Pharmacy profession is expanding with a lot of career opportunities. It is clearing the confusion created in the young minds regarding the line of work within this sector. Till today, both in India and abroad, pharmacy professionals were allowed to work in retail, clinical, hospital, pharmaceutical industries, chemical industries, research laboratories, sales, educational institutions and regulatory agencies with certain limitations. But now, changes are taking place creating broader prospects for the pharmacy professionals especially for the graduates who are more inclined towards careers abroad and looking for a new walk of life.

The scope of pharmacy practice includes more traditional roles such as compounding and  dispensing medications, and it also includes more modern services related to healthcare, including clinical services, reviewing medications for safety and efficacy, and providing  drug information. Pharmacists, therefore, are the experts on drug therapy and are the
primary health professionals who optimise medication use to provide patients with  positive health outcomes.

Types of pharmacy practice areas
Community pharmacy
A community pharmacy is a community-based pharmacy. The main responsibilities of a community pharmacy include compounding, counselling, and dispensing of drugs on prescription to the patients with care, accuracy, and legality. Appropriate procurement, storage, dispensing and documentation of medicines are within the purview of its professional responsibilities.

Basic Requisites for Community Pharmacist are:
1. Be expert in pharmaceutical care, pharmacotherapy, and health promotion.
2. Be professional communicators with patients, other healthcare providers, and decision makers.
3. Deliver good quality in products, services, and communication.
4. Document their actions and make descriptions and publications.

HOSPITAL PHARMACY
Hospital pharmacies can usually be found within the premises of a hospital. Hospital pharmacies usually stock a larger range of medications, including more specialised and investigational medications (medicines that are being studied, but have not yet been approved),than would be feasible in the community setting.
Hospital pharmacies typically provide medications for the hospitalised patients only, and are not retail establishments. They typically do not provide prescription service to  the public.

CLINICAL PHARMACY
Clinical pharmacy is the branch of Pharmacy where pharmacists provide patient care that optimizes the use of medication and promotes health, wellness, and disease prevention.
Clinical pharmacists take care of patients in all healthcare settings but the clinical pharmacy movement initially began inside hospitals and clinics. Clinical pharmacists often collaborate with physicians and other healthcare professionals. Clinical pharmacists have extensive education in the biomedical, pharmaceutical, socio-behavioural
and clinical sciences. Most clinical pharmacists have a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree and many have completed one or more years of postgraduate training (e.g. a general and/or specialty pharmacy residency).

Veterinary pharmacy
A Veterinary pharmacist is a specially trained pharmacist who dispenses veterinary medicines and supplies over-the-counter products and advice to owners of companion animals and livestock.

NUCLEAR PHARMACY
Nuclear Pharmacy involves the preparation of radioactive materials that will be used to diagnose and treat specific diseases. Nuclear pharmacy seeks to improve and promote health through the safe and effective use of radioactive drugs for not only diagnosis but also therapy. Nuclear pharmacists undergo additional training specific to handling
radioactive materials, and unlike in community and hospital pharmacies, nuclear pharmacists typically do not interact directly with patients.

MILITARY PHARMACY
Military pharmacy is an entirely different working environment due to the fact that technicians perform most duties that in a civilian sector would be illegal. State laws of  Technician patient counseling and medication checking by a pharmacist do not apply.
Pharmacists in the military perform some or all of the following duties:
• Manage pharmacy technicians who prepare, label, and dispense orders for drugs and medicines
• Advise doctors and patients on the proper use and side effects of drugs and medicines
• Train medical, nursing, and pharmacy staff on the use of drugs
• Consult on drug and medicine research programmes
• Check drug and medicine supplies and reorder when necessary
• Direct pharmacy record keeping

PHARMACIST RESPONSIBITIES
• Pharmacists play a vital role in the healthcare system through the medicine and information they provide.
• While responsibilities vary among the different areas of pharmacy practice, the bottom line is that pharmacists help patients get well.
• Pharmacist’s responsibilities include a range of care for patients, from dispensing medications to monitoring patient health and progress to maximize their response to the medication.
• Pharmacists also educate consumers and patients on the use of prescriptions and over-the-counter medications, and advice physicians, nurses, and other health professionals on drug decisions.
• Pharmacists also provide expertise about the composition of drugs, including their chemical, biological, and physicalproperties and their manufacture and use.
They ensure drug purity and strength and make sure that drugs do not interact in a harmful way.
• Pharmacists are drug experts ultimately concerned about their patients’ health and wellness.
• The pharmacist is a key healthcare professional in helping people achieve the best results from their medications

PROGRAMMES

A variety of pharmacy degree programmes are offered in India: diploma in pharmacy (DPharm), bachelor of pharmacy (BPharm), master of pharmacy (MPharm), Master of Science in pharmacy [MS (Pharm)] and master of technology in pharmacy [MTech (Pharm)], doctor of pharmacy (PharmD), and doctor of philosophy in pharmacy (PhD).
Entry qualifications for pharmacy programmes vary across and within states,  and most significantly, between private and public institutions. Entry requirements also vary depending on the degree programme.

DPHARM PROGRAM.
• In India, higher secondary study is concluded by a terminal examination, the higher secondary examination, at the end of 12 years. Admission to the first year DPharm programme in any government college is based on performance on the higher secondary examination. However, private colleges have their own admission procedures that comply with the education regulations of the PCI.

BPHARM PROGRAM.
• The Bachelor of Pharmacy is a four year, full-time degree that builds on biomedical, pharmaceutical and health sciences during the first two years of the programme, and progresses to more specific and applied disciplines in years three and four. The BPharm is taught through a combination of lectures, laboratory sessions, tutorials,
seminars, supervised clinical practice and selfdirected projects.
• A dissertation in the final year of study consolidates research and analytical skills, while a series of practice placements enables students to gain experience in appropriate clinical settings under the guidance of experienced pharmacists.
• Admission to the first-year BPharm programme is made directly from higher secondary school on the basis of marks obtained in the higher secondary examination or on the basis of a merit list rank prepared based on scores on an
entrance examination administered by a state or individual institution.

PHARMACY CAREERS SUMMARY
• Healthcare Professional
• Drug Expert
• Community Pharmacist
• Hospital Pharmacist
• Pharmaceutical Industry
• Government Drug Stores
• Government Hospitals
• Pharmacy Technician
• Pharmacy Assistant

WHERE YOU’LL WORK
With your pharmacy degree under your belt, you might work in any of the following  settings:
• Hospitals
• Drug stores, grocery stores or department stores
• Pharmaceutical manufacturers
• Health insurance companies
• Government agencies
• Public health care agencies
• Colleges and universities (in teaching and research positions, or in on-campus pharmacies)

TRAITS OF A GOOD PHARMACIST
• Medicines and how they affect the human body
• Chemistry, biology and mathematics
• The laws that relate to pharmaceutical practices
• How to use reference materials
• Alternative health treatments and practices
• Basic computer knowledge
• If they work in a community pharmacy pharmacists must also be able to manage and train staff, as well as having business skills for the day-to-day running of a pharmacy
• They must have good communication, problem-solving and listening skills.