World's Top 100 Pharmaceutical Universities : 2016 QS Ranking

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Celebrating 100th blog post with 1.34 Lakh visitors

Here is the list of World's Top 100 Pharmacy universities as per 2016 QS rankings which is useful for your higher studies and bright career. 

Wishing you all the best. 

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Deepak Kumar Bandari,

Pharm.D Intern,

Vaagdevi College of Pharmacy - India

Elsevier Student Ambassador - South Asia

How to Become a Registered Pharmacist in India

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Application Procedure : 

The candidate has to be Registered at your respective State Pharmacy Councils through this procedure

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Deepak Kumar Bandari,

Pharm.D Intern,

Vaagdevi College of Pharmacy - India

Elsevier Student Ambassador - South Asia

Top 50 Pharmacy Colleges in India : MHRD 2016 Report

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Get Complete Details Here

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Deepak Kumar Bandari,

Pharm.D Intern,

Vaagdevi College of Pharmacy - India

Elsevier Student Ambassador - South Asia

Pharmacopoeia Scientists : Salary upto 12 Lakhs per annum

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Deepak Kumar Bandari,

Pharm.D Intern,

Vaagdevi College of Pharmacy - India

Elsevier Student Ambassador - South Asia

Good News for Pharm.D graduates : Tata Memorial Centre Fellowships

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Apply Here

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Deepak Kumar Bandari,

Pharm.D Intern,

Vaagdevi College of Pharmacy - India

Elsevier Student Ambassador - South Asia

69th World Health Assembly Started Today : Watch Live Here

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The Sixty-ninth session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) takes place in Geneva 23-28 May 2016. The Health Assembly is the supreme decision-making body of WHO. It is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States. Its main functions are to determine the policies of the Organization, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget. The Health Assembly is held annually in Geneva, Switzerland.

Watch Live Here

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Deepak Kumar Bandari,

Pharm.D Intern,

Vaagdevi College of Pharmacy - India

Elsevier Student Ambassador - South Asia

Cell Phone Radiation and Cancer: The Top 5 Phones With The Highest Radiation

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Mobile phones expose us to harmful levels of radiation. Moreover, these gadgets emit dangerous, non-ionizing form of electromagnetic radiation and our bodies absorb this radiation and as a result we struggle with numerous health problems.

A study conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, published in the Biochemical Journal, found that a single use of your mobile for 10 minutes triggers changes in your brain cells that are closely related with cell division and cancer.

“As of now, with only 10-12 years exposure which only continues to increase dramatically, there is a high chance of increase in the rate of brain cancer”- stated Dr. John Bucher, the Associate Director of the National Institute of Health, National toxicology program. Moreover, he added that children have a skull configuration which allows a deeper penetration of the cell phone radiation and they are at greater risk. Therefore, protect your healthy.

This video below lists the top 5 mobile phones that you need to avoid!

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Deepak Kumar Bandari,

Pharm.D Intern,

Vaagdevi College of Pharmacy - India

Elsevier Student Ambassador - South Asia

Free Online Course : Preventing the Zika Virus

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About the Course:

The Zika virus is suspected to be the cause of cases of microcephaly in newborns in South America, and this outbreak has now been declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization. With global attention towards this disease increasing rapidly, it is becoming clear that there is limited knowledge around how the carriers, or vectors, of Zika, are best avoided and controlled.

Focus on the Zika virus:

This free online course will begin by considering the science behind the outbreak to try to understand where the Zika virus has come from, its symptoms, and its effect on infected individuals. Our attention will then turn towards the vector primarily responsible for transmission of Zika: theAedes mosquito.

Explore the biology of Aedes mosquitoes:

We will introduce the Aedes mosquito and examine its lifecycle, behaviour, and distribution across the world, before reflecting upon the important role it plays in spreading Zika virus. Without a vaccine, prevention and control relies on reducing numbers of mosquitoes and the contact they have with people, so an understanding of the biology of Aedes is vital.

Discover vector control methods:

A range of methods employed to control the Aedes mosquito will be highlighted, including the use, importance, and suitability of repellents, impregnated clothing, larval control, insecticide spraying, and insecticide treated nets. The vectors of Zika virus also transmit dengue, yellow fever and the chikungunya virus, meaning there is potential to apply these techniques in other settings.

Learn together and from those on the front line in South America

Learners will come from all over the world with their own diverse experiences and interests. You will have the opportunity to exchange thoughts and ideas through course discussion, and hear first-hand accounts from experts and individuals working in the field in South America. 

Contributors include:

1. Dr Mary Cameron, Reader in Medical Entomology
2. Dr Jo Lines, Reader of Malaria Control and Vector Biology
3. Professor Laura Rodrigues, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and working with the Microcephaly Epidemic Research Group in BrazilProfessor Jimmy Whitworth, Professor of International Public Health.

