PCY 101 Notes 2025 PDF

**Pharmacy Education and Curriculum Development** Rapid changes are witnessed today in pharmacy education all over the globe due to the ever-changing and-evolving medicine-related needs of the society. The focus in pharmacy education is now towards competencies in medicines-related needs of the com...

**Pharmacy Education and Curriculum Development** Rapid changes are witnessed today in pharmacy education all over the globe due to the ever-changing and-evolving medicine-related needs of the society. The focus in pharmacy education is now towards competencies in medicines-related needs of the community than on the product. The professional role of the pharmacists in hospitals and community pharmacies is changing from a focus on preparation, dispensing, and sale of medications to one in which pharmacists are involved in medication management and review consultation. Thus, changes in pharmacy education and training are necessary for the professional to remain relevant to the society requiring pharmaceutical services. In Nigeria, the last four decades have witnessed developmental changes in pharmacy education. The paradigm changes in the role of the pharmacist from a product-oriented to patient-oriented focus requires that the overall education of pharmacists be reorganized to meet the increasing changing roles. Curricular of schools of pharmacy in Nigeria are continually reviewed with the aim of attaining the dynamic competency required to reflect the paradigm shift in service focus and the development of the necessary clinical skills that will enable pharmacists to identify and meet the increasingly complex medication needs of patients. **Pharmaceutical sciences education in Nigeria**\ Pharmacy education in Nigeria commenced in the early 1920s with the training of the Chemists and Druggists at the schools of pharmacy located at Yaba in 1927 (Western Nigeria) and Zaria in 1930 (Northern Nigeria). The Chemists and Druggists Diploma, patterned after the British education system, was the first minimum requirement for registration as Chemist and Druggist. The entry requirement for the Diploma program was the postsecondary certificate obtained from the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology (NCAST), Ibadan. The program also accepted candidates from secondary school with credits in the relevant science subjects in the General Certificate of Education \'Ordinary\' Level (GCE \'O\' Level) Level for a 5-year course instead of a 3-year course.\ \ In 1957, the school of Pharmacy, Yaba, Lagos was moved to Ibadan as a Department in the former NCAST, Ibadan. University of Ife, Ile-Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), established in 1962, eventually took over the pharmacy program and continued to award the Chemists and Druggists Diploma as well as the Diploma in Pharmacy until June 1965. The degree-awarding pharmacy program of the university was concurrently started in September 1963 to replace the diploma program. Thus, in 1966, Obafemi Awolowo University graduated the first indigenously trained pharmacists with Bachelor of Pharmacy (B Pharm.; classified) degree. It was 7 years later that Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, produced the first batch of Bachelor of Science (BSc.; classified) degree in Pharmacy (BSc. Pharm.) and became the second degree-awarding university in Nigeria. What is known today as the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Ahmadu Bello University was the former school of Pharmacy, Zaria. The School of Pharmacy, Zaria, like its counterpart in the west, was integrated into Ahmadu Bello University in 1968 as a 3-year BSc. degree in Pharmacy. The pharmacy program of the university as a degree-awarding program was initially domiciled in the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Faculty of Science. In both universities, the conventional classification of first degree as first class, second class upper, second class lower, third class, or pass was applied to the pharmacy degree and the program duration was 3 years after advanced (\'A\') level. During this period, admission to university to study pharmacy was only by holders of Higher School Certificate (HSC), \'A\' level General Certificate of Education, or the Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB) examinations. A 1--2-year postsecondary study in a school of preliminary or basic studies was usually necessary to prepare the candidates for these examinations.\ \ Federal universities were established and situated to cater for the various regions of the country, and so were the schools of pharmacy. Obafemi Awolowo University was to the Western as Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria was to the Northern region. In the Eastern region, the pharmacy program at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka was established in 1967 but effectively took off in 1970. University of Benin also established a degree program in pharmacy in 1970 to cater mid-Western Nigeria. These regional schools laid the foundation for pharmacy education in Nigeria; and from this point, the schools of pharmacy ran degree programs as the minimum standard required for registration as a pharmacist with the regulatory body.\ \ In the 1980s pharmacy programs were established at the Universities of Ibadan, and Lagos. During the same period, a Faculty Pharmaceutical Sciences was established at the Federal University of Technology, Makurdi, but was later moved to University of Jos when the Federal University of Technology was changed to Federal University of Agriculture. More schools of pharmacy began to spring up from then till date. The ownership of universities offering pharmacy has moved from what used to be solely Federal to include State, Mission, and private.