BS Pharmacy as a Preparatory for Medicine: Should I consider Pharmacy?
Pharmacy, the art and science of drugs, is undeniably one of the noblest profession. Ever since the existence of men, medicines were utilized. From plant extracts to the discovery of penicillin and sulfa drugs, from primitive to ancient civilization until industrialization to modernization, pharmacy has always been there! It has stood the test of time. The use of drugs to cure a disease, alleviate suffering and increase the quantity and quality of life has been extensive ever since. Man and medicine are inseparable. As long as man exists, he will always seek medicines as refuge in times of illness. Drugs will always be in demand now and in the future.
As advancement in modern times ensue, a need to formally open a curriculum in Pharmacy is timely. It is imperative that Pharmacy become a profession, a specialized body of knowledge with standards of good practice. Today in the Philippines, many universities offer a BS Pharmacy program that is world-class. Notably two of the best universities: UP and UST, pioneer school are worth mentioning. These are the best universities in terms of research, instruction, facilities, educational experience and prestige. Although I am a graduate of SLU in Baguio, I admire UP-Manila's research-based teaching and UST-Faculty of Pharmacy's great facilities and international prestige. Other universities such as CEU, OLFU, MMSU, etc are not that behind in providing quality education,
BS Pharmacy in the Philippines is a 4-year medical course that has a strong foundation in chemistry which tackles the science and art of drugs. Much of your time will be spent in the laboratory inhaling toxic fumes of sulfuric acid, benzene, chloroform, hexane and so many others. You will be conducting so many chemical tests to determine purity, strength, moisture content of drugs and cosmetics and ensuring their quality. Mortar and pestle, watch glass, beakers will be your best friends in compounding. MIMS, PDR, PNDF will be your reference-savers. Titration, scientific names,pH-buffer system, dipole moment, molars will be common terms you encounter in discussions. Not to mention Pharmacology, Public Health, Drug Delivery Systems and patient-centered units are included in the course.
To gain a better look of the course here are a summary of course descriptions required in our curriculum. Note that course descriptions may vary from school to school. In SLU, these are our subject offerings:
Pharmacy as a pre-med course is very appropriate in the prescribing process. Since we have been extensively studying mechanism of action, adverse drug reactions, antidotes to toxicity, side effects, pharmacodynamics and kinetics property of drugs and so on, we are in better position to determine the best treatment options for every patient. Apart from that pharmacy offers a variety of practice opportunities just in case you change your mind and defer medicine. You can work in hospital, government, retail, manufacturing side or you can even put up your own Botika-- a booming bussines!
Pharmacy, the art and science of drugs, is undeniably one of the noblest profession. Ever since the existence of men, medicines were utilized. From plant extracts to the discovery of penicillin and sulfa drugs, from primitive to ancient civilization until industrialization to modernization, pharmacy has always been there! It has stood the test of time. The use of drugs to cure a disease, alleviate suffering and increase the quantity and quality of life has been extensive ever since. Man and medicine are inseparable. As long as man exists, he will always seek medicines as refuge in times of illness. Drugs will always be in demand now and in the future.
As advancement in modern times ensue, a need to formally open a curriculum in Pharmacy is timely. It is imperative that Pharmacy become a profession, a specialized body of knowledge with standards of good practice. Today in the Philippines, many universities offer a BS Pharmacy program that is world-class. Notably two of the best universities: UP and UST, pioneer school are worth mentioning. These are the best universities in terms of research, instruction, facilities, educational experience and prestige. Although I am a graduate of SLU in Baguio, I admire UP-Manila's research-based teaching and UST-Faculty of Pharmacy's great facilities and international prestige. Other universities such as CEU, OLFU, MMSU, etc are not that behind in providing quality education,
BS Pharmacy in the Philippines is a 4-year medical course that has a strong foundation in chemistry which tackles the science and art of drugs. Much of your time will be spent in the laboratory inhaling toxic fumes of sulfuric acid, benzene, chloroform, hexane and so many others. You will be conducting so many chemical tests to determine purity, strength, moisture content of drugs and cosmetics and ensuring their quality. Mortar and pestle, watch glass, beakers will be your best friends in compounding. MIMS, PDR, PNDF will be your reference-savers. Titration, scientific names,pH-buffer system, dipole moment, molars will be common terms you encounter in discussions. Not to mention Pharmacology, Public Health, Drug Delivery Systems and patient-centered units are included in the course.
To gain a better look of the course here are a summary of course descriptions required in our curriculum. Note that course descriptions may vary from school to school. In SLU, these are our subject offerings:
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| Chemistry and Pharmacy of Drugs |
- General, Inorganic, Organic, Pharmaceutical Chemistry (20 units including lab)
- Pharm Botany and Taxonomy (5 u with lab)
- Microbio and Para (5u with lab)
- AnaPhysio with Patho (5units with lab)
- Pharmacognosy and Plant Chemistry (10units with lab)
- Pharm and Chem of Medicinals (10 u with lab)
- Hospi Pharm (3units)
- Pharmacology and Therapeutics (7u)
- Pharmacy Research (6u)
- Physical Pharma (5u with lab)
- Biochem (5u with lab)
- Pharm Jurisprudence and Ethics (3u)
- Manufacturing Pharma (5u with lab)
- Quality Control (9u with lab)
- Pharm Mgt, Acctg and Admin (12u)
- Pharmaceutics (10u with lab)
Pharmacy as a pre-med course is very appropriate in the prescribing process. Since we have been extensively studying mechanism of action, adverse drug reactions, antidotes to toxicity, side effects, pharmacodynamics and kinetics property of drugs and so on, we are in better position to determine the best treatment options for every patient. Apart from that pharmacy offers a variety of practice opportunities just in case you change your mind and defer medicine. You can work in hospital, government, retail, manufacturing side or you can even put up your own Botika-- a booming bussines!
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