Support for Portuguese and Spanish speakers will be available throughout the course, including video subtitles, transcripts, and translations of other key materials.

About ARCTEC:

ARCTEC is an integral part of the Department of Disease Control at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and a world-leading independent test centre for consultancy and the evaluation and development of arthropod pest control technologies.

REQUIREMENTS:

This course is designed for anyone with an interest in learning about Zika virus vector control. It is relevant to workers newly drafted into vector control work, NGO employees in affected countries, students taking a healthcare or science-related degree, medical students and postgraduates wishing to complement their studies, and academic staff in aligned disciplines.

Join the Course Here

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Deepak Kumar Bandari,

Pharm.D Intern,

Vaagdevi College of Pharmacy - India

Elsevier Student Ambassador - South Asia

New Study Reveals Tamoxifen Reduces Breast Cancer Rates by Nearly a Third for 20 Years

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A new study has shown that the preventive effect of the breast cancer drug, tamoxifen, remains virtually constant for at least 20 years, with breast cancer rates reduced by around 30 percent. Median 16-year follow-up results from the IBIS-I (International Breast Cancer Intervention-I) trial show a 29% lower risk for developing breast cancer among women who had been randomly assigned to five years of tamoxifen than for women assigned to five years of placebo.

“Tamoxifen is a well-established and effective treatment for certain breast cancers, but we now have evidence of its very long-term preventive benefits…" said Professor Jack Cuzick, IBIS-I lead author and Head of the Centre for Cancer Prevention at Queen Mary University of London. Professor Cuzick underscored the “strong and unabated” 20-year preventive effect of breast cancer resulting in a reduction in breast cancer rates of around a third. “We hope these results will stimulate more women, particularly younger women, to consider treatment options for breast cancer prevention if they have a family history of the disease or other major risk factors.”

The IBIS-I results were presented on December 11, 2014 at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS 2014) in Texas and published simultaneously in The Lancet Oncology. SABCS is an international scientific symposium for interaction and exchange among basic scientists and clinicians in breast cancer.

It was organized by the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at UT Health Science Center San Antonio, the American Association for Cancer Research, and Baylor College of Medicine. The IBIS-I study, which began recruitment in 1992, enrolled 7,154 pre- and post-menopausal women aged from 35 to 70 years at high risk for breast cancer primarily because of a family history. They were randomly assigned to receive either tamoxifen 20 mg daily for five years (3,579) or placebo (3,575).

Hormone replacement therapy was allowed during the trial and was used by 49.5% in the placebo group, and approximately 35% of women in each group had had a hysterectomy. The median age at enrollment was 50.8 years in each group. At a median of 16 years of follow-up (longest follow-up 22 years), there were 601 breast cancers reported, 251 (7.0%) occurring in women who took tamoxifen, and 351 (9.8%) in women who took placebo.

In subanalysis, the most pronounced reductions in risk were seen for invasive estrogen-receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer and ductal carcinoma in situ. However, tamoxifen did not significantly reduce the risk for invasive estrogen-receptor-negative (ER-) breast cancer. The extended analysis of the IBIS-I trial was announced a year after the first results of the IBIS-II trial were released, which found taking the breast cancer drug anastrozole (an aromatase inhibitor) for five years reduced the chances of post-menopausal, high-risk women developing the disease by 53% compared with women who took a placebo. Professor Cuzick concludes: “For most post-menopausal women, an aromatase inhibitor such as anastrozole should be the drug of choice, as it is more effective than tamoxifen and has fewer side effects. However… “…for most premenopausal, high-risk women, tamoxifen remains the only drug of choice for breast cancer prevention and it is a good one, as shown by this new evidence.”

Most Filipino patients cannot afford cost of breast cancer screening, treatment

In the Philippines, which has the highest rate of breast cancer in Asia, low awareness may not be the main reason why the majority of breast cancer cases are not diagnosed early. “Most Filipino patients cannot afford the cost of diagnostic tests and treatments for breast cancer,” states the 2010 Philippine Cancer Facts and Estimates, a document published by the Department of Health and Philippine Cancer Society.

Experts recommend that women, starting at the age of 30, perform monthly self breast examination (SBE) and undergo an annual clinical breast examination (CBE) performed by a healthcare professional. Annual mammogram is recommended for women beginning age 40. According to the 2010 Philippine Cancer Facts and Estimates, national breast cancer awareness campaigns which do not include the provision of diagnosis and treatment are outdated and ineffective. It recommended that each province, city, municipality and barangay should establish and implement its own program for breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.

For such a program to succeed and be sustainable, local government officials, insurance providers, NGOs and civic-minded individuals and organizations, health workers and medical specialty societies must work together in providing access to breast cancer screening and treatment.

