[Key points in clinical pharmaceutical education and research, as seen from pharmaceutical consultation clinics]

Pharmaceutical education was expanded to a 6-year system in 2006, in an efforts to enhance clinical pharmaceutical research and education. Since that time, pharmacists have attempted to participate in medical all aspects of medical care, but an environment in which they can master direct pharmaceutical techniques for patients has not yet been sufficiently developed. This is because pharmaceutical education emphasizes the acquisition of knowledge and has not reached the point where it cultivates minds that can adapt to the multitude of situations that are envisaged in medical settings. By incorporating physical assessment in pharmaceutical settings, it is believed that a mind-set of treating patients can be formed in students, leading to the development of pharmacists skilled in the implementation of their area of treatment. We feel that, by shifting to clinical pharmaceutical education and research we will realize an integrated ability in pharmacists to treat patients, which will earn multifaceted appreciation from both patients themselves and medical practitioners. The pharmaceutical consultation clinic established at Mie University offers second opinions by pharmacists, but patients' opinions of pharmacists are tepid and the letter sometimes became the target of acerbic comments. This is a reflection of the current state in which pharmacists have not made their role in medicine clear. Ultimately, efforts must be made to resolve anxiety with respect to the things patients want to hear, without evading this responsibility even when under pressure. Pharmaceutical science should always be cognizant of what the pharmacists' contribution to medicine, should be, and research a means to help that individual acquire the ability to make quick though careful judgments while gathering needed findings.