Abstract
We gave a lecture on over-the-counter (OTC) medicines to freshmen pharmacy students as early as possible to enhance their professional sense and their learning motivation.The impact of the lecture was reinforced through the use of television commercials and a case conference.In addition,questionnaires were given to the 182 students who attended the lecture before and after it,and the responses of the 170 students who fully completed the questionnaires were analyzed.The following results were obtained.
For the students who had bought OTC medicines in the past,the package was the most important factor in selecting the medicine.As a result of the lecture,the number of students who wanted help from a pharmacist in selection increased.Of the 166 students who had used OTC medicines in the past,152 had read package inserts.After the lecture,all students said that the package insert should be read before using OTC medicines.Attending the lecture also increased the number of students who considered it important to read the major items of the package insert,such as“Ingredient and amount”and“Drug characteristics”.The lecture also increased students’interest in the pharmacist dealing with OTC medicines about 1.8-fold.In addition,most students were satisfied with the lecture and it stimulated their interest in learning more about OTC medicines.
In conclusion,we felt that the lecture had been useful in enhancing professional sense among freshmen pharmacy students as well as their motivation to learn about OTC medicines.
