In 2006,early exposure training was conducted for first-year undergraduates (six-year course) at Kyoto Pharmaceutical University.To evaluate the training,we conducted a questionnaire survey of the opinions of the students who visited hospitals and community pharmacies,the teachers who took them on the visits and the pharmacists giving them training at the hospitals and pharmacies,and then analyzed and discussed the results with the aim of improving the next year’s training.After visiting hospitals and community pharmacies,over 80% of the students were interested in the profession of pharmacist.Furthermore,students who answered that the exposure training was useful in developing an awareness of what it would be like to be a medical professional in the future,that they had a good understanding of the role of pharmacists,felt that the pharmacists were important to human life and that the early exposure was meaningful,were in the majority.The image that 69-75% of the students had of the pharmacist changed after the exposure training.The majority response among students visiting hospitals was that the pharmacist had various other jobs besides filling prescriptions (27%).Among students visiting community pharmacies,the majority opinion was that the pharmacist communicates with many patients (30%).As for the teachers,95% of them felt that the exposure enhanced students’desire for learning.The results of an aural survey of the facilities accepting the students suggested that there was no particular problem in the respective facilities carrying out the training from an independent standpoint.
In conclusion,such early exposure training for first-year undergraduates through visits to hospitals and community pharmacies increased their motivation as well as their desire for learning.
