Choosing a career in pharmacy after completing your 12th can be a rewarding and lucrative option for students. It offers a diverse range of opportunities in the healthcare industry, with job stability and the potential for growth. In this article, we’ll provide a complete guide on how to pursue a career in pharmacy after completing your 12th.

Pharmacy is a healthcare profession that involves preparing, dispensing, and reviewing medications prescribed by doctors. It also includes providing advice to patients about their medications, managing medication therapy, and monitoring for adverse effects. Pharmacists work in various settings such as retail pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, research labs, and pharmaceutical companies.

Eligibility Criteria

To pursue a career in pharmacy, the candidate must have completed their 12th with a minimum of 50% aggregate marks in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology/Mathematics. The student must also have a valid score in entrance exams like NEET, JEE, or state-level pharmacy entrance exams

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Courses in Pharmacy

There are several courses available for students interested in pursuing a career in pharmacy after 12th. The most popular ones are:

1. Bachelor of Pharmacy (B. Pharm): It is a four-year undergraduate course that provides students with an in-depth understanding of pharmaceutical sciences. The curriculum includes subjects like pharmaceutics, pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, pharmacognosy, and pharmaceutical analysis.

2.Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D): It is a six-year course that includes five years of academic study and one year of internship. It provides a broader scope of practice than B. Pharm and prepares students for patient-oriented care. The curriculum includes subjects like pharmacotherapeutics, clinical pharmacy, and pharmacy practice.

3.Diploma in Pharmacy (D. Pharm): It is a two-year diploma course that provides basic knowledge and skills in pharmaceutical sciences. The curriculum includes subjects like pharmacology, pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical chemistry, and pharmacy practice.

Career Opportunities

A career in pharmacy offers a diverse range of job opportunities in various settings. Some of the popular job roles for pharmacy graduates are:

1. Community Pharmacist: They work in retail pharmacies and are responsible for dispensing medications, providing advice to patients, and monitoring medication therapy.

2.Hospital Pharmacist: They work in hospitals and are responsible for preparing and dispensing medications, monitoring medication therapy, and providing advice to healthcare professionals.

3.Industrial Pharmacist: They work in pharmaceutical companies and are responsible for research and development, quality control, and production of medications.

4.Clinical Pharmacist: They work in healthcare settings and are responsible for patient-oriented care, medication therapy management, and drug utilization review.

5..Academic Pharmacist: They work in universities and colleges and are responsible for teaching and research in pharmaceutical sciences.

Salary and Growth Potential

The salary and growth potential for pharmacy graduates depend on various factors such as job role, experience, and location. The starting salary for a pharmacist in India ranges from Rs. 2.5 to 5 lakhs per annum. With experience and specialization, the salary can go up to Rs. 10 to 20 lakhs per annum.

B Pharmacy colleges in Delhi NCR are institutions that offer Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm) programs in the National Capital Region (NCR) of India. The NCR includes Delhi and its surrounding areas such as Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, and Gurgaon.

Scope of Studying Pharmacy

There are many possibilities in studying pharmaceutical science. Following are some of them:

1. Research and development — the development of new drugs, toxicology, formulation, and clinical testing, all require people with a B.Pharm degree.

2. Analysis and testing — biotechnological products, surgical dressings, medical devices, equipment, Ayurvedic, Homeopathic and Unani medicines, and veterinary medicine are always in need of pharmacy graduates.

3. Production and manufacturing — Drug manufacturing is the method through which pharmaceutical corporations create pharmaceutical medications on a large scale. The process of producing drugs may be split into a number of unit activities. The procedure may include milling, granulation, encapsulation, and tablet pressing.

4. Regulatory bodies — One can work as a Drug Inspector, Assistant Drug Controller, Drug Controller of state, and D.C. I.

5. Hospitals — Pharmacists are important in many well-known hospitals, as though the diagnosis is performed by the doctors, the medicines are prescribed by the pharmacists.

Conclusion

A career in pharmacy offers an exciting and rewarding opportunity for students interested in healthcare. With a wide range of courses and job opportunities, pharmacy provides job stability and growth potential. It is an ever-growing field that plays a critical role in healthcare, making it a promising career choice for students after completing their 12th.