\ \ **The watershed of pharmacy education in Nigeria**\ The year 1958 is regarded as the watershed of pharmacy education in Nigeria. In this year, the Pharmacists Board (then known as Pharmacy Board) revised the syllabus of the Northern Dispensers\' Course and ordered that the 2-years practical training certificate programme be changed first to a 9-month, full-time course and later upgraded to lead to the Chemists and Druggists Diploma. The School of Pharmacy, Zaria, was integrated into the Institute of Health, Kaduna and later into the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1966. The School of Pharmacy, Yaba was transferred to the Nigerian College of Science, Ibadan in 1958 (a precursor of the University of Ife or Obafemi Awolowo University), and its graduates were prepared for the Diploma in Pharmacy, Nigeria \[Dip. Pharm. (Nig)\] vis a 3-year curriculum based on the B Pharm. UK Course. A Curriculum Conference was held at Ibadan in 1958 to harmonize the Nigerian and UK syllabi and holders of the diploma from Nigerian schools of pharmacy were also allowed a 3-year study in a British School of Pharmacy to B Pharm. (UK) degree. **Pharmacy programs offered in Nigeria** At the inception of training of pharmacists in Nigeria, two broad approaches were used; one emphasized the training of the pharmacist as a professional and the other as the professional pharmacist and scientist at the same time. These approaches defined the nomenclature of the faculties and the core courses they offer. The school of pharmacy is either known as Faculty of Pharmacy or Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, depending on how the founding fathers defined pharmacy, as a profession or an applied science. For example, the pharmacy program at Obafemi Awolowo University is run in the Faculty of Pharmacy and the core courses were Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmacognosy, Pharmacology, and Pharmaceutics and awarded B Pharm., whereas the counterpart at Ahmadu Bello University is Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the core courses were Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacognosy and Drug Development, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Microbiology and awarded BSc. in Pharmacy. Since the late 1980s, schools of pharmacy have a common focus in developing a clinically oriented pharmacist. In early 1980s, the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria directed that the faculties offering pharmacy education should emphasize clinical pharmacy practice in the bid to train a patient-oriented professional. The development of a new curriculum led to the upward review of the duration of the course from a 3-year to a 4-year course by Direct Entry (DE) mode of entry to university undergraduate program. B Pharm. degree became the accepted nomenclature, and the degree awarded with the new curriculum became a \"declassified\" B Pharm. degree. The minimum pass mark was also raised from 40% to 50% and a cumulative performance equivalent to a second class lower became the minimum requirement for graduation. The call for admission into this new B Pharm. program to study pharmacy appeared in the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) brochure of 1984 that would lead to the award of B Pharm. degree after the completion of the course with a duration of 4 years (DE) or 5 years (UME). A new core syllabus for a 5-years Pharmacy course (UME) was eventually outlined by the NUC in 1989.The new curriculum includes clinical pharmacy, anatomy course, and organized clinical ward rounds that were absent in the old program that paid little attention to patient care. Improvement on the curriculum was reflected in the 2007 NUC benchmark and the minimum academic standards for pharmaceutical sciences and emphasizing pharmaceutical care. Indication of the acceptance of a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm D) degree as the future minimum qualification for registration as pharmacist in Nigeria was its inclusion in that benchmark. Pharm D program, first introduced in the United States of America (USA), is all about pharmaceutical care. The Pharm D curriculum provides students with course work and clinical preparation that is basic to understanding the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, and the therapeutic use, appropriateness, selection, monitoring, and cost-effectiveness of drugs. Students participate in a variety of learning opportunities that are necessary for educating and counseling patients, and for understanding and appreciating the social, emotional, and psychological implications of diseases. The Pharm D professional program fulfills the educational aspect of the requirements for licensure as a pharmacist. The duration of study prescribed in the curriculum for the Pharm D is 6 years through UME. A few schools of pharmacy in the country are at various stages of implementing the Pharm D program. **Regulation of pharmacy education in Nigeria**\ To appreciate pharmacy education in Nigeria, it is important to understand that pharmacy education is regulated by both the Ministries of Education and Health. It is the responsibility of the NUC, (an agency in the Federal Ministry of Education, FME) to accredit programs in all Nigerian Universities. Established in 1962, The NUC was an advisory agency in the Cabinet Office until 1974 when it became a statutory body and it is a parastatal under the FME charged with the responsibility of: (i) Granting approval for all academic programs run in Nigerian universities; (ii) Granting approval for the establishment of all higher educational institutions offering degree programs in Nigerian universities; (iii) Ensure quality assurance of all academic programs offered in Nigerian universities; and (iv) Channel for all external support to the Nigerian universities.