Addressing the academic gap between 4- and 6-year pharmacy programs in South Korea

Abstract

Objective: To address the academic gap (or lack of adequate training and programs) between 4- and 6-year pharmacy programs and suggest methods for reducing this gap and to evaluate pharmacists' perceptions of preceptorship.

Methods: We surveyed a convenience sample of 200 community pharmacists who graduated from a 4-year program who were participating in a continuing education program for clinical pharmacy as organized by the Daejeon branch of the Korea Pharmaceutical Association in 2011. Twenty-one questions were asked about the academic gap, needs for an education program, preceptorship, and medication therapy management services. International precedents were examined through a literature review to glean ideas of how to bridge the academic gap between the 4- and 6-year programs.

Results: In total, 132 pharmacists answered the survey (return rate=66.0%). The survey findings included problems caused by the academic gap, high need for an adequate education program, low acceptability of preceptorship, and the possibility of medication therapy management services. US-based, non-traditional PharmD programs and new curriculum-support training in Japan provided examples of how the academic gap has been successfully bridged.

Conclusion: Nationwide efforts and government support are urgently required to close the academic gap, and experiential education should be included in transitional programs for 4-year pharmacy program pharmacists.

Keywords: South Korea; academic gap; preceptorship; survey; transitional program.