1) To examine the significance and problems of medical interview training, self-administered questionnaires were completed by 90 students who took part in medical interview training with simulated patients in clinical training after objective structured clinical examinations.2) Most students thought that medical interview training was meaningful and thanked the simulated patients for their useful comments. On the other hand, some students felt that to improve their interviewing skills stricter feedback from simulated patients and instructors might be needed.3) Our results suggest that repeated training in medical interviewing in clinical training after objective structured clinical examinations is an effective method for teaching communication skills. However, in the future the scenarios should be improved and the frequency of medical interview training should be increased.

To administer oral anticancer drugs safely, the simple suspension method has been introduced in many hospitals. Therefore, concerning drugs for which it is unclear whether or not this method is applicable, testing must be able to be conducted at any time. In this study, we investigated 20 oral anticancer drugs to expand information on the application of the simple suspension method. Disintegration/suspension and permeability tests were conducted, as described in the 3rd version of the Tube Administration Handbook for Oral Drugs. All products were disintegrated/suspended after 10 minutes. On permeability tests, there was no residue in any tube for tubal feeding. On the final evaluation, the products were regarded as suitable (grade 1). Bicalutamide tablets (80 mg, TCK and KN), which were analyzed in this study, were regarded as suitable (grade 1) on the final evaluation. On the other hand, the simple suspension method is not applicable for a brand-name drug, Casodex^® tablets (80 mg). This may be related to the different additives. Furthermore, the results suggest that, even when the simple suspension method is not applicable for a brand-name drug, it may become applicable for generic drugs. This may provide a new merit for promoting the use of generic drugs.