Introduction: We investigated the improvement in and the priorities of patient education training in community pharmacy from the student’s point of view to improve long-term practical training.
Method: We conducted a questionnaire survey to assess student satisfaction and the acquisition of behavioral objectives and analyzed the results with customer satisfaction analysis. Questionnaires were distributed to 32 students who had taken part in long-term practical training in the first year.
Results: Customer satisfaction analysis showed that 4 factors-“the frequency of patient education,” “the period of patient education,” “the aggressiveness of the student,” and “the facilitation by pharmacists on question-asking by the student”-were preferentially improved. In addition, we found that the level of acquisition varied according to the specific behavioral objectives.
Discussion: These results suggest that universities and community pharmacies must work together to organize the training system to increase the frequency of patient education and to improve students’ attitudes about patient education in community pharmacy.

In line with the reform of the national medical remuneration system, an additional remuneration for pharmacists was set for their coordinating operations with local pharmacies to promote outpatient chemotherapy. In our hospital, we introduced this system in June 2020 in order to raise the level of regional cooperation. Although an independent specialized pharmacist is essential for performing this task, it is generally assumed that hospital organizations cannot afford to assign such specialists in clinical practice due to the lack of regular staff. This study aimed to examine effective personnel assignment and profitability for pharmacists in our pharmacy department. The pharmacist working in the outpatient chemotherapy room and concurrently in the ward was changed to work concurrently in the dispensing room, thereby increasing the time spent in the outpatient chemotherapy room from 4 to 6 h. As a result, this personnel assignment substantially increased the amount of additional remuneration and economic profits, but consultations from inpatients decreased. In conclusion, a planned allocation of pharmacists would contribute not only to safe and secure medical service, but also to an increase in medical profits.