Pharm D Year 6 Syllabus: Internship
The sixth year of the Pharm D course is internship or residency training. There are no theory or practical subjects in this year: the student is posted in speciality units and independently provides clinical pharmacy services to the allotted wards. This page gives the internship exactly as prescribed by the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) in the Pharm.D. Regulations 2008, including Appendix-C to the regulations, which carries the internship objectives, its other details and the assessment of internship.
Sixth Year, as given in the course of study table
Sixth Year: Internship or residency training including postings in speciality units. Student should independently provide the clinical pharmacy services to the allotted wards.
(i) Six months in General Medicine department, and (ii) Two months each in three other speciality departments
Internship, as provided in the regulations
Internship. - (1) Internship is a phase of training wherein a student is expected to conduct actual practice of pharmacy and health care and acquires skills under the supervision so that he or she may become capable of functioning independently.
(2) Every student has to undergo one year internship as per Appendix-C to these regulations.
Appendix-C (See regulation 16): Internship
1) Specific Objectives:
i) to provide patient care in cooperation with patients, prescribers, and other members of an interprofessional health care team based upon sound therapeutic principles and evidencebased data, taking into account relevant legal, ethical, social cultural, economic, and professional issues, emerging technologies, and evolving biomedical, pharmaceutical, social or behavioral or administrative, and clinical sciences that may impact therapeutic outcomes.
ii) to manage and use resources of the health care system, in cooperation with patients, prescribers, other health care providers, and administrative and supportive personnel, to promote health; to provide, assess, and coordinate safe, accurate, and timesensitive medication distribution; and to improve therapeutic outcomes of medication use.
iii) to promote health improvement, wellness, and disease prevention in cooperation with patients, communities, atrisk population, and other members of an interprofessional team of health care providers.
iv) to demonstrate skills in monitoring of the National Health Programmes and schemes, oriented to provide preventive and promotive health care services to the community.
v) to develop leadership qualities to function effectively as a member of the health care team organised to deliver the health and family welfare services in existing socioeconomic, political and cultural environment.
vi) to communicate effectively with patients and the community.
2) Other Details:
i) All parts of the internship shall be done, as far as possible, in institutions in India. In case of any difficulties, the matter may be referred to the Pharmacy Council of India to be considered on merits.
ii) Where an intern is posted to district hospital for training, there shall be a committee consisting of representatives of the college or university, and the district hospital administration, who shall regulate the training of such trainee. For such trainee a certificate of satisfactory completion of training shall be obtained from the relevant administrative authorities which shall be countersigned by the Principal or Dean of College.
iii) Every candidate shall be required, after passing the final Pharm.D. or Pharm.D. (Post Baccalaureate) examination as the case may be to undergo compulsory rotational internship to the satisfaction of the College authorities and University concerned for a period of twelve months so as to be eligible for the award of the degree of Pharm.D. or Pharm.D. (Post Baccalaureate) as the case may be.
3. Assessment of Internship:
i) The intern shall maintain a record of work which is to be verified and certified by the preceptor (teacher practioner) under whom he works. Apart from scrutiny of the record of work, assessment and evaluation of training shall be undertaken by an objective approach using situation tests in knowledge, skills and attitude during and at the end of the training. Based on the record of work and date of evaluation, the Dean or Principal shall issue certificate of satisfactory completion of training, following which the university shall award the degree or declare him eligible for it.
ii) Satisfactory completion of internship shall be determined on the basis of the following: - (1) Proficiency of knowledge required for each case management SCORE 0-5 (2) The competency in skills expected for providing Clinical Pharmacy Services SCORE 0-5 (3) Responsibility, punctuality, work up of case, involvement in patient care SCORE 0-5 (4) Ability to work in a team (Behavior with other healthcare professionals including medical doctors, nursing staff and colleagues). SCORE 0-5 (5) Initiative, participation in discussions, research aptitude. SCORE 0-5
Poor 0, Fair 1, Below Average 2, Average 3, Above Average 4, Excellent 5
A Score of less than 3 in any of above items will represent unsatisfactory completion of internship.
Source: Pharmacy Council of India, New Delhi, Pharm.D. Regulations 2008 (published in the Gazette of India, No.19, Part III, Section 4, New Delhi, 10th May, 2008), regulation 16 and Appendix-C (see regulation 16), Internship. Text above is reproduced from the PCI regulations.