Since the invention of medicine, pharmaceutical science has existed. The job of a pharmacist is growing along with the medical industry. Due to their competence in dispensing prescribed medication, pharmacists play a significant role in assisting patients in fast healing. The pharmaceutical sector has undergone significant development over the past few decades and has been greatly impacted by the internet and automated applications. The way in which pharmacists go about their daily work has been fundamentally transformed by technology.
The demand for qualified pharmacists is constant because pharmaceutical science is a highly precise science. The requirement for employable pharmacists has become even more challenging as more healthcare facilities are expanding and as improvements in the healthcare sector as a whole persist. Patients need to be treated by qualified pharmacists in hospitals and the retail sector of the healthcare sector.
SRM Modinagar College of Pharmacy, which serves the demands of pharmaceutical science and technology, encourages students to think critically about issues around the globe that are related to pharmaceuticals.
The SRM group of universities provides educational services in a number of states, including Tamil Nadu, Ghaziabad, Sonipat, Sikkim, and Delhi-NCR, in the subjects of engineering, management, medicine and health sciences, science, and humanities.
The SRM Modinagar College of Pharmacy serves Indian medicine, physiotherapy, dentistry, occupational therapy, and nursing as well as other medical specialties. In addition to that, SRM is in charge of the medical facilities that work in a variety of fields, such as microbiology, biochemistry, biotechnology, and pharmacology.
We came across the SRM Modinagar College of Pharmacy while searching for the Leading Pharmacy Institutes of the Year 2023, and we spoke with Dr Ravi Pachamuthu, the Chairman of the SRM group. With The Knowledge Review, he discussed the institute’s history, goals, and saga.
Learn more about the institute by reading ahead.
The Saga Story
SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST), formerly SRM University, is a private institution of higher learning that is considered to be a university. It is situated in Kattankulathur, Chengalpattu (near Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India. It was established in Kattankulathur in 1985 as SRM Engineering College, and it received the deemed status in 2002.
The SRM Institute of Science and Technology has six campuses, four of which are in Tamil Nadu (Kattankulathur, Ramapuram, Vadapalani, and Tiruchirappalli), one in Andhra Pradesh (Amaravati), and one in the National Capital Region of Delhi.
With more than 40000 students and 2600+ faculty members, SRM University has grown into one of India’s top universities today. It offers a variety of undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programmes in engineering, management, medicine and health sciences, science, and humanities in Tamilnadu, Ghaziabad, Sonipat, and Sikkim.
In order to support the medical specialties of nursing, physiotherapy, dentistry, occupational therapy, and Indian medicine, the SRM group created SRM Hospitals, colleges, and research facilities. SRM operates medical facilities that work in a variety of fields, such as pharmacology, biochemistry, microbiology, and biotechnology.
A Torchbearer of the Institute
The Florence Nightingale School, founded by Dr T. R. Paarivendhar in West Mambalam, Chennai, India, and the Valliammai Polytechnic Institute, which began operating in 1984, laid the foundations for the SRM Group.
The SRM group has grown from a single educational facility to the largest corporate empire in South India under the leadership of Dr Ravi Pachamuthu. SRM University, SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centers, SRM Transport Private Ltd., SRM Hotels, SRM Cements, SRM Civil Works Pvt Ltd, Ready-Mix Concretes (RMC), etc. – all under the flagship of SRM – are just a few of the businesses, he has expanded.
A Value Statement
While stating the institute’s values and vision, Dr Ravi says, “The institute is driven on following values:
- Accountability – We hold ourselves accountable for our own actions, admit when we failed our own standards, and always strive to be our best selves.
- Appreciation – We show appreciation for one another in the department whenever possible. We appreciate all our colleagues from top level to down to maintain proper ethical values.
- Community-minded – Our Institute is a central hub of our community. We welcome the student communities to our college to share their skills and knowledge. We also want to contribute our skills and efforts to improve our local community through knowledge exchange.
- Cooperation – All the department work together to achieve common goals. We want everyone to learn and succeed, and this requires us to work together and share in order to succeed.
- Critical Thinking – We embrace and encourage thinking critically about the world’s problems pertaining to pharmaceuticals. We teach students how to learn and be analytical so they can go out into the world as lifelong learners to st solve the problems of the 21 Century.
- Doing More with Less – We believe that by doing more with less, we can leave a smaller footprint in the environment, pass on a sustainable world to the next generation, and work more efficiently.
- Doing our Best – We always strive to work on ourselves and achieve our personal best in the classroom.
- Goal-oriented – We’re a goal-oriented college. We set ourselves personal goals that are challenging but achievable. We work every day to meet our goals.
- Gratitude – We practice gratitude for our colleagues, our teachers, our free country, and our beautiful Institute.
- Growth – We have growth mindsets. We always believe we can improve and work every day to learn something new.”
Pedagogical Objectives and Outcomes
Learning outcomes are clear descriptions of what students will be able to do once they successfully complete their learning experience, whether it be a project, an assignment, a value-added course, or a programme. They are always written in a simple, insightful, and doable manner that is student-centred and measurable.
The teachers are expected to discuss the course objectives with the students and break it down into smaller, more manageable chunks, like the objectives of a particular topic, and the objectives of a particular lecture, etc. Such activities will improve the students’ focus on the course, topic, or lecture and make them realize its importance. The course outcomes, which describe the capacities of the students to execute or act after successfully completing the course, are more precise than the course objectives.
Hence, conventionally the course outcomes are described with verbs that are measurable or observable actions. The teacher is expected to describe the desired outcomes of the particular course, so that the students shall understand the various assessment criteria, modalities, and parameters. This also serves as a broader guideline for the teachers for preparing the assessment plan. A well-structured assessment plan associated with the course outcomes shall enable to mapping with the professional competencies and their attainment levels that are attributed to the program outcomes.
SRM Group Long Shot in Pharmacy Stream
Today, pharmacy education has begun to support the healthcare industry in the country to a greater extent. However, without genuine experience, orientation, and training in the real environment, recent graduates cannot be expected to handle all of the technical, administrative, and procedural obligations in the institutional setting. All of the health professions share this aspect. The key challenge that practitioners face is how to apply knowledge learned in laboratories and classrooms to real-world circumstances.
The education of pharmacists is enhancing, for instance in the fields of pharmacology, pharmaceutics, and pharmaceutical chemistry. However, in order to apply this knowledge, a pharmacist must be able to explain it to doctors, nurses, and other pharmacists in the context of a thorough review of a patient’s condition, including the diagnosis, drug therapy, dosage regimen, dietary programme, and therapeutic response.
Dr Ravi further states, “We are providing practical training in real time to our students so that they are ready to serve in healthcare sector. Apart from this, regular exposure to pharmaceutical industries makes them understand the current insights into the pharmaceutical sector due to which our students are ahead as compared to their counterparts in other institutions. As of now, we are engaged into making our students better equipped for coming challenges as the union government is also focussed in making policies to make India Pharmacy of the World.”
A Sneak Peak of Future
When we ask to envision the future of the institute, Dr Ravi notes, “We have plans to take our institute to next level through academic excellence. We have worked hard to maintain our NAAC A++ grade. In coming academic year, we have planned to publish at least 40 Scopus/Sci indexed research papers and 20 patents from the department. We are also in process to establish a dedicated research lab to fortify our research scholars. Apart from this we are focussing to get industrial consultancy project and other research projects from the government also to strengthen the department. In coming five years, I envision my institute to be the top destination for the students who wish to pursue pharmacy education.”