\ \ The pharmacist Council of Nigeria, on the other hand, is a statutory body established under the Pharmacists\' Council of Nigeria Act and is responsible for: - Determining the standard of knowledge and skill to be attained by persons seeking to become registered members of the Pharmacy Profession (in this Act referred to as the profession) and reviewing those standards, from time to time as circumstances may require - Securing in accordance with the provisions of this Acts, the establishment and maintenance of register of person entailed to practice as members of the profession and the publication, from time to time of lists of those persons - Reviewing and preparing from time to time, a statement as to the code of conduct which the council considers desirable for the practice of the pharmacy profession - Regulating and controlling the practice of the profession in all its aspects and ramifications. Both NUC and PCN independently carry out routine accreditation of the institutions to assure quality. **Pharmacy courses** Pharmacy is a profession that deals with drugs and medicines. It entails drug discovery, development, design, and formulation including dispensing to both humans and animals for improving health. To be a certified pharmacist, it is mandatory to pass through the four walls of an approved pharmacy institution.\ The reason why most people prefer pharmacy to other medical courses is that you rarely come across any form of blood. Secondly, the pharmacist is the first point of call when there is a need for the presence of qualified medical personnel.\ \ To be a certified pharmacist, the basic requirement is to graduate from a certified pharmacy institution. The curriculum must meet with a set standard that should be able to stand the test of time and with international standard.\ \ The first part is made of the curriculum which is divided into theory and laboratory experiment in a space of about five years while the later part focuses on clinical practice. Let us go through the curriculum gradually from year one. **Year one in school of pharmacy** Year 1, consist of science courses with some few compulsory university courses. The science courses are secondary school topics with a little bit of higher learning. They include:\ **Mathematics:  **Calculus, sets, algebra, statistics etc.\ **Botany:** Classification, form and function, genetics and hereditary with some laboratory experiments like plant identification.\ **Chemistry:** Physical, inorganic and organic chemistry with laboratory experiment on volumetric analysis including qualitative assay.\ **Physics:** Optics and modern physics, electricity and magnetism, heat wave, motion and sound, mechanics and properties of matter with laboratory experiment like light, electricity. \ **Animal and environmental biology:** Classification, animal biology with some laboratory experiments on animal structures.\ **General studies (G.S.T):** They include the use of English, Philosophy, conflict resolution, Nigerian people and culture and not forgetting basic French. Most of the names are the explanation of what is inside those GST courses.\ \ To proceed, one must pass the science courses according to the pass mark set by those departments while GST according to school criteria. **Year two to final year in school of pharmacy** **Introduction to pharmacy** Pharmacy is a faculty on its own with six departments each having their own course titles and codes. Each department has a Head of Department (H.O.D) with certain laws guiding them. The faculty is run and managed by the Dean of the faculty who is answerable to the Vice Chancellor (V.C). However, one-course adviser serves one level of students.\ The pass mark for all most pharmacy courses is 50/100. This includes medical courses like medical biochemistry, physiology, and anatomy. This is not the case with school and science courses that their pass mark is 45/100. It is important to note that some pharmacy courses use 60 as pass mark though few.\ \ At year two, most pharmacy courses will be introduced to the students with some few more school courses like \'computer course\' and 'entrepreneur\'. However, because of the nature of pharmacy and to understand how some drugs work, students are exposed to the basics of Anatomy, Physiology, and Medical Biochemistry. **Anatomy:** This is a branch of biology that deals with the structure of organisms. It is divided into gross (macroscopic) and histology (microscopic). Macroscopic deals with the use of unaided eye to view and study an organ or tissue, while microscopic deals with the use of optical instruments like the microscope to study cells and tissue. This is achieved in the laboratory where dead animals and cadavers (dead humans) are dissected with surgical knives. They study the location, appearance of parts and materials and how they relate to other parts of the body. Some of the courses include gross anatomy of lower and upper limbs and the thorax. It also involves the introduction to the study of cells and tissues using Atlas and microscope. Laboratory experiment includes viewing slides of tissues and cells under a microscope and reading atlas (a coloured book with the pictures of different types of cells and tissues). **Medical biochemistry:** Is involved with chemical processes as it relates to living things. By studying metabolism (anabolism and catabolism) of living things, one can understand how organs, tissues including a whole organism interact. It also looks at life in molecular form, which involves the deoxyribonucleic acid (D.N.A) as they can be modified to improve life.