLC, IR, NMR, modified dissolution

apparatus to list a few). Latter being the main reason for ending up

their career in production and marketing uninterestingly.

Come to very sad thing. In industry, medicinal chemistry

people have to fight with M.Sc. chemistry (organic/inorganic /

pharma chemistry etc.); pharmacognosy guys have the rivalry with

botany and ayurvedic doctors; pharmacology post graduates get

tough competition from MD (pharmacology), biotech man has to

confront again with M.Sc. microbiology/ biotechnology /

biochemistry etc.) and likes of, to get a job which they are most fit

for, at least from academic qualification point of view. The irony is

that pharmacy syllabi is so rigid and specific that a graduate and

post graduate in pharmacy can not be placed (or they are unable to

perform better) in other industries even not in remotely related

organizations like FMCG etc. On the other hand M. Sc. students or

a graduate in conventional course have more options to choose

from. Perhaps this is the only field whose graduates rub shoulder

with B. A., B. Com., B. Sc. in marketing of pharmaceuticals.

Because of age old syllabi and lack of; communication skills and

broader understanding of worldly affairs, pharmacist in general can

not be deployed to do marketing of non pharmacy products. If it so

and has to be continue then how a talented boy or girl will get a job

in industry; and therefore the title of this article reads “Pharmacy

curriculum and pedagogy need to be changed for better placement

of students: An untold story of unsung heroes”. It seems to be a

debatable issue that why companies hire these non technical

people. This is an area where policy makers and people from

pharmacy fraternity should look into.

One more points worth mentioning here is of Ph. D.

holders. Most of the postgraduates do research work while being in

teaching job (full time, part time or in any preferable way) so that

they could earn their livelihood. But when they send their CVs in

industries for suitable posts after prefixing Dr. with their names,

they don‟t get a call back. The indirect sources then inform that

“your teaching experience of Ph. D. tenure might have made you

lethargic and accustomed to sedentary life style which is

detrimental for the growth of so called 24×7 functioning

industries”. (It is understood at the same time that a topper has

always options whatever may be the field). Finally most of the

young researchers end up in academics either because of this

baseless denial or lack of vacancies.

2. SUGGESTIONS

The production of pharmacists who can clearly

communicate the value of their unique pharmaceutical knowledge

is increasingly significant for all those who are involved in

pharmacy education. Communication skills are increasingly

important. Students need to develop excellence in both written and

verbal communication. Moreover experience in accessing and

exploiting the vast computer information network is equally

important for successful research and teaching careers or on any

walk of life. For this addition of more and more stuff related to

communication skills will be a welcome step.

Some questions are yet to be answered like what is the

role of clinical pharmacist in India? We, as member of this noble

fraternity, are very happy and appreciate the efforts of group of

people who got the bill, for this course, passed from red tape, but at

the same time we have to think about the future of those who are

doing this course of five years (one more than the usual B. Pharm.

course in which we make them “jack of all, master of none”)

whether they want to move abroad or not.

Why not to make B. Pharm. syllabi very specific at the

level of graduation only ala engineering domain, so that there is no

need of super specialization like M. Pharm? Because situation is

more or less alike even after doing Post graduation. Now-a-days

most of the M. Pharm. degree holders are doing jobs in production

area (which until recently used to be a place for their graduate

counterparts) and B. Pharm. people are doing marketing jobs an

area initially occupied mainly by science graduates. Before few

days one of the authors came across a naïve M. Pharm. doing job

for a pharma industry, in Gujarat, at a capacity of medical

representative commonly referred to as MR. All these show that

because of burgeoning students, now ball seems to be in the court

of employer (though it had never been in the court of students) at

the cost of degrees of the students. Still there is no vindicated

answer why transverse sections of crude drugs are being taught in

colleges and what is the role of pith, fibers, calcium oxalate

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crystals and vascular bundles in an interview room where so called

smartest interviewers look at pharmacognosy (and

pharmacognosist for that matter) with contempt. It is rubbish then

to teach this stuff to a chap who has already made his mind for

other specialization or some other sector involving more relevant

and job providing stuff. Instead of all these (transverse sections

etc.), a student can be taught more about isolation and structure

elucidation of natural compounds so that she could fit herself not

only in isolation plant but also in analytical division of pharma

industry or other industry (like fertilizers, pesticides, paints etc.)

involving synthesis and analysis. Like wise so many issues are

there which seem trivial but they are very important.