References:

1. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/836478

2. http://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/items/smd/144949.html

3.http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/breast cancer/basics/symptoms/con-20029275

4. http://www.philhealth.gov.ph/news/2012/z_benefits.html

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Deepak Kumar Bandari,

Pharm.D Intern,

Vaagdevi College of Pharmacy - India

Elsevier Student Ambassador - South Asia

Mercy killing - A new lease of life : Palliative Medicine

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Our Sincere Thanks to Dr. Gayatri Palat, MD for sharing with us.  

Addressing the contentious issue of mercy killing, the government has come up with a draft Bill on passive euthanasia which will give a patient the right to withhold from medical treatment in case they are terminally ill.

The Union Health Ministry has drafted and put up ‘The Medical Treatment of Terminally Ill Patients (Protection of Patients and Medical Practitioners) Bill’ in the public domain for consultation with stakeholders.

The Bill intends to provide protection to patients and medical practitioners from liability in the context of withholding or withdrawing medical treatment, including life support systems, from those who are terminally ill. According to the Bill, every “competent” person, including minors aged over 16, has a right to decide on withholding or withdrawing medical treatment and to allow nature to take its own course or for starting medical treatment in case of terminal illness.

The Bill goes on to say that such a decision will be binding on the medical practitioner. He or she has to inform the spouse, parents or any other close relative of the patient and desist from carrying out the decision for a period of three days after informing them.

However, despite withdrawing the medical treatment, the said doctor can keep administering palliative care to the patient. The draft Bill gives legal cover to both patients and medical practitioners.

The Medical Council of India has been given the authority to formulate guidelines from time to time for the guidance of medical practitioners and might review and modify the guidelines periodically.

In case any patient is not competent enough to take a decision then his or her next of kin, including spouse, parents or sibling, can approach the High Court, which will have to take a decision within a period of one month.

The government first attempted to formulate a law in 2006, based on a report of the Law Commission. However, the ministry had at that time decided not to take any action. The Supreme Court had laid down comprehensive guidelines in the Aruna Shanbaug case to process passive euthanasia. Active euthanasia is different from the passive form and involves injecting the patient with a lethal substance causing death in a painless manner.

The Aruna Shanbaug story

The debate on euthanasia caught the public attention in Aruna Shanbaug’s case. Aruna died in 2015 after being in a Permanent Vegetative State for over 40 years. While rejecting the plea for her mercy killing, SC laid out the first set of guidelines for euthanasia

What happened to Aruna?

Aruna, a nurse at King Edward Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, was sexually assaulted by a sweeper in 1973. He choked her with a dog chain causing severe brain damage. She was discovered only the next day.

Also read : Woman Behind the smile of Every Cancer patient

Source: The Indian Express

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Deepak Kumar Bandari,

Pharm.D Intern,

Vaagdevi College of Pharmacy - India

Elsevier Student Ambassador - South Asia

Top High Quality Research Universities : 2015

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The US is the world's largest contributor to high-quality scientific research papers, followed by China and Germany, according to the Nature Index 2016 Tables. Of the top ten countries in the Nature Index, only China has shown double digit compound annual growth between 2012 and 2015 with some of its universities growing their contribution to the index as fast as 25% annually. US contributions have declined 2.8% in the same period from a very high base.

The Nature Index Tables, which show Nature Index calendar year outputs for the last four years, are released together today for the first time. The Nature Index is built on a country or institution's contribution to about 60,000 high-quality papers each year, and counts both the total number of papers and the relative contribution to each paper. (See 'About the Nature Index' for full definitions of measures.)

Harvard University, US, has the highest 2015 contribution of any university in the world. Stanford University (second), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (fourth), University of California, Berkeley (seventh), University of California, San Diego (ninth) and University of Michigan (tenth) — all from the US — occupy top ten positions. The University of Tokyo, Japan, is placed third, the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, UK, are fifth and sixth, respectively, and ETH Zurich, Switzerland, is placed eighth.

Reference : http://www.nature.com/press_releases/nature-index-2016.html

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Deepak Kumar Bandari,

Pharm.D Intern,

Vaagdevi College of Pharmacy - India

Elsevier Student Ambassador - South Asia

Indian Pharmacovigilance : What is known is just Half -Glass Full

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Background

Spontaneous or voluntary reporting of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is one of the vital roles of all health professionals. In India, under-reporting of ADRs by health professionals is recognized as one of the leading causes of poor ADR signal detection. Therefore, reviewing the literature can provide a better understanding of the status of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of Pharmacovigilance (PV) activities by health professionals.

Methods

A systematic review was performed through Pubmed, Scopus, Embase and Google Scholar scientific databases. Studies pertaining to KAP of PV and ADR reporting by Indian health professionals between January 2011 and July 2015 were included in a meta-analysis.

