Entrepreneurship scenario after the pharmacy education_An essay by Nachiket Dandekar

Entrepreneurship scenario after the pharmacy education

“If opportunity doesn‟t knock, build a door!”

-Milton Barley.

With over 200 million unemployed people across the globe and 45 million across India, it won‟t be an exaggeration to say that time has come where the professionals graduating out of the colleges accept the fact that it is their social responsibility to create jobs than wasting their own talent and knowledge in working for someone else and doing trivial works! And unabashedly at least the Pharmaceuticals industry sees no boundaries for its growth in near future. A plethora of fields is open to an individual after completing his Pharmacy education, be it in core Pharmacy or its allied fields.

The technology that has emerged in last few decades by leaps and bounds is undoubtedly Biotechnology. With the knowledge of Biotechnology learnt during the Pharmacy course, a Pharmacist can successfully create his venture in the areas such as Genetic studies, Recombinant DNA technology, antibody production firms, which is essential these days in non invasive preclinical and clinical studies.. The research opens up opportunities for scientists and the production demands skilled labor.

Being largely based on the supply from natural resources, the industry demands a constant and a quality supply of crude drugs from plants or animal origin. Proper knowledge of cultivation and collection of crude drugs is of the utmost importance, which a well-trained pharmacist possesses. These establishments of pharmacognostical firms exporting the scientifically cultivated and prescribed quality crude drugs for further production of drugs not only will be of economic benefit for the entrepreneur but also will help the rural areas prosper. The locals can be trained well to perform such duties and this can create employment opportunities!

Over the decades the industry has changed its face from being known as the producers of medicines to now being an integral part of the healthcare system. Be it hospital pharmacy or clinical pharmacy or community pharmacy, pharmacists are involved in the patient care.The voids in the patient care. Hospital Pharmacy is not just about the supply of medicines in the hospital. It‟s about the complete supply of sterile instruments, proper disinfection of the utensils, clothes and the disposal of the harmful material also. A Pharmacist well versed with the hospital pharmacy, can pursue his career here and grow!

The regulatory control of authorities is increasing day by day and the regulations and jurisprudence are being more stringent. Companies are putting more efforts in the Intellectual Proper Rights Department. Graduates after pursuing the respective courses in IPR field, can make a successful career in the field of IPR. In the area of research, clinical trials have gained far more importance and the post marketing surveillance requires Adverse Drug Monitoring data, Toxicological studies to be submitted for FDA approvals. Big companies instead of conducting these by themselves are outsourcing this task to small firms which are dedicated to Pharmacovigilance studies.

Neutraceuticals! There is a big boom of these products in the growing market these days. Fortified foods such as cultured curds, flax seeds, Rice Bran oil are being popular day by day.

These Neutraceuticals have lesser regulations and control than the Pharmaceuticals which is a motivating situation for entrepreneurs and something which an entrepreneur eagerly is seeking for. The sedentary lifestyle is asking for nutrition from fortified foods than actual food! The need for health alleviating factors is never-ending and a win-win situation for entrepreneurs.

In India, there is one doctor behind approximately 1600 people, which is a big number. And this takes a toll on the patient counseling. The courses like Pharm D. are fulfilling the void between this and thereby increasing the involvement of Pharmacist in the patient counseling if not diagnosis and prescription. Doctors are trying their best to cure people and bring back health. But it is not always possible for the patients to reach out to the doctors for their queries related to medication.

The establishment of online platforms such as Online Patient Enquiry Centres, Drug Information Centres can fill this void by being available 24*7 and being handy. There are mobile applications which are made for the benefit of the people from geriatric group who have difficulties in medication, which automatically remind by alarms during dosage time, alarm when the monthly supply is getting exhausted.

Amalgamating its knowledge with the mechanics, healthcare industry has been successfully creating paramedical devices for the geriatrics, differently abled ones, to make their lives easier. And a Pharmacist can successfully find his knowledge of Anatomy useful in developing these devices. Though less pronounced in India, this field of paramedics can surely increase the involvement of a Pharmacist, and this field can prove of a great interest for someone not so much interested in drugs but more towards engineering.

Last but not the least, education becomes an essential requirement for all this to function and which demands need of well experienced tutors, professors, motivating faculty. With the increasing rat race, proper education is not being provided which is something a Pharmacist can start with by starting own teaching forms, classes and firms giving hand- on experience. There is a lag space in what the courses are teaching and what the industry is expecting. Starting up new courses with collaborations from companies which give hand-on experience to students of the instruments they will come across in industry, is a great option as an entrepreneur.

As they say, „Pharmacists are jack of all but master of none! „This pharmaceutical profession is presenting to us endless opportunities from research to production, from Clinical pharmacy to patient counseling, from teaching to marketing. Of course these opportunities can be seen only with eyes wide open while pursuing the courses around.

After all, it‟s not the profession that assures success to an individual but it is the attitude which makes an individual successful in whatever he does.

It is not the opportunity that creates success; it is the valor to turn an opportunity into success!