Looking at the lighting fast change in technology and

every other organized sector one needs to keep pace with it

otherwise she will be forgotten at her own cost and he/she will be

thrown by her juniors/subordinates, let alone his colleagues. It will

not be exaggerating to state here that change in syllabi each year

will definitely lace students with latest information. Still syllabi at

post graduate level of many universities are replete with same

monotonous topics of graduate level. Rather to teach

pharmaceutical engineering I and II (as in most of the universities

of nation), more interesting and useful topics/subjects should be

added, motto being same to make students employable besides

teaching relevant stuff. Removal of dispensing pharmacy subject

from the curriculum of Rajiv Gandhi Technical University Bhopal

is a welcome move. But more such bold decisions are needed to be

taken as early as possible in the favor of students and profession. If

there is no incorporation of new subjects then teach them things

like marketing, selling skills, foreign languages, soft skills, group

discussion, conduct mock interviews and everything so that they

could be as strong as wild plants. Make them fully global opening

all the possible avenues available for them. Why only these will be

and should be confined to management students? College may also

start its own certificate programs for its students at concessional

rates and at regular rates for outsiders. Short term courses like PG

diploma, certificate programs and vocational courses should be

started as an additional qualification for better employability and

more importantly for self-employment. This can be offered on

topics like stability studies, DNA & RNA manipulations, plant

tissue culture, Patent and its drafting, analytical techniques, pilot

plant set up, regulatory audits etc. The benefit will be that college

will make buck and in-house students will also be benefited.

Make institutes a second home. Cut throat competition

has brought management of institutes at loggerheads. Management

bodies and other responsible people have to dance on the tunes of

students without compromising with quality at all, obviously if

former has to survive and to churn out nation-useful students. It

encompasses a amicable canteen, laboratories, well equipped

recreational room with ample sets of games stuff, Wi-Fi campus,

LCD enabled lectures with full involvement of students. Pharmacy

students also want to flaunt their attire at times, so permit them to

wear what they want at least once in a week. When you will teach

them how to dress up? Encourage students as well as faculties to

befriend only good books. This point is worth mentioning here

because in recent years market has been flooded with substandard

books misguiding the readers. Arrange field trips for showing them

botanical and medicinal garden for a first hand experience of all

those they read in books. This may also refrain students from

mugging up.

In nut shell do everything possible positively to have

more number of footfalls in institutes so that students can be

exposed to college fully which in turn will make them turn out

regularly in campus. Even colleges running basic and conventional

courses like B. Com., B. Sc. etc. have adopted semester systems;

schools also welcoming moves like grade system (besides many

other moves), then why institutes running courses like

pharmaceutical sciences (which is highly specific, targeted and

directly related to the health of a nation), are reluctant to accept

and implement changes at least those which are time tested and

being used in some part of the world? If institutes are open to these

changes then definitely it will help in employing latest technology

in various operations involved in pharmacy profession which could

be used to make teaching and learning more enjoyable and less

monotonous. In this world of 3G & 4G technologies and 20-20

generation, students won‟t give institutes second chance and

industry wont give student second chance if the latter fails to crack

the interview. In such scenario institutes are required to upgrade

themselves very fast from view point of students‟ future also.

The least looked into area in an institute at large is apathy

for its most invaluable asset i. e. faculties. Much has been said and

written about teaching and working style of staff, that teaching

should be full of ideas instead of just doling out the content from

books; there should be bilateral system in classroom. We agree

with these all stuff which are expected from a faculty but one can

extract all these qualities from a faculty just by making him

comfortable in his work area. Generally it is observed that there are

no separate tables for the staff members let alone a separate cabin.

Recommended books and journals on different subjects are also

not seen in many institutes. Until you provide a tech savvy

academician emerging teaching tools like projectors, internet

enabled class rooms, models etc; how can you expect him/her to

involve a big chunk of students in classroom?

Today‟s media influenced/marred/honed students do not

want to be mute spectators; they also want to have their say in

everything. Faculties can make a big difference while discussing

with students topics like biosynthesis of plant metabolites, jumbo

cycles of biochemistry etc. if they use novel teaching tools. An

institute can never exploit these talented people completely for the

benefit of students without providing sufficient amenities. Time to

time staff development program should be conducted and faculties

should be encouraged to attend such programs for keeping

themselves academically abreast.

Internship plays a very important role in today‟s academic

curriculum, particularly for students in technical courses. As

economies are developing and the entire world is heading towards

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globalization, prior exposure to industry work culture proves to be

useful for a graduate student who is about to enter the job market.