\ In medicine, medical biochemist investigates the causes and cures of diseases. In nutrition, they study how to maintain health including effects of nutritional deficiencies. In agriculture, they investigate soil and fertilizers and try to discover ways to help improve crop cultivation, storage and pest control. Some of the courses include metabolism and chemistry of biomolecules including DNA replication. Laboratory practical's includes forms of chemicals and their reactions in organs. **Physiology:** Is the study of the normal function of the body. It focuses on how organisms, organs, tissues and cells function within themselves and their environment. Courses to do include Physiology of essential organs like liver, heart, and kidney. Laboratory work includes measuring vital signs like the heart rate of a dead rat. **Courses under the faculty of pharmacy** **i) Pharmacognosy and traditional medicine** Simply put, is the study of medicines of natural origin. Natural origin includes plants, animals, and microorganisms. It is not a new thing to know that plants have been used to treat ailments for years, but few people know that even microbes are also sources of medicines. The focus of this department is to differentiate between poisonous herbs and medicinal ones. It also encompasses the preparation stage, harvesting, extraction methods, as well as doses of extracts, involves in treating using herbs. \ \ There are many medicines out there today that are gotten from nature. One of the most common ones is caffeine. Others include atropine, ephedrine, taxol etc. These are chemicals that are found in plants, which will be studied in detail including how to cultivate the plants from which it was collected. It will also involve how to identify the process, collect, and extract active constituents. \ Some of the courses include extraction method, biosynthesis and phytochemical of natural products. Laboratory experiment includes microscopic examination of leaf part, separation, and extraction using chromatography. **ii) Pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry** This department is based solely on chemicals that have effects in drug productions and design. It focuses mostly on synthetic products that can be modified including characteristics of those chemicals. It also deals with how some of these chemicals can be isolated, purified, enhanced and produced in mass quantity and how to manipulate an already existing drug to enhance its work or reduce its side effects. Shelf life for a drug is adjusted according to the chemical degradation. Courses offered include medicinal plants and inorganic chemistry. Laboratory experiments are quantitative analysis like titration and qualitative assay like the melting point. **iii) Pharmacology and therapeutics** This branch of pharmacy is mainly concerned with how chemicals interact with our body. It involves the mechanism of action, toxicity, etc. It is divided into Pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics. Kinetics involves how compounds (drugs) is absorbed, distributed, metabolized and excreted from the body while dynamics is how the body handles all that. With this kind of knowledge, understanding how patients react with drugs and vice versa becomes possible and easy. Side and adverse effects of drugs are studied in details as to how humans tolerate chemicals within both the environment and those we take in. Courses include endocrine pharmacology, nervous system pharmacology etc. Laboratory experiment includes various effects of drugs on laboratory animals like a white albino rat. **iv) pharmaceutical microbiology** This branch involves the study of microorganisms as they affect either pharmaceuticals or humans. This involves trying to minimize the number of microbes in a drug by adhering to a set standard during production, distribution, storage, and sales. The shelf life is adjusted according to a number of microbes a chemical compound can take over a period. The study of the effectiveness of antibiotic drugs is assayed here while antibiotics are designed here. Modern microbiologist also involves genetic engineering/manipulation. Courses include sterilization methods, antimicrobial agents, fermentation technology, and quality control. Laboratory experiments include effects of drugs on bacteria in a culture plate, production of sterile products like eye drops. **v) Pharmaceutics and industrial pharmacy** Pharmaceutics involves formulating drugs into a standard formulation and dose to achieve high safety and efficacy.  