How to become a Pharmacist in India

Pharmacists play a very important role in the field of medicine. They are the link between the doctor and the patient in many ways. Pharmacists have various options as to how they choose to work. They can either work with or under a doctor and help the patients with the prescriptions, they can either go into the field of research and find out the good and ill effects of a salt or a medicine, or they can become commercial chemists by getting their shop registered under the competent authority. Pharmacists deal with patients more than even doctors at times and so it is their responsibility to do their job with caution because a lot of patients rely on the medicines given by the pharmacists.

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One could choose to become a pharmacist if he wants to work in medicine and have a sane life, here is how you can become one-

Education

One can either go for a diploma in pharmacy which is called D. Pharma or a Bachelors degree in pharmacy which is called B.Pharma.

D.Pharma

• One should have passed 10+2 with a minimum of 50% marks and in Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
• For D.Pharma, one can give various exams that are held by the state or specific colleges which usually take place in April-May and the results come out in June-July.
• Some colleges also select students on the basis of their 10+2 percentage.
• After going through this 2 year course the pharmacists have to undergo training which is sometimes provided by the colleges or one could get into a nursing institute to get trained.
• The overall fee for this diploma comes out to between 50,000 at government colleges to 1.5 lacs at a private institute.

B.Pharma

• One should have passed 10+2 with a minimum of 50% marks and in Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
• For B.Pharma, one has to appear in exams like CPMT which are held by the state or by some medical institutes, some institutes also offer seats based on the percentage in 10+2.
• After a three year degree and a practical training, one could look for a job in a hospital or open his/her own chemist shop.
• The overall fee for this degree ranges between 30,000 in government colleges to 2-3 lacs in a private institute.

Career Prospects

One could choose whether he/she has to work in a hospital where they can work with or under a doctor and help the patients in understanding their case and the prescription given by the doctor. Other than this, a pharmacist can work in the field of research and find out new medicines or the effects of medicines. One can also choose to go into the trading of medicines and can open a chemist shop after getting approval from the competent authority.

One can also choose to study further and reach the management level in hospitals or laboratories. They could also take up teaching in medical colleges as a profession.

Salary

Pharmacy as a profession can be well paying or moderately paying, immediately after college one could start working in a hospital or a laboratory at around Rs. 15000 per month, which will increase gradually as one gains more experience or with higher qualification.

Becoming a pharmacist, like becoming a doctor, is not easy. One needs to have complete knowledge about everything that is related to medicine. It will take a lot of hard work and long hours of study to reach there but once you are there, there is no stopping you. So go ahead and do exactly what is on your mind, help people fight all those diseases.