Potential employer looks for experienced, though little bit, people

in case of freshers. They feel that students lack the practical

experience to excel in real world, internship has become more

important than ever (Goel V., 2010).

Now-a-days a fresher could no longer be a naïve; he has

to be something extra otherwise he will be surpassed by the next in

the serpentine queue. Internship prompts students to work under

pressure and meet deadlines. They get to know how a small

concept learned in theory proves crucial when it comes to

practically implementing a project. It is not that only students get

benefitted from the internship. The industry also gains from the

interns by assigning them projects which saves a lot of time for

them, and this is why paid internship are quite popular now-a-days.

There is a huge chasm between what is being taught and

what is needed in industry. A graduate is not aware of all these and

pays same attention to all the topics and all the subjects regardless

of their utility in industry. Students are lacking in interdisciplinary

knowledge, enough practical orientation, oral and written skills.

Syllabi are not uniform, there is inclusion of outmoded and

unnecessary elements which are not being followed by

pharmaceutical industries, no exposure to upcoming projects,

molecules etc. From time to time syllabi should be revamped to

include the subjects of contemporary interest. Training is a

continuous process, not just in technical issues but also in

management skills, quality consciousness, communications,

foreign language and personal-effectiveness skills. This constant

skill up gradation had and will enable students to move into higher

realm of their career and life. More and more liaisons will have to

be made between industries and institutes not only for placing

students after the completion of their chosen course but also during

their education so that students could be sent to industries for a live

exposure as well as for the accomplishment of their academic

projects. Policy maker have to arrange things in such a way that

industry outsource its few task (such as literature survey, statistical

treatment for huge crude data etc.), to institute so that student will

get an opportunity to update themselves about the nuances of the

place where they have to go after finishing their curriculum

without actually being present in such industries plus it will be a

win-win situation for both the parties. To avoid repetition of

research topics, there can be a common register maintained by

central or sate universities in which students or mentor will make

an entry of their chosen or allotted topics. Moreover such topics

should have potency to get student direct entry into industry

without any sort of jack or link. It means chosen topic should have

immediate relevance to industries.

Make students become entrepreneur while still juggling

with college chores in B. Pharm. so that they could set off their

own small business or sort of. They may also think for a set up in

which they will embark into allied businesses like horticulture,

worm culture, selling of sapling based on their skills of plant tissue

culture and pharmacognosy. Likewise if we start thinking out-of-

box, there will be so many options which students are not aware of.

But these require through training and superb teaching at each and

every level of their graduation with training as and when required.

If there are problems or delay in getting approval from

universities or government offices for change in syllabi then go for

changes on your own making institute fully autonomous because if

changed syllabus is unique, in conformity with latest technology

and information then students are definitely going to get job, like

most of the management institutes but syllabi should always be

open for changes as per the requirements of industries and higher

researcher centers situated overseas and in country too. For this

meeting and interaction with industry personnel is inevitable.

3. CONCLUSION

Government alone cannot be blamed for prevailing

circumstance of pharmacy institutes. With due respect, honorable

policy makers sate and central agencies and authorities should look

into all these points and come out with foolproof education model

which can make pharmacy courses more attention-grabbing,

motivating and fascinating. AICTE should make fully surprise

visits to institutes and as far as possible in decision making

committee people should be from ace management and technical

institutes like IIT, IIM, IISc, etc. so that correct and timely decision

could be taken in a transparent way, the main aim being the benefit

of the students and maintenance of quality in higher education. For

this matter retired persons from reputed fields like military,

administration (IAS/IPS etc.) etc. could be appointed who cannot

be served by anybody by any means.

How many seminars and conferences (by govt.

departments, institutes and other hosts who organizes various

seminars-funded by highly active and responsible independent

bodies on topics like “recent advances/current trends in this and

that blab blab”) are arranged on really burning issues like scope in

pharmacy or how pharmacist or pharmacy graduates, postgraduates

could be make more employable or how go get rid of malpractices

in this noble profession?

If we could make pharmaceutical sciences ever evolving,

students-friendly and job providing then only there will be healthy

chance of making India healthy by 2020 as dreamt by former

president of India Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and less chance of

people mistaking pharmacy as farmacy. Main aim of education at

least in today‟s world should be to make students marketable

besides a good human being.

REFERENCES

Goel V., Internship-the „in‟ thing; Times of India, New Delhi, April 18,

2010, 10.

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