Editorial- What next after Pharm.D
As
an H.O.D of pharmacy practice, one of the common questions I have always faced
from students and their parents, since the start of Pharm D course is, what
next after PharmD? The way I answered the question to them was through a story
narration which goes like this: Once a renowned sandal manufacturing unit, as
part of their company’s expansion, sent their representative to a distant
remote island to figure out the possibilities. The representative after
visiting the island came back with a negative report that the company will not
be successful if they venture to market their product there, as no one in the
island wears sandals. After a while the chairman of the company sent
another representative to figure out the reality and this time the representative
gave a positive report about the possibility of starting the company in the
island. The representative found the same people with out sandals, but what was
different this time is that, the representative could oversee that the island
is a potential market full of possibilities and with this insight the company
succeeded in establishing their products in the island tapping the potential.
This story is a reminder for all the aspiring PharmD and other graduates who
are desperately in search of jobs. Exploring the possibilities and willingness
to adapt to changes are the only options left out rather than spending time
negatively thinking about the future. Yahoo mail has taught all of us about the
possibilities of e-mail, Nokia has taught us about mobile phones, Nikon has
taught us about capturing the picturesque locations through a camera lens,
internet explorer has showed us the new vistas of surfing… but now what is
their status? Yahoo mail has been replaced with Gmail, Nokia with smart
phones, Nikon with smartphone/selfie lenses, and Internet explorer with
Mozilla, Google chrome, safari etc. From all these time-tested examples,
it is obviously clear that, businesses are expanding in a rapid phase and there
is still space to explore. Gone are the days where we survived only with our
certificates. Competition is so tough out side that prefixing ‘Dr.’ title
before a persons name or getting a laminated certificate does not serve the
purpose. Good knowledge, out of the box ideas, right vision and insight, communication
skills, scientific vigor with soft skills, focus etc. adds to the merit and
gives a cutting edge over others. Majority of the students join Pharm.D
course with a glorified image of prefixing Dr. title before their name. After
the long 6 years of study, when the expectation does not match, the
frustrations start pouring in. Those aspiring students who are worried about
the future of the course should understand that in general there is no scope
for any profession. Scope is directly related to a person who practices the
profession. It is high time that every educational institution, stakeholders
and teachers should exert leadership and do their best for better public
understanding, and better placements for this course.
This issue of newsletter is content rich with plethora of
articles published from three guest writers, Mr. Chong
Jiun Yih, Dr. Ernest R. Anderson Jr and Dr.
Guru Prasad Mohanta and also included are the articles from our regular faculty
writers, that make this issue an interesting read. Let me thank and appreciate Mr. P.Unneen, Vice chairman and
Managing Trustee, Dr. Abdulla Khaleel, Academic mentor, Mr Suhail Hamza, General Manger, and
other trust members and Dr Suriaprakash
T.N.K, Principal for all the moral support extended towards the department
of pharmacy practice throughout the previous academic year.
Academics
is very dynamic and infact the teachers of various universities in our country
has made this teaching profession static. If Educational institutions and the
teachers could exert leadership to improve the quality of education system by
implying theory vs practical vs adequate career guidance to the students, the
student success ratio would be much higher than what we have today.
DR DILIP.C
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