It involves formulating a pure drug into a dosage form that will achieve maximum therapeutic effects with less toxic effects. This department focuses on how best to produce any type of drug to achieve the desired outcome. The ability of the drug to survive a long time can be enhanced here. Courses involve here are an introduction to dosage form and formulation, the technology of solid, liquid and semisolid dosage form and sorption (adsorption and absorption of drugs). Laboratory experiment includes drug formulations, measurement of dosage, product expiry date, dosage absorption, and metabolism. **vi) Clinical pharmacy and administration** This department focuses on patient care and how they can enjoy better health. It tends to encourage prevention before drugs. They are experts in the therapeutic use of medications, giving advice to patients and other healthcare professionals. In some countries, they prescribe, administer, manage, counsel, and dispense in certain conditions. Patient's interaction is key in their curriculum. They do not forget that they are also in business, hence, the study of business management. Courses include pharmaceutical care, clinical pharmacy, management and entrepreneur, disease pathology and pharmacy jurisprudence. There is laboratory practice of ethical dispensing, pharmacokinetics. It involves a six-month Industrial Training (I.T) in a reputable institution of choice and clinical ward rounds and clerkship in an affiliate teaching hospital.\ \ The first phase ends with an examination after which there will be an internship program for a year. The program is done in an approved licensed establishment with a pharmacist to help coach the student. At the end of the one-year training, a certificate or license is issued to the individual after which he can start to practice as such capacity.\ \ **Note:** There may be some difference in course titles and description for different schools. **Clinical pharmacy education\ \ **The future of pharmacy as a health care profession lies in its ability to contribute to the rational use of medication in health care. Pharmaceutical care is the philosophy of practice that will facilitate this future. Pharmacy education has a corresponding responsibility to promote the philosophy within the profession and to the public and to prepare students who are competent to render pharmaceutical care in practice. The mandatory creation of Department of Clinical Pharmacy as a core department from the existing Department of Pharmacology in schools of pharmacy in Nigeria became imperative as a foundational step to focusing the teaching and training of pharmacists in line with the B Pharm. declassified curriculum. Today, the department is known by different nomenclatures, depending on the school. Clinical department exists in schools of pharmacy in any of the following three formats: - Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice - Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Administration - Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Bio pharmacy. **Future directions of the profession of pharmacy** The prospects of the pharmacy profession are intrinsically linked with the education and training of pharmacists to respond to the medicine-related needs of the society. A continuous deliberate understanding of the drug needs of the patient and proffering solutions to them would make the pharmacist relevant. It has been realized that the only way to be relevant to the patient and properly contribute to the health care delivery is to move toward the Pharm D program; and Nigeria must do this passionately. The challenge would be the mode of operation of this program and making every stakeholder realize the benefits of the patient-oriented pharmacy practice. If it is realized among health professionals that patient is the reason for the professional duties, it would be easier to work together in a complementary fashion. Because of their knowledge and skills in drug therapy and their accessibility to patients, pharmacists with the requisite clinical training and professional education are positioned to help patients and other health care professionals, and thus the health care system could achieve more effective and efficient drug therapy outcomes. Drug therapy has become one of the cornerstones of modern health care delivery. **Postgraduate studies**\ Schools of pharmacy have traditionally offered postgraduate education in pharmaceutical sciences, usually involving research. This serves as a means of developing and providing pharmacist manpower with requisite competencies in academia and in health care delivery system. Through the various research programs at the postgraduate levels, the schools of pharmacy can understand the societal medicines needs and generate information that can help in appropriate policy formulations and decision making. Through postgraduate education, research skills and attitudes are acquired by younger researchers for the preservation of quality and standards in higher education. Capacity building and capital development are the main thrust of postgraduate studies. **Career prospects in Pharmacy** The pharmacy degree is a science degree. There are many skills and a valuable resource of knowledge that pharmacists have gained over their many years of study and training which can be put to excellent use in other areas of work. Below are career areas/areas of work, but the list isn't exhaustive and there are many other suggestions: **1. Academia** Many pharmacists go on to become lecturers in universities. Having experience of studying pharmacy, working within pharmacy or science or gaining real life work experience are major lifelines in delivering a strong quality of teaching and ensuring vital support to pharmacy students. It's also very rewarding being able to share your experiences and knowledge with your audience in the lecture theatre. Pharmacists with strong public speaking skills will also find lecturing a great way to put their communication skills to good use. There are also many more opportunities beyond the lecture theatre