Pharmacy Education: Upgradation and Clinical Rotation to Produce Quality Professionals in Pakistan

Abstract

Pharmacy is an expanding profession with new and expanded duties for pharmacists. Pharmacology training should adjust to local and global trends to graduate quality pharmacists1. The five years of basic pharmacy education is inadequate for excellent quality of treatment, which might impair patients' health. Several nations, including the USA, have expanded basic pharmacology training to 6 years and established Pharm D as entrance level for any area of practice2. Countries that have implemented postgraduate training produce practice-ready pharmacists in varied sectors, depending on specialty and local requirements. Regional pharmacy authorities supply a large number of institutional rotation locations for pharmacy students, whereas hospital rotations have become a career necessity3. This rotation aims to provide students experience as pharmacists in a multidisciplinary context. The rotation's goals and activities include comprehending patients' drug-related requirements, pharmacists' regulatory, ethical, and professional duties, and medication distribution4. This clinical rotation offered a number of issues for institutions, especially in offering possibilities for students to engage in the pharmacist's job. Students should perform a set of specific clinical activities for which they are educated in hands-on workshops, followed by observation by a clinician or physician. Students do activities under indirect supervision after skill assessment. This technique lets students participate in direct medical care and help specific patients.5The duration of the rotation is inadequate for skill development, thus students must do duties under indirectly supervision of the institution's physician to begin hospital pharmacy practice.