Addressing the Academic Gap Between 4- and 6-Year Pharmacy Programs in South Korea

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.