2020 Volume 69 Issue 1 Pages 48-56
Pharmacists are required to work as specialists, but few studies have investigated the career paths available to certified/specialist pharmacists. Therefore, we surveyed hospital pharmacists on career formation, qualifications acquisition, and research activities. We administered an anonymous questionnaire using Google Forms to all 37 pharmacists at Sapporo-Kosei General Hospital and all responded. Responses to career path questions were compared between the current job and a job in the future. For the current job, there were more responses for acquiring a wide range of experience, knowledge, and skills and fewer responses for acquiring experience, knowledge, and skills in a specialized field and for acquiring certified/specialist pharmacist qualifications. This suggests that pharmacists intend to improve their expertise after acquiring a wide range of experience, knowledge, and skills. A high percentage of respondents cited interest in specialized fields as a reason to become qualified as a certified/specialist pharmacist. This suggests that interest in specialized fields is the greatest incentive to acquire further qualifications. In regard to research activity, items on daily workload, making time for research, and cooperation with research team members were often selected as problems. This suggests that time management and scheduling are important issues.
