Pharm D Syllabus & Subjects 2024

The Pharmacy Council of India or PCI, decides the course curriculum of all tertiary education pharmaceutical courses, including Doctor in Pharmacy, provided in India. Therefore, the Pharm D course curriculum is competent with Reviewing Prescriptions, Dispensing Prescription or Non-Prescription Medicines, Providing Patient Counselling or Education, Hospital and Community Pharmacy Management, Expertise in Medications, Proficiency in Drugs or Pharmaceuticals, Delivery of Primary and Preventive Healthcare, etc. 

Doctor in Pharmacy or Pharm D syllabus is decided by the college or university offering the course. This is in line with the basic norm in the Indian education system. The 6-year doctoral program is divided into 6 semesters, including primary and elective subjects. Some of the core Pharm D subjects are Human Anatomy and Physiology, Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmacognosy, etc. A detailed insight into the Pharm D syllabus and subjects has been mentioned below for a better understanding of the course structure. 

Pharm D Syllabus incorporates the important subjects that are taught in order to prepare the students to become expert professionals. Some quick facts regarding the Pharm D syllabus are listed below for students to refer to:

• Students pursuing a Pharm D course must know that their merit is evaluated based on their performance in the written exams, which are held mid-semester and towards the end of the semester. Thus, it is crucial for the students to understand and study the Pharm D syllabus thoroughly, to secure a higher score in the exams. 
• Pharm D students are also required to work on a number of project assignments as specified in the Pharm D syllabus. They must submit the same prior to completing their course duration.
• Pharm D Syllabus also highlights the project topics that students are required to work on, for students’ reference. 
• The Pharm D syllabus is also inclusive of the various lab-based practicals in detail that are mandatory for students to submit during their course duration. 
• The Pharm D syllabus is uniform across all renowned institutes in India.

Pharm D subjects are divided into two categories: cord and elective subjects. Pharm D Syllabus focuses on the doctoral program curriculum, designed with elective and core-based subjects to make the learning experience flexible for the students. Pharm D Syllabus includes theoretical teaching methodology, as well as practical lab sessions to enhance the overall knowledge of the individuale. Mentioned below are the list of Pharm D Subjects for students to refer to:

Pharm D Core Subjects

Below is the list of Pharm D core subjects:

• Pharmaceutics 
• Pharmaceutical Chemistry 
• Pharmacognosy 
• Biochemistry and Clinical Pathology 
• Human Anatomy and Physiology 

Pharm D Elective Subjects

Below is the list of Pharm D elective subjects:

• Pharmacology and Toxicology 
• Pharmaceutical Jurisprudence 
• Health Education and Community Pharmacy 
• Drug Store and Business Management 

Pharm D syllabus is designed in a 10 semester pattern, for the 6 years doctoral program. The Pharm D course structure highlights a doctoral program for 5 years of theoretical learning and a 1-year mandatory internship program. Thus, the Pharm D syllabus offers students a critical approach to pharmaceutical science research and industry requirements. The Pharm D syllabus course structure is listed below:

• 10 Semesters (2 Semesters divided into in each year of course duration)
• Core subjects and Practicals
• Project submissions
• Practical submissions
• Internship training
• Clinical Pharmacy training

PCI designs the syllabus for each of the six years of the Pharm D course. Here is how the first-year syllabus of Pharm D is designed:

The second-year syllabus of the Pharm D course as designed by ER20 is as follows:

Here is the third academic year syllabus of Pharm D:

PCI has included the following subjects in Pharm D fourth year syllabus:

The fifth year is the last academic year of Pharm D and following is the syllabus for it:

Some of the best books that allow us to study topics and concepts in-depth for the course of Pharm D are mentioned below. It is crucial to choose the right set of books for your preparations depending on your study plan.