particularly in helping with research activities, supporting the provision of laboratory coursework sessions and maybe even representing your university at national events. **2. Financial sector** Pharmacists have a lot of valuable analytical skills that many within the financial industry would find attractive. After all, it is numbers that they will mainly deal with. Some cities in the world have the financial sector as a prominent feature of their employment markets and work to some extent is still available. **3. Journalism** Although more emphasis over recent years has been placed on graduates with journalism qualifications, who will stop a broadcaster, magazine or a newspaper from employing someone with expert knowledge? Healthcare is a major issue in the news and people from that background are a super resource for the media in terms of delivering news on that area. You may need to gain a journalism or media qualification to prove your worth but there are also other ways to gain skills and experience in journalism or the media, mainly through gaining valuable experience through other activities such as presenting on community or hospital radio or even just writing a blog online. **4. Regulatory affairs** Pharmacists are being looked out for, more than ever before, by regulatory organizations. These organizations benefit from the experience and knowledge of pharmacists when it comes to dealing with ensuring the safety and efficacy of medicines and medicinal products. Law and ethics plus other modules, particularly around the manufacture of medicines studied in the pharmacy degree, provide an important foundation of knowledge for justifying the value of pharmacists in this area of work.  **5. Science or medical writing** A lot of people think that this suggestion is very much the same, if not similar, to the third suggestion. To an extent, it isn't. No doubt a science writer may well get involved in the journalistic side of things. But, in this context, the focus is more on the other elements of medical writing. It will consist of interpreting and presenting data from research, writing literature such as patient information leaflets and other documentation (some activity within medical writing can be linked to regulatory affairs).  ### **6. Community pharmacy** Community pharmacists are often on the first line of health care. In addition to dispensing medications and monitoring patients for adverse effects and interacting drugs, pharmacists provide important counseling services, such as the proper selection of over-the-counter medications and/or referral to other health care providers. Today's pharmacist also must be versed in alternative medicines. ### **7. Geriatric pharmacy** By 2020, some 37 percent of the U.S. population will be mature adults who will likely consume more than half of all health care resources, and this is the expectation globally too. Careers in this field will serve the needs of this growing population segment. ### **8. Governmental agencies** Local, state and federal governmental agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, NAFDAC, the Naval forces, the Armed Forces etc require the expertise of skilled pharmacists. Many pharmacy graduates work in hospitals and clinics within these agencies. ### **9. Home health care** Patients formerly treated in a hospital setting are now receiving professional care in their residences through home health care. Pharm D graduates who work in this field of pharmacy provide medications, such as intravenous antibiotics, pain management medication, nutritional supplements and chemotherapy. Pharmacists also monitor the patients' progress and adjust therapy as needed. ### **10. Hospital pharmacy** Many graduates pursue careers in hospital pharmacy where they are directly involved in patient care. Pharmacists in hospitals monitor and adjust patient medications and work closely with physicians, nurses and other health professionals to determine the most appropriate drug therapy possible. Clinical pharmacists may specialize in a variety of areas of pharmacy practice, including pediatrics, critical care, cardiology, surgery, psychopharmacy, neurology, infectious disease, drug information and transitions of care. ### **11. Pharmaceutical industry** Modern drug therapy is highly sophisticated, and the pharmaceutical industry recognizes the need for technical proficiency among its sales and marketing personnel. Additionally, the area of research and development provides numerous opportunities for pharmaceutical scientists, including drug isolation and synthesis to formulation, packaging and quality control of the finished dosage form. Because of their expertise in drug therapy and their knowledge of the health care delivery system, pharmacists are actively recruited by major pharmaceutical manufacturers. ### **12. Pharmacoeconomics** Society's demand for graduates with specialized knowledge in Pharmacoeconomics is steadily increasing. The demand for such scholars exceeds the current supply, providing a wealth of opportunities for graduates. A strong demand for specialists comes from government agencies, insurance plans, managed health care organizations, professional health care associations, hospital administration departments, health care consulting organizations, pharmaceutical companies and international organizations. ### **Specialized area opportunities** Pharmacists with expertise in specialized areas such as consulting, legal practice, drug information, poison control and pharmacy affairs are becoming more in demand as the profession evolves.