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Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > FY2003 White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology >Part1 Reference Higher Education Reform Q&A? Question13

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Part 1   Higher Education to Support a Knowledge-Based Society Full of Creative Vitality - New Developments in Higher Education Reform
   Reference Higher Education Reform Q&A?
   Question13


I heard that faculties of pharmacology will become six-year programs. Is this true?

Answer

Against the backdrop of sophistication in medical technology and advances in the separation of dispensary from medical practice, the situation surrounding pharmacology in Japan is changing greatly. In this environment, higher quality is demanded from pharmacists, including of course, fundamental knowledge and skills, along with a well-rounded character, high ethical standards, general cultivation as medical personnel, task identifying and problem solving abilities, and practical competence suited to the actual fields.

In training pharmacists as good medical personnel who will play important roles in the 21st century, it will be necessary to have students sufficiently study clinical pharmacology as practical study, including practical training for considerable periods of time at clinical fields, while enhancing their general education. It is also important to ensure that the past methods of cramming education are avoided. The existing four-year required duration of study was deemed insufficient to address these various imperatives.

From October 2002, deliberations on improving and enhancing pharmacological education at universities were carried out by the Consultative Committee for Research and Surveys regarding the Improvement and Enrichment of Pharmacological Education. Topics discussed included curricula, practical training and the educational system for pharmacology. In August 2003, a mid-term summary was submitted. From October 2003, the Central Council for Education began deliberations in tandem with this Consultative Committee, and an interim report was put together in January 2004.

These reports suggest that six years of education are necessary to train pharmacists. In this case, the ideal educational system would base pharmacological education for pharmacist training on six years of education in the department, but the objective would not be limited to cultivating pharmacists. Instead, since it would train human resources who go into various fields, including research at graduate schools, R&D and sales at pharmaceutical enterprises and pharmaceutical administration, with the objective being to cultivate fundamental abilities needed in any kind of field that students enter after graduation. It was also proposed that the current four-year undergraduate education is still needed.

The necessary amendments to the system are being considered at MEXT based on these proposals.


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