Ordinary Diploma in Pharmaceutical Sciences (NTA Level 4)

The Pharmacy Profession is ideally the branch of medical science that trains a person to link health science with chemical science through the research, discovery, development, creation, and distribution of medicine/drugs. Drugs/Medicines are substances (chemical science) that work together with the body to relieve a person from illness through diagnosis, prevention, and cure. These substances can either or in combination be of animal, plant, chemical or marine origin. A person who studies and practices pharmacy is called a pharmacist and can build a career anywhere in the pharmacy value chain, from research to distribution of drugs and each stage has great monetary and non-monetary returns.

The profession is rewarding because a pharmacist is the medication expert in the healthcare system, providing patients with vital medicine/drugs and information to help them manage their medication therapy with minimum to no side effects by making sure doses administered or prescribed are safe, with no potential drug interactions that could potentially affect a patient. Furthermore, pharmacists can also be involved in health screening, blood pressure tests, assist in providing vaccinations, and recommending optimal use of medication.

Basically, today, pharmacy attracts the young and energetic talent to become one of the best professions. Pharmacy offers the resources, opportunities and flexibility needed to balance a successful healthcare career with a satisfying personal life. Pharmacy, furthermore, offers lifelong continued education, giving its practitioners the opportunity to make professional development part of the job. Graduates can ex­pect to get on the fast track in one of the most dynamic in­dustries in health care, enjoying prestigious jobs in a field that increasingly relies upon their skills and exper­tise. Pharmacy graduates are offered many opportunities and learn wide variety of things with educating patients about their medication therapy being the most impor­tant. The discipline of pharmacy has a good future, offering wide range of employment opportunities with an excellent salary.

Below are some basic skills important for a person wishing to pursue a career in pharmacy:

• Analytical skills to evaluate a patient’s needs, the prescriber’s directions, and the ability to use one’s technical knowledge to make the best decision
• Communication skills to explain how to take a medication and any possible side effects that patients may experience
• Information technology (computer) skills to use electronic health systems easily that are gaining pace in the world today
• Managerial skills to progress in one’s career, to manage a pharmacy inventory, and oversee staff such as pharmacy technicians
• Detail-oriented nature to accurately fill prescriptions and use technical information to make decisions that are adjusted to each individual patient’s well-being.

These skills are extremely helpful due to the pharmacy profession being remarkably diverse and not limited to health facilities such as hospitals and clinics. To expound on this assertion, below are the several types of pharmacists:

• Clinical Pharmacists, these are pharmacy professional known my most that work in clinics, hospitals, dispensaries, and other health-care facilities. Pharmacists in these settings work alongside physicians, nurses, and other healthcare teammates, providing direct health care to patients. In Tanzania, we are used to seeing them in the pharmacy rooms or departments, giving out medicines/drugs prescribed by physicians after diagnosis and walking through the patient on use and general administration to ensure a full recovery. However, a pharmacist’s role in these settings do not end there, but they also do rounds in hospitals, overseeing that the recommended dosage is timely given to patients, and at times through the process conduct tests and provide consultations such giving dietary and lifestyle advise to patience of high risk or receiving treatment on non-communicable diseases.
• Community Pharmacists, these are professional pharmacists who prescribe medicine or drugs over the counter to patients outside the health-care facilities such as hospitals, clinics, and dispensaries. They provide such services through retail or wholesale stores (Pharmacies or Drug Stores) they either own or work for. These types of pharmacists are business minded and thus need more than the pure pharmacy knowledge, but also managerial and overall business knowledge to not just ensure patients receive the best care, but also increase profits without compromising any medical ethics. They are diverse, providing services beyond normal working hours, be on call for private patients and usually the “go-to” people when hospitals run out or lack prescriptions.
• Consultant Pharmacists, these are pharmacist that provide professional advice to health facilities and their fellow pharmacists on medication use, improvement of pharmacy services to mention a few. They can also give direct advise to patients of medication use and general administration.
• Pharmaceutical Industry Pharmacists, these are what some would call, “behind the scenes” pharmacy professionals that research, develop, assist in marketing and selling of medication/drugs. They even go further to established policies and regulations that guide drug/medication use and conduct of the pharmacy industry in the respective country. They could be in the public or private sector, depending on the roles played.

It is fair to note that some of these types of pharmacists can overlap in the sense that a consultant pharmacist can be a clinical pharmacist, working by shifts or can own a pharmacy/drug store (community pharmacist). The types of pharmacists and how they overlap increasingly show the diversity of the professional field.

Kampala International University in Tanzania offers Non-Degree and Degree programs for Pharmaceutical Sciences students seeking to be professionals of international repute in the field. Pharmacy in the Non-Degree Level is a 3-year program where a student studies Basic Technician Certificate in Pharmaceutical Sciences (NTA Level 5), Ordinary Diploma in Pharmaceutical Sciences (NTA Level 6) and Ordinary Diploma in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Upgrading) 1 year. As it stands, a Grade Point Average (GPA) of not less than 3.0, a student can pursue a 4-year bachelor’s degree of Pharmacy to become a full-fledged professional.