Interprofessional Education at the Keio University Faculty of Pharmacy

Abstract

As part of a trial course on interprofessional education (IPE) at Keio University our Faculty of Pharmacy initiated a joint seminar with the university’s medical and nursing departments in 2008. We had two joint seminars: one in June and another in October. In the seminars, students and participants actively discussed several issues with regard to the national and private health care systems and medical malpractice. They also listened to feedback lectures held by experts from the medical and social system. At Kyoritsu University of Pharmacy, we had already held similar joint seminars three times since 2006. The participants were not only from our school but from various universities around Japan, given that our school was then only a small college for pharmaceutical students. Our considerable experience in the field of small group learning (SGL) helped make these seminars a success. By making full use of the SGL method we have successfully lead the discussion sessions at the IPE seminars attended by students from various medical fields. After the merging of our small pharmaceutical college with Keio University, we continued holding joint seminars for the three medical faculties at Keio University. It has not been without tribulations, however. The newly created interprofessional seminars faced several problems. The seeming lack of interest shown by the medical school decreased the level of participation of medical students, while too many facilitators are required for such seminars. To resolve these issues, we have made some changes to future activities in this area. To start with, we plan to change the course from an elective to a required subject for the students of the three medical faculties in Keio University.