Ensino experiencial na farmácia universitária: um estudo de perspectiva etnográfica na educação / Experiential learning in a university pharmacy: a study adopting the ethnographic approach to education / Enseñanza experiencial en la farmacia universitaria: un estudio de perspectiva etnográfica en la educación

O objetivo deste estudo foi refletir sobre o desafio da formação de identidade profissional do farmacêutico clínico em um contexto de currículo não integrado e em um ambiente tradicional e especializado. Desenvolveu-se uma pesquisa qualitativa orientada pelos pressupostos da perspectiva etnográfica na educação, empregando-se múltiplos métodos de coleta de dados entre abril e julho de 2019. O cenário de ensino experiencial foi uma Farmácia Universitária da região Sul do Brasil. Por meio de uma descrição densa e com uso da reflexividade teórica e intertextual, é apresentada uma narrativa utilizando a voz dos participantes como âncora para dar visibilidade ao processo vivenciado. A ausência de um padrão para o cuidado na profissão farmacêutica, o currículo tradicional e a desarticulação entre teoria e prática constituem desafios para os estudantes de Farmácia legitimarem a prática profissional farmacêutica centrada no usuário.(AU)

The aim of this study was to reflect on the challenge of forming the professional identity of clinical pharmacists in the context of non-integrated curriculums and a traditional specialized environment. We conducted a qualitative study between April and July 2019 guided by the ethnographic approach to education, employing multiple data collection methods. The experiential learning setting was a university pharmacy in the south of Brazil. By means of a thick description and through the use of theoretical and intertextual reflexivity, we present a narrative using the voice of the participants as an anchor to provided visibility to the experienced process. The absence of a standard for the care process in the pharmacy profession, the traditional curriculum, and the lack of connection between theory and practice are challenges facing pharmacy students in legitimizing patient-centered professional practice.(AU)

El objetivo de este estudio fue reflexionar sobre el desafío de la formación de la identidad profesional del farmacéutico clínico en un contexto de currículum no integrado y en un ambiente tradicional y especializado. Se desarrolló una investigación cualitativa orientada por las presuposiciones de la perspectiva etnográfica en la educación, utilizándose múltiples métodos de colecta de datos entre abril y julio de 2019. El escenario de la enseñanza experiencial fue una Farmacia Universitaria de la región sur de Brasil. Por medio de una descripción densa y con el uso de la reflexividad teórica e intertextual se presenta una narrativa que utiliza la voz de los participantes como ancla para dar visibilidad al proceso vivido. La ausencia de un estándar para el proceso de cuidado en la profesión farmacéutica, el currículum tradicional y la desarticulación entre teoría y práctica se constituyen en desafíos para que los estudiantes de Farmacia legitimen la práctica profesional farmacéutica centrada en el usuario.(AU)

Comparison of Chinese and American clinical pharmacy education and reflections / 中华医学教育探索杂志

Clinical pharmacy is an important part of hospital pharmacy. Education of clinical pharmacy is one of the most important tasks in clinical pharmacy personnel training. At present, there is a considerable progress in the development of clinical pharmacy education in China, however, the professional quality of clinical pharmacists is still insufficient and there is a gap between the disciplinary education and clinical practice. In this article, we discuss the origin, development, academic degree, curriculum, teaching methods and practice certification of clinical pharmacy education in China and in United States, in order to explore the applicable methods of clinical pharmacy education in China. It will provide ideas and references for the optimization of the training of clinical pharmacy professionals, accelerating the development of clinical pharmacy in China.

Development Model of Membership Criteria for the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy and Enlightenment of Pharmacy Accreditation Criteria to China / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE： To provide reference for the formulation of Chinese pharmacy accreditation criteria. