2017 Volume 43 Issue 1 Pages 41-44
Team medical care by numerous job categories has been emphasized in recent years. It is necessary to develop pharmacy specialists who have rich knowledge and perform important roles in the clinical setting. However, young pharmacists have fewer opportunities associated with various specialized fields, and they worry about how to proceed into specialized fields in their career path. In Nagasaki University Hospital Pharmacy, we have been holding early-exposure training to introduce the basic knowledge of different specialized fields for young pharmacists.
In 2014, we held early-exposure training in 7 fields (oncology, palliative care, nutrition support, infection control, diabetes care, emergency / intensive care, and HIV infection control). To estimate the effect of the training, we questioned participants before and after each training, and investigated the intelligibility and their interest in the pharmacy specialist’s activity, the aim as a pharmacist, the value of the work, and the will to work in specialized fields.
After the training, the intelligibility rose significantly in 6 fields, and the interest rose significantly in 2 fields. The aim and the value of doing the work did not change, but slightly more participants expressed a wish to become involved in specialized fields early on.
Young pharmacists need to have a high level of interest to decide to become professional pharmacists. We should maintain an environment in which young pharmacists consider pharmacy as their career path.
