Cultivating ethical awareness in pharmacy students with trial lectures

Abstract

Ethical values in pharmacists are fostered during the six-year pharmacy program and after graduation through learning and practice. Small group seminars for second-year pharmacy students at Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences aimed to promote medical professionalism through active learning. Lectures included faculty-developed videos based on ethical issues faced by pharmacists in their daily work. These videos were “patients reluctant to adjust leftover medication,” “family members with juvenile dementia,” and “underutilization of medical questionnaires and medication registers.” Through these videos, students could understand each patient’s situation more concretely, accept the patient’s values, and devise solutions to encourage the patient’s self-determination. In addition, students shared diverse ideas and viewpoints in the group work and communication with peers. The results of this active learning method suggested the lectures were effective as an introductory model for practical clinical ethics education.