Results of a questionnaire on clinical pharmacists’ perceptions of their undergraduate education and the implications for future pharmaceutical education

Abstract

Pharmacists must participate in continuing education after their undergraduate pharmaceutical training to contribute fully to the pharmacy profession in an increasingly diverse society. In this study, a free-form questionnaire for working hospital and community pharmacists determined how they used their undergrad education and whether there were gaps in their training. The two survey questions were: What elements of your undergraduate education are helpful in your current work situation? Considering your present work, what was not covered sufficiently in your undergraduate education? Text mining helped analyze the frequency and occurrence of specific terms and separated the results by occupation and years since university graduation. The results showed differences in the way learning was applied, depending on the career path. Therefore, it may be necessary to discuss ideal undergraduate education further and develop educational programs that ensure pharmacists can use their acquired knowledge and university training earlier in their careers.