Results

A total of 28 studies were included in the systematic review and 18 of them were selected for meta-analysis. Overall, 55.6% (95% CI 44.4–66.9; p<0.001) of the population studied were not aware of the existence of the Pharmacovigilance Programme in India (PvPI), and 31.9% (95% CI 16.3–47.4; p<0.001) thought that "all drugs available in the market are safe". Furthermore, 28.7% (95% CI 16.4–40.9; p<0.001) of them were not interested in reporting ADRs and 74.5%, (95% CI 67.9–81.9; p<0.001) never reported any ADR to PV centers.

Conclusion

There was an enormous gap of KAP towards PV and ADR reporting, particularly PV practice in India. There is therefore an urgent need for educational awareness, simplification of the ADR reporting process, and implementation of imperative measures to practice PV among healthcare professionals. In order to understand the PV status, PvPI should procedurally assess the KAP of health professionals PV activities in India.

To know more facts - Download the full paper here

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Deepak Kumar Bandari,

Pharm.D Intern,

Vaagdevi College of Pharmacy - India

Elsevier Student Ambassador - South Asia

Concerns on Pharmacogenomic testing : Need your insights

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Greetings..!!! 

A group of researchers decided to launch a research on Knowledge, Opinion, Expectations and Concerns towards Pharmacogenomics among Health Professionals in India. The purpose of this survey is to seek your knowledge and opinion about important issues concerning pharmacogenomic testing. 

We wish to take your contribution in this survey, please follow the link below and answer the questions as honestly as possible. All your answers will be kept strictly confidential.

Only for PharmD Interns

Click here to fill out the survey

Drugs acting on Cardiovascular System : Classification at tips

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Deepak Kumar Bandari,

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Vaagdevi College of Pharmacy - India

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Vacancies in Macleods Pharmaceuticals : B.Pharm and M.Pharm Freshers

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Work with Lupin Pharmaceuticals

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Vacancies for PharmD and M.Pharm freshers

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Walk-in's at Sun Pharma

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Vacancies in Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) : Pharm.D Freshers

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The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) is an Autonomous Body under Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India primarily with the objectives of regularly updating the Indian Pharmacopoeia by publishing new edition and its addenda, National Formulary of India and other related tasks such as preparing, certification and distribution of reference substances & functions as National Coordination Centre (NCC) for Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI). We are looking forward for qualified personnel to fill up 40 posts of Technical Associates (for NCC & ADR Monitoring Centres) in PvPI on Contract basis having Master’s Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences or M.B.B.S/ B.D.S/ Pharm. D or equivalent. Preference will be given to young, dynamic personnel having experience in Pharmacovigilance and proficiency in Computer Applications. Consolidated emolument @ Rs. 25,000/- per month will be paid by IPC. 

The job description of the post is:- 

• Collection of ADR Reports.
• Follow up with the reporter/patient for Completeness as per SOPs. Data Entry in VigiFlow.
• Reporting to NCC-PvPI through VigiFlow with the source data (Original) attached each ADR case.
• Training/Sensitization/Feedback to physicians through news letter circulated by the NCCPvPI.

Other activities as assigned by competent authority from time to time. Applications are invited from citizens of India on the application format which can be downloaded from the website: www.ipc.gov.in of the Commission together with the attested copies of supporting documents within 15 days from the date of advertisement. The competent authority reserves the right to increase or decrease the number of vacancies and rejection and/or all applications received without assigning any reason. Selected candidates shall be posted in any of the AMCs under PvPI across the country/NCC-PvPI, IPC, Ghaziabad.

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Vaagdevi College of Pharmacy - India

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How to Become a Registered Pharmacist in U.K

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General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) governing the pharmacist registration in UK, and as an Overseas pharmacist we have to fulfill these requirements.

Step 1: An Overseas Pharmacists Assessment Programme (OSPAP)

Step 2: 52 weeks of Pre-registration training approved by the GPhC 

Step 3: The registration assessment Examination.

Step 1: Overseas Pharmacists' Assessment Programme (OSPAP):

OSPAP is a one-year post graduate diploma course designed to ensure that those who have qualified overseas receive the appropriate education and training to prepare them for UK Practice and entry to Pre-registration training. Entry to these course needs English language proficiency of IELTS testing at level 7 in each category at a single test.

• Aston University (Birmingham) 
• University of Brighton
• Kingston University
• Robert Gordon University (Aberdeen)
• University of Sunderland

Step 2: 52 weeks of Pre-registration training approved by the GPhC:

On graduation you will be eligible to apply for preregistration training for a one-year period prior to taking up the registration examination of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

Step 3: The registration assessment Exam:

There are two examination papers; an open-book and a closed book paper. Questions are based on practice-based situations and are designed to test the thinking and knowledge which lie behind any action.

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Deepak Kumar Bandari,

Pharm.D Intern,

Vaagdevi College of Pharmacy - India

Elsevier Student Ambassador - South Asia