The department of Pharmacy Practice was established in the year 1999 with the objective of optimizing drug utilization and providing quality health services. It is attached to a 1000 bedded Sri Ramakrishna hospital which is one of the largest multi-specialty hospitals in Coimbatore . The department of Pharmacy Practice offers services like Drug Use Evaluation, Drug information, Patient counselling, Adverse Drug Reaction monitoring, Dosage individualization, Auditing of Prescriptions, Formulary Update, Drug interaction and Medication Error monitoring, Materiovigilance etc. The Department is equipped with Micromedex software with Drugdex and Poisindex updated till date. The Department of Pharmacy Practice also has Lexicomp software for drug information updates.The department has more than 160 research publications in various Indian and International peer reviewed journals. An ADR monitoring centre, Materiovigilance centre, Patient counselling centre and a drug information centre is functioning in the hospital which helps the students to get trained in the respective Pharmaceutical care activities. Students of the department has got scholarships from various organizations and proved their professional ability in various national and international forums. They actively participate in ward rounds, medical camps, clinical meetings, group discussions.
The department news letter is circulated to the hospital attached and also to all the educational institutions and hospitals in the state. The department has carried out more than 175 research projects and the students are well placed in various facets of life like clinical trial co-ordinators, in regulatory affairs, as clinical pharmacists, as Drug Safety Associates, in medical writing, as pharmacovigilance experts , in teaching etc. More than 60% of the completed students are working in abroad. The department has well qualified and experienced staff with Ph.D qualification to train the students. The development of professional competency is achieved by active-learning strategies that will improve retention of knowledge, thinking abilities, and problem-solving, and foster development of professional traits. Effective performance of clinical activities like medication history interview, clinical problem solving, medical information evaluation, Drug Therapy Monitoring, patient medication counseling, Drug Information Services, rational medication use, Adverse Drug Reaction Management, Assessment of Drug Interactions etc., are the competencies developed through a dynamic interplay between curricular components and practical application. The department has achieved standards in practice education and always work towards effective patient care.
The branch of Pharmacy Practice has tremendous scope with wide career options in clinical research organisations, in accreditated hospitals as clinical Pharmacist, in pharmacovigilance, in clinical trials, medical writing and coding, regulatory affairs, teaching, etc., both in India and abroad.
