Doctor of Pharmacy

A Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.; New Latin Pharmaciae Doctor) is a professional doctorate degree in pharmacy. In some countries, it is a first professional degree, and a prerequisite for licensing to exercise the profession of Pharmacist. The first Pharm.D. program was established at the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy in Los Angeles, California in 1950.

In Algeria, Doctor of Pharmacy degree replaced the state's diploma of pharmacist in 2011, thus concepts on clinical pharmacy and pharmaceutical care were taught for the first time.

Currently, Pharm.D is a 6 year course being offered in Ghana which started in the academic year 2012/2013 notably by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) leading to the award of doctor of pharmacy certificate and a pharmacist license to operate. An aggregate of 07 in the WASSCE results is currently the acceptable cutoff point.

Pharm.D. is a program offered presently at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Rabat and the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Casablanca.

Presently, The University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State is the only institution offering the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D) degree which commenced in 2001 following the approval given for the commencement of the program by the regulatory government agency for pharmacy education and practice in the country, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN). It was not until 2007 that the overall regulatory government agency for all university degree programs in the country, National Universities Commission (NUC), formally approved the PharmD degree program, but withdrew the approval in June 2014. However, the approval was restored in June 2016. The University of Benin PharmD is a six-year undergraduate program. Prior to the commencement of the program, the university offered a five-year Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm) degree program which commenced in 1970 but was gradually phased out in 2008. In the Pharm.D program, students are given extensive didactic preclinical/professional clinical preparation as well as clinical training in (including pharmaceutical care) in various hospitals in Benin City. PCN and the national professional body of pharmacists, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), have envisaged that in the near future, Pharm.D degree will become the minimum educational qualification for the registration/licensing of fresh graduates of Nigeria's pharmacy schools for practice in the country. Following the recent restoration of NUC approval for PharmD, more pharmacy schools have intensified their preparations to commence the Pharm.D degree program. There are currently (as at 2016) 17 approved pharmacy schools in Nigeria though The University of Nigeria Nsukka is working towards officializing its own Pharm.D programme in the nearest future(that is if it has not been endorsed or rather approved.)

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