School of Pharmacy
Clinical Training Center for Pharmacy Students
About Clinical Training Center for Pharmacy Students
Clinical Training Center for Pharmacy Students at Hyogo Medical University is a state-of-the-art training center modeled after an actual pharmacy. Just like in the clinical setting, students learn the basic skills and attitudes required of a pharmacist by going through the process of reception, dispensing, and administering medicine. In the sterile dispensing room, students can also learn about the work of hospital pharmacists, such as special dispensing, in a realistic setting.
Learning at the Center
At Clinical Training Center for Pharmacy Students, students will undergo dispensing training as part of their "Practical Training Pre-Learning" (4th year) in preparation for the OSCE (Operative System Coordination Examination) to be taken in their 4th year. In order to build a bridge to off-campus practical training from the 5th year, students will learn practical skills in a more realistic setting that is closer to the real world. In order to create a situation that is closer to the actual medical field, we are working with "simulated patients" (volunteers) that our university has trained on its own.
Now let's look at the key points to learn from the reception desk → pharmacy → medication desk.
Overall view of Clinical Training Center for Pharmacy Students
1. Reception desk
・Reception duties
After receiving a prescription from the patient, we check the prescription information (patient name, age, prescribed drug name, etc.) We also check information such as the patient's medical history. If we have any questions based on that information, we will confirm with the prescribing doctor.
・Learning points
The most important thing at the reception desk is to first check that there are no problems with the prescription. You also need to thoroughly check the patient's medical history, using information from the medical interview and "medicine book" to see if they are currently taking any medication for other illnesses, whether there are any safe drug interactions, and whether they have experienced any side effects from medications. When doing so, it is important to talk to the patient. You will practice actively asking questions about current symptoms and medications, while respecting the patient's privacy.
Q. Why do you practice with "simulated patients"?
A. The role of pharmacists in team medical care is to provide medication instructions. In the training at Clinical Training Center for Pharmacy Students, we place emphasis on improving the necessary communication skills with patients. For this reason, we have "simulated patients" play a variety of patient roles, and students undergo training with a sense of tension while imagining situations that may occur in the actual medical field. The Faculty of School of Pharmacy currently trains approximately 40 "simulated patients." We recruit volunteers from the general public living near our university and ask them to participate in education.
2. Pharmacy Room
・Pharmacy operations
According to prescriptions, they dispense tablets, powders, liquids, topical medications, etc., and also create medicine envelopes and prescription drug instructions. In the ward pharmacy, they also dispense intravenous drips for hospitalized patients.
・Learning points
In dispensing work, it is important to dispense medicines without making any mistakes from the hundreds of types available in the pharmacy. In the practical training, participants are divided into pairs and repeatedly practice the steps from dispensing → checking → final confirmation with a sense of tension and concentration. In addition, in the practical training in the sterile room, participants practice dispensing intravenous drips, which are done in hospital pharmacies. The practical training is conducted in a truly sterile environment, with the same procedures as in an actual medical setting, including wearing dust-free clothing and masks and taking air showers.
Q. Do you use real chemicals in your training?
A. Because practical training takes place in a clinical setting, with some exceptions, students will use actual medicines (real drugs) prescribed in hospitals during training on campus. This is because we believe that the tense experience of "using equipment and handling real drugs that are actually used in hospitals" will be useful in the medical field.
Medication Desk
・Medication services
According to prescriptions, they dispense tablets, powders, liquids, topical medications, etc., and also create medicine envelopes and prescription drug instructions. In the ward pharmacy, they also dispense intravenous drips for hospitalized patients.
・Learning points
In dispensing work, it is important to dispense medicines without making any mistakes from the hundreds of types available in the pharmacy. In the practical training, participants are divided into pairs and repeatedly practice the steps from dispensing → checking → final confirmation with a sense of tension and concentration. In addition, in the practical training in the sterile room, participants practice dispensing intravenous drips, which are done in hospital pharmacies. The practical training is conducted in a truly sterile environment, with the same procedures as in an actual medical setting, including wearing dust-free clothing and masks and taking air showers.
Q: How do you develop communication skills?
A. In School of Pharmacy, we usually hold classes that focus on "communication skills," but in the practical training at Clinical Training Center for Pharmacy Students, students learn more concretely with mock patients. Students check the patient's condition and feelings, empathize, explain medicines at the patient's pace, and answer questions. These kinds of considerations are taught and trained by instructors with practical experience in pharmacies and instructors who are currently practicing physicians. Students are given the opportunity to check their own behavior in detail, such as by recording their behavior on video.