While many colleges and universities offer distance-learning program in Pharm D or Doctor of Pharmacy, it is a fairly limited option. Pharm D distance learning course is designed for students who cannot afford full-time regular courses. Thus, this course program is specifically designed for them to help them in pursuing their desired Pharm D course through distance learning. The Pharm D syllabus for distance learning program is the same as that of the regular one, in Doctor of Pharmacy. 

The evaluation format for distance learning Pharm D Syllabus is similar to that of the regular Pharm D syllabus. Therefore, according to the Pharm D syllabus, a student's total performance is calculated by: 30% for internal assessment, and 70% for the end semester examination. Some of the top colleges offering Pharm D distance learning are Annamalai University, Dr. A.P.J University Lucknow, Osmania University, Hyderabad, Swami Vivekananda University, Meerut, etc.

The Pharm D course structure includes a 1-year internship program, mandatory for all students to partake. The internship program is designed to provide a hands-on experience to students about the practical aspects of the subject matter. Moreover, the Pharm D Internship period is also an initiative to bring about an attempt at maintaining interpersonal skills between the patients and the Pharm D graduates. Interestingly, many students also voluntarily offer clinical pharmacy services to their designated wards during their Pharm D internship period. However, students are required to complete their internship in various speciality subjects, throughout the course of 1-year internship program. The detailed insight into the Pharm D Syllabus internship period has been mentioned below:

Pharm D syllabus includes various on-field training and internship periods to mitigate the students into the field of pharmaceutical science appropriately. The Pharm D syllabus also highlights certain teaching methodologies to focus on and maximize the learning experience of the individuals. Some of the teaching methods appropriate in the Pharm D syllabus are listed below:

• Academic lectures
• Laboratory training
• Fieldwork
• Internship period
• Institutional training
• Individual assignment
• Group assignment

In this day and age, medical requirements have become very common in everyone’s daily life due to various reasons such as lifestyle choices, lack of exercise, bad diet, etc. which has made healthcare a global need in everyday life. Whether minor or major, injuries and fatalities are inevitable to the human body, which makes careers options like Pharm D very important because of the essential services provided through Pharm D. Listed below are some of the Pharm D syllabus project areas which are most popular among the students:

• Drug utilization evaluation studies
• PDCA and 5S studies
• Cost Minimisation Analysis
• Infection control program and evaluation
• Vaccine safety including ADR monitoring and evaluation
• Six sigma and evaluation of pharmacy services
• Drug-related problems and management

Pharm D Syllabus offers students an opportunity to opt for Specializations in the course, depending on their area of interests. A list of Specializations Offered in Pharm D Syllabus has been mentioned below for reference:

Reviewing the Pharm D syllabus and subjects, students may seem a little overwhelmed with the pressure to cover the entire syllabus. However, with proper preparation tips and strategies, it is no doubt that even the most difficult Pharm D Subjects can be covered with ease. Therefore, students enrolled in the Pharm D Course must check out the Pharm D preparation tips listed below:

• Firstly, all students must proactively start paying attention to the classroom teachings in order to understand each Pharm D subject in detail. 
• All students must be well aware of the entire Pharm D syllabus from the beginning of the curriculum and throughout the entire course duration.
• Since the Pharm D syllabus is a little bit lengthy, students are advised to start preparing early, which can significantly reduce the load and stress that the students might go through before the exams.
• It is advisable to students to make sure that they follow, take notes and keep a track of the lectures taught at the classroom sessions, for preparing a basic strategy to cover Pharm D syllabus. 
• Students should keep revising the study materials consistently on a daily basis, so that it’s easier to recollect and keep one’s preparation in the loop. It is important to follow good reference books from renowned publications to increase the chances of securing good marks in the exams. 
• It is advisable for students to not blindly rely on the study materials provided and prescribed by the universities but rather to research on their own for quality content from other reliable sources as well. 
• Moreover, all students should keep in mind to practice solving previous year question papers as a part of their preparations, which will help them in understanding the question structure and the exam pattern better. Therefore, this will in return soothe the process of Pharm D syllabus preparations.