Pharmacognosy

Brief History of the Faculty
The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences started in 1967 as Department of Pharmacy in the Faculty of Science. Because of the Nigerian civil war (1967 – 1970), the Department did not function actively until 1970. It then became a part of the Faculty of Biological Sciences. The department was elevated to the status of a Faculty in 1980, originally with five departments, which were later increased to six, with the inclusion of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Management. The programme, from its inception, was to have a 5-year standard duration, preparing students for the award of classified Bachelor of Pharmacy degree. With effect from 1988/89 academic session, the Faculty converted to a declassified B. Pharm. degree programme in line with the directive of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN). The first batch of students graduating under the declassified programme passed out in the 1991/92 academic year.
Philosophy
The training of a pharmacist requires the provision of broad-based education in the various aspects of the pharmaceutical sciences. However, the ultimate form of any professional education is one that produces practitioners with adequate knowledge, skills and motivation to provide important, needed and useful services. Ensuring high standards in pharmaceutical education embraces the philosophy that the educated person should have both general and specialized knowledge – general because without it one is too narrow a specialist, and specialized because it equips one with the faculty for accurate judgment in the practice of the profession. The qualified pharmacist is one who is trained and educated for a wide range of scientific, professional and managerial functions which best serve the pharmaceutical needs of the community and the nation. Such a pharmacist should possess sufficient adaptability to meet the demands of a rapidly changing health care delivery system.

With regard to educational outcomes and competencies, the revised B. Pharm. programme has been developed to focus on the new paradigm in pharmacy practice, which places emphasis on pharmaceutical care, mirrored in responsible patient care. On the completion of the academic training, the graduates are expected to exhibit professional competencies in all aspects of modern-day pharmacy practice. The pharmacist should, therefore, exhibit competencies and skills not only in pharmaceutical care but, also, in evidence-based clinical practice, policy issues, quality assurance in pharmaceutical services, pharmacovigilance, emerging disease patterns, pharmacoeconomic analyses, management of health care teams, use of information and communication technology, information management, interpersonal communications, medicinal products testing and quantification, adaptation approaches against the impact of climate change on medicinal plants and herbs, research and instruction. The product of this programme should be a truly “seven-star” pharmacist.

Objective
The objective of the programme is to offer the student a broad-based education and hence produce a person not just specialized in pharmacy education but also having a general knowledge in most areas of the professional practice. With this as a basis, the undergraduate programme prepares the students for the various facets of the practice of pharmacy. This objective is hinged on a deep sense of, and respect for, human life.

Scope
The programme, which has been drawn up in line with PCN and NUC benchmark minimum standards, leads to the degree of Bachelor of Pharmacy. The courses are designed to give the students a good grounding in the main disciplines of Pharmacy including Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Technology, Industrial Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacognosy, Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Pharmacy Management, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Hospital Pharmacy, Pharmacy Jurisprudence and Ethics, Clinical Clerkship and Pharmaceutical Services. Graduates are expected to be well equipped for professional practice, subject to the regulations of the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, and for other scientific pursuits in allied fields.

Entry Requirements

Five Year Programme
Candidates seeking admission into the five-year standard programme by Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) are required to possess credit in English Language, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and Biology in the Senior Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent, in addition to the minimum University entry requirements.

Four Year Programme
Students seeking admission by Direct Entry into the four-year programme must have a pass in Chemistry, Physics and Biology or Botany or Zoology at the Higher School Certificate (Principal Level) with credit in English and Mathematics in the Senior Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent. The passes at the Advanced Level should have been obtained at not more than two sittings. Holders of a first degree or Higher National Diploma (HND) in the medical sciences, veterinary medicine and biological sciences may be admitted by direct entry.

Job Opportunities in Pharmacy Practice
Candidates normally have career prospects in various branches of practice in the Pharmacy profession, namely: Hospital, Wholesale and Retail Pharmacy Practices, Pharmaceutical Industry, the Academia, Pharmaceutical Research Institutes, Government Services (Ministries and Agencies) and health-related NGOs.

DEPARTMENTS IN THE FACULTY
Pharmaceutical Technology and Industrial Pharmacy
Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Microbiology
Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry
Pharmacognosy and Environmental Medicines
Pharmacologyand Toxicology
Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Management

POSTGRADUATE COURSES OFFERED IN THE FACULTY
1. Master of Pharmacy in Physical Pharmaceutics
2. Master of Pharmacy in Pharmaceutical Microbiology
3. Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Microbiology
4. Master of Pharmacy in Pharmaceutical Technology and Industrial Pharmacy
5. Master of Pharmacy in Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry
6. Master of Science in Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry
7. Master of Pharmacy in Pharmacognosy
8. Master of Science in Pharmacognosy
9. Master of Pharmacy in Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Management
10. Master of Pharmacy in Pharmacology and Toxicology
11. Master of Science in Pharmacology and Toxicology
12. Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry
13. Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacognosy
14. Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Technology
15. Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutics
16. Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Microbiology
17. Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Management
18. Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology and Toxicology