30 PharmD students graduate

KOCHI: A total of 30 PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacy) students have graduated from School of Pharmacy under the Amrita University here. They are the first batch of PharmD graduates from the State.

Industry and Sports Minister E P Jayarajan was the chief guest at the graduation ceremony. The event marked the beginning of the professional journey of the graduates, who are set to play a key role in pharmaceutical care in the country. Ministry of Science and Technology former secretary and Padma Bhushan recipient Dr T Ramasamy graced the occasion as the guest of honour. The graduating students were presented certificates and awards of excellence.

Congratulating the students, Jayarajan in his inaugural address said, "with the disease burden rising all over India, especially that of cancer and lifestyle ailments, these young Pharma professionals will play a key role in improving public health and the quality of care. In fact, they will get more opportunities to serve the needy than politicians and social workers do. They should be ready to offer their service in villages and to the underprivileged sections of society. I hope they would give top priority to the well-being of fellow human beings with the spirit of selflessness."

The six-year PharmD programme is a clinically intensive pharmacy course introduced by the Pharmacy Council of India in 2008. Amrita School of Pharmacy was the first pharmacy school to offer the course in Kerala (in 2010). The outgoing students also include ten PharmD PB students belonging to the 2013 batch. In the final year of the course, all the 40 students underwent a rigorous 365-day internship in various clinical departments of Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, which is a super-specialty healthcare facility.