Background: The purpose of this study was to highlight concerns with the current pharmacy practice program\nand suggest aspects for improvement. A further aim of the study was to enhance the educational effects of the\nprogram, from the studentsââ?¬â?¢ point of view.\nMethods: We surveyed 1,607 pharmacy students in Japan who had completed the pharmacy practice program in\neither 2010 or 2011. The students completed a self-descriptive questionnaire comprising 48 questions examining\ntheir experience of the pharmacy practice program.\nResults: For community pharmacy practice, four factors were extracted through exploratory analysis: ââ?¬Å?satisfactory\nlearning (pharmacy),ââ?¬Â ââ?¬Å?support system of the university,ââ?¬Â ââ?¬Å?creation and clarification of the training plan,ââ?¬Â and\nââ?¬Å?dialogue with patients.ââ?¬Â When comparing the mean values for each of the four factors between 2011 and 2012,\nthe 2012 group scored significantly higher (p < 0.001) on ââ?¬Å?support system of the universityââ?¬Â only. In the free\nresponses, it became apparent that, for the joint training held in certain regions, students evaluated such training to\nbe useful and effective. Moreover, we conducted an overall evaluation of the pharmacy practice programs. From\nthe results of McNemarââ?¬â?¢s test, from 2011 to 2012, there was a significant decrease in the number of students who\nwere unable to experience ââ?¬Å?charge system of patientsââ?¬Â at neither hospitals nor pharmacies (p < 0.01).\nConclusions: For community pharmacy practice, there were no significant differences found for the factors, with\nthe exception of the ââ?¬Å?support system of the university.ââ?¬Â In addition, to accomplish the learning objectives, community\npharmacy practice program introduced some initiatives. Furthermore, conducting training at multiple facilities deepens\nstudent learning and assists with the correction of problems, such as the disparities within the teaching system and\nlearning content at each of the training facilities.
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