Basic Challanges of Pharmacy Profession in Pakistan

Pakistan is the 6th most crowded nation on the planet with more than 22 crore people according to world's meter.  After the autonomy of Pakistan (August 1947), the Punjab University was the first institute to build up a three-year single program called B-pharm in 1948 which was reached out to four years in 1978-1979. In 2003, a stage towards further change was seen when the Higher education Commission (HEC) redesigned its B-Pharm program to a five-year Specialist PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacy) program.

 Right now the Pakistani PharmD program is confronting various issues which are going about as an obstacle to pharmacists and the foundation of practice as a profession.
The purpose of this blog is to highlight these basic challanges so that the HEC (Higher education commission) and the Pakistan Pharmacy Council  abbreviated as PPC can intercede to alter the professional framework so as to set up a decent establishment for pharmacists and to create techniques to adapt to the difficulties in a better way.

Basic Challlanges in Pakistan:

As this profession is a new advancement in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and is facing a lot of challanges of different natures. Here are some basic challanges that are commonly faced by pharmacists and pharmacy professin.

PharmD Educational program and Curriculum Challanges:

While developing the curriculum the main purpose was to satisfy a universal need with the goal that Pakistani pharmacists would not confront issues in proceeding with their advanced education and going after positions worldwide and this is the privilege of each developing nation to do this.
Basically, there are two types of mechanisms working here i.e annual system and semester system and the design of Pharm-D curriculum is such that it focuses more on cramming ratther than the practical knowledge and the subsequent inspiration of work immersion in the pharmaceutical part is compromised. Employment immersion had ascended to about 75% in the pharmaceutical business, as per the HEC in the educational plan report created by the National Educational program Amendment Committee. Besides, keeping in see the worldwide need, it was basic to get ready Pakistani pharmacists to assume their job in efficient clinical set-ups (for example clinics, fundamental wellbeing units) and in drug stores (for example retail and community pharmacies).

PharmD program Limitations:

In spite of the fact that the expectation to build up the program was acceptable, in favoring the last educational plan there was no counsel with the foundations offering the PharmD program around the world. In the event that there had been meeting at the beginning, a superior program, liberated from genuine analysis, would have developed. Specifically the Saudi PharmD program, for instance, created by Ruler Faisal College is acceptable in such manner. Indeed, even with constrained accessibility of clinical staff they have structured an educational plan that is certify by the ACPE (Accreditation council for pharmacy education). First they have assessed the national drug store instruction educational plan that is offered by different foundations. In the second stage they have structured an educational plan keeping in see the neighborhood and ACPE necessities and in the third stage they have sent their educational plan for survey to unfamiliar authorities to remark on its substance. The revised syllabus of Pharm-D programm can be downladed from Pharmacy Council's website.

Assessment framework (Examination Method):

Among the basic challanges of pharmacy profession in Pakistan another significant issue is the framework of examination. A considerable lot of the colleges keep on executing the old yearly assessment framework. At the end of the day, the PharmD program in working under a double assessment framework, that is, either a yearly or a semester system. Significantly all the more astounding is the way that various organizations practicing a similar framework are not uniform as far as reviewing their undergraduates. This can deny skilled undergraduates of acquiring employments since both in the legislature and the private areas applicants are short-recorded dependent on their evaluations in relative pharma college. Subsequently, there is a genuine need to normalize the assessment framework in all pharmacy establishments.

Difficulty in Hospital Jobs and Unacceptance by Healthcare Staff in Clinical Settings:

One of the significant difficulties Pharm-D graduates confront is the unccessibility of emergency clinic employments and acknowledgment in clinical settings by the clinical and paramedical work force.
In spite of the fact that the administration of the Punjab Government has declared employments for them in government emergency clinics, the pharmacist only plays out a clinical job or at pharmacy setup. In numerous open emergency clinics, there is just one post for a drug specialist, so there is a long holding up list. Regularly the individual accountable for the clinical store is a MBBS specialist with the pharmacists playing out an administrative job in its administration. At the point when we talk about the PharmD, we need to discuss the job of drug specialist in clinical practice, however in Pakistan their job in understanding consideration and the sane utilization of medications stays in question. 

There is a need to promote medical specialists's ability to acknowledge the role of the pharmacist in healthcare system. This is additionally strengthened by the assessment of medical caretakers' reactions towards the clinical job of the drug specialist. In their view, his job is to perform administrative obligations in administering the dissemination of medication in emergency clinics. They have recommended that the accessibility of the pharmacists at the clinic nonstop that may improve persistent consideration. Nonetheless, Pakistani medical attendants are bound to accept that they are  permitted to play a role in patient consideration will be an interruption in their issues, and they would lean toward him to concentrate on the administration of drug stores as opposed to tolerant consideration. So, for the advancement of a viable pharmacy practice set-up, a drug specialist should confront protection from upgrading their utilitarian job in quiet consideration from clinical specialists as well as from the paramedical staff, particularly nurture. Then again doctors were additionally awkward with the job of the pharmacist in direct patient consideration. In Pakistan, medical specialists think about him as medication data specialists. Be that as it may, their expectation  as suppliers of value clinically-engaged drug store administrations was low. The specialists (MBBS doctors) are likewise awkward with him giving direct patient consultation.

Prescribing rights to doctors and non-experts: 

As indicated by the principles and guidelines of the Health Ministry of Pakistan, a doctor can set-up his own clinical store where patients can get the recommended prescriptions. The individual accountable for filling the prescriptions doesn't need to be a pharmacist: he just must have registered with 10 years of study proportional to the English GCSE (Matricc) or have a capability of 12 years of study equal to the English A-level (Intermediate). The privilege of these non-experts and doctors to run their own clinical stores is a major test to the utilitarian job of drug specialist in retail and community pharmacy setup. 

Responsibility of Pharmacists in Pharmacy practice:

The Pakistan's situation is itself a major test for pharmaceutical practice. Most of drug specialist lease their classification permit to practice laymen for a regularly scheduled installment. Thusly, the individual who runs the clinical store/retail/network setup is a non-proficient who has little information on tranquilize associations and measurements of medicine. Besides, the overall population is regularly not mindful of the job of the drug specialist in clinical consideration. While buying some recommended medication, it has been observed that the individuals disclosing their indications to these nonprofessionals who at that point give them medication to treat their ailment. Given this situation, the inquiry that emerges here is whether the Pakistani drug specialist is happy to work in the community/retail setup.

It is the obligation of the PPC and Health Ministry of Pakistan to guarantee the presence of the practicing individual (for example the pharmacist) at the drug store nonstop. Moreover, the PPC should implement the drug store law: those retail pharmacies working under the management of non-experts (for example non-pharmacist) should to be shut and the permit of drug specialists leasing their licenses should be cancelled that they can't satisfy their social duty and administer the clinical store themselves. Besides, the PPC should stop the enlistment of  B and C category confirmation holders in drug store. These class B and C holders are qualified to enlist with the PPC and to run a retail drug store in their areas. With the execution of the PharmD program, it is the duty of the PPC to take severe notice at the grassroots level so that the future of this field get an ideal situation to assume their job openly and successfully to reinforce the human services set-up in Pakistan. 

In Pakistan, pharmacy training is at a momentary stage, as far as educational plan. An absence of experienced and qualified staff is the primary test that the education/training area is looking subsequent to redesigning the Pharm-D program. This is one of the fundamental purposes behind the inadequacies in the clinical substance of the PharmD program. .And if it is profession is ignored, it will consequently lead to the poor healthcare system in Pakistan as the pharmacist plays a key role in healthcare system. 

Thanks for reading this article, if you have any questions about the challenges of pharmacy profession, you may ask in the comment section.