Vietnam: What jobs can graduates of college-level pharmacy do? What are the minimum requirements for skills of graduates of college-level pharmacy?

What jobs can graduates of college-level pharmacy in Vietnam do?

According to sub-item 5, Section A, Part 5 of the Regulations on the minimum requirements for knowledge and competencies of graduates at intermediate and college levels in the fields of health and social services (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations) issued alongside Circular 54/2018/TT-BLDTBXH, graduates of college-level pharmacy in Vietnam may do the following jobs:

- Pharmaceutical - cosmetic - food testing;

- Quality assurance;

- Retailing of medicines;

- Performance of pharmaceutical and medical supplies warehouse work;

- Pharmaceutical and medical supplies warehouse keeper;

- Pharmaceutical business;

- Manufacturing of medicines;

- Performance of pharmaceutical tasks at medical facilities.

What jobs can graduates of college-level pharmacy do? What are the minimum requirements for skills of graduates of college-level pharmacy in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

What is the college-level pharmacy in Vietnam?

According to sub-item 1, Section A, Part 5 of the Regulations issued alongside Circular 54/2018/TT-BLDTBXH, the college-level pharmacy in Vietnam is described as follows:

The college-level pharmacy in Vietnam is a field related to medicines that directly affects human health and life.

Primary tasks are carried out in the laboratories of training institutions, research centers; institutes, centers, testing labs; pharmaceutical companies, drugstores, pharmacies, and pharmaceutical warehouses; the pharmaceutical departments of medical facilities such as hospitals at all levels, medical centers, clinics, etc., meeting the requirements of Level 5 in the Vietnamese National Qualifications Framework.

The college-level pharmacy in Vietnam consists of 5 fields: Drug quality assurance and inspection; drug production and formulation; drug preservation; drug management and supply; and hospital pharmacy, corresponding to 10 common job positions. Each job position has specific tasks and duties, such as:

- Pharmaceutical-cosmetic-food testing: sampling and processing; sample destruction; quality checks; comprehensive analysis and management of test activities;

- Quality assurance: monitoring and inspecting the production process of medicines, functional foods, and cosmetics according to standard procedures;

- Retailing of medicines: receiving, arranging, preserving, and advising on the selection, usage of medicines - cosmetics - functional foods - common medical supplies, herbal medicines, finalizing orders, and quantities sold, etc.;

- Performance of pharmaceutical and medical supplies warehouse work: selecting locations for opening a store, equipment, business items; choosing suppliers; making business strategy decisions, economic management; deciding on recruitment, personnel organization at the drugstore, retailing medicines - cosmetics - functional foods - common medical supplies - herbal medicines, etc.;

- Pharmaceutical warehouse and medical supplies: receiving - delivering, arranging, preserving medicines - cosmetics - functional foods - medical supplies; shipping, handling returned or recalled medicines; performing warehouse labor, ensuring warehouse sanitation and safety; checking and controlling the quantity, quality, expiration of medicines - cosmetics - functional foods - medical supplies - chemicals, etc.;

- Pharmaceutical and medical supplies warehouse keeper: aside from regular warehouse duties, the keeper organizes warehouse labor; manages medicines - cosmetics - functional foods - common medical supplies - chemicals, and various types of equipment, etc.;

- Marketing - introducing medicines: developing markets, introducing and selling pharmaceutical company products to medical staff at medical facilities, pharmacies, etc.;

- Pharmaceutical tasks at medical facilities: preparing projections, receiving, organizing, preserving, distributing medicines - chemicals - medical supplies - herbal medicines; inventorying; tracking, summarizing, reporting medical supplies - chemicals - herbal medicines; formulating and checking medicine quality; pharmaceutical operations; retailing medicines - cosmetics - functional foods - common medical supplies - herbal medicines at hospital pharmacies.

Work conditions frequently involve contact with chemicals, raw materials, semi-finished, and finished products of medicines - cosmetics - functional foods - common medical supplies - herbal medicines, operating high-precision machinery, requiring pharmacists to be meticulous, accurate, cautious, honest, and adhere to professional ethics.

For business-related tasks, and frequent interaction with healthcare professionals, patients demands pharmacists to have sound knowledge of medicines, cautious demeanor, precise communication skills, and professional presentation abilities.

Minimum knowledge volume: 2,500 hours (equivalent to 90 credits).

What are the minimum requirements for skills of graduates of college-level pharmacy in Vietnam?

According to sub-item 3, Section A, Part 5 of the Regulations issued alongside Circular 54/2018/TT-BLDTBXH, graduates of college-level pharmacy must acquire the following skills:

- Effective communication with colleagues, patients, and the community;

- Searching, collecting, processing information, writing, presenting, discussing, negotiating with appropriate language, methods, and timing;

- Identifying and instructing the use of chemical drugs, vaccines, biologicals, and 100 essential traditional medicines, herbal medicines in the Essential Drugs List safely, effectively, and rationally;

- Producing and formulating some forms of medicines, functional foods according to GMP principles and standards;

- Delegating tasks, supervising the work of each team member in production, pharmacy warehouse, pharmacy;

- Utilizing basic laboratory instruments and equipment for testing medicines, chemicals, pharmaceutical raw materials, functional foods, cosmetics;

Sampling pharmaceutical, cosmetic, functional food products for testing conformably;

- Formulating some standard solutions, stock solutions, test medicines conformably;

- Testing some basic forms of medicines, traditional medicines according to Pharmacopoeia standards;

Controlling the environmental conditions of testing conformably;

- Destroying pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and functional food samples conformably;

- Regularly and periodicly maintaining  basic production, testing, and preservation equipment;

- Supervising the production process according to conformable standards;

- Diagnosing common diseases based on health-related information extraction from patients;

- Identifying situations requiring consultancy from pharmacists or doctors;

- Advising, selecting, distributing, pricing, receiving payment, and instructing the use of basic medicines ensuring safety-effectiveness-rationality;

- Arranging, displaying, preserving medicines, chemicals, functional foods, cosmetics, herbal medicines, medical supplies conformably;

- Developing business strategies for pharmacies;

- Purchasing, importing, and quality checking of medicines, chemicals, functional foods, cosmetics, herbal medicines, medical supplies according to standard procedures;

- Delivering, sending medicines, medicinal raw materials, chemicals, and medical equipment conformably;

- Handling returned or recalled medicines, medicinal raw materials, chemicals, and medical equipment;

- Checking and controlling the quantity, quality, and expiration of medicines, medicinal raw materials, chemicals, and medical equipment;

- Planning the supply, preservation, distribution, usage of medicines, chemicals, raw materials, consumable medical supplies;- Collecting and reporting adverse drug reactions (ADR);

- Using basic information technology as regulated; exploiting, processing, applying information technology in professional tasks of the field;

- Using basic foreign languages, achieving level 2/6 in the Vietnamese Foreign Language Proficiency Framework; applying foreign languages in professional tasks of the field.