Now That Core Curriculum (Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmacy) are Being Revised at the Same Time, How Should Pharmacy Education be?

Abstract

In recent years, the role of pharmacists has changed dramatically due to a combination of rapid developments in medicine, science and technology, along with a rapidly aging population and declining birthrate. Especially since the 1980s, these changes have been remarkable. Accordingly, in order to best prepare pharmacists, the duration of pharmacy education has been extended to six years. Further, the core curricula of all three medical faculties (medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy) will be revised concurrently, in a coordinated manner, in 2024. Pharmaceutical education should thus place more emphasis on clinical education to “know clinical practice, link what you have learned in clinical practice to drug discovery, and important to know the roles of each medical provider including patients and contribute to drug treatment and post-marketing drug development. We should be aware that pharmacy and medical care cannot be achieved through lectures alone.” In designing a new pharmaceutical curriculum to meet these coming needs, it is important to have a vision looking 10 or 20 years into the future. It is necessary to know the world in which we live, as well as the role that should be played by pharmacists, to set a clear educational philosophy that includes goals to be achieved, and then to develop a curriculum to reach these, and a plan for steadily putting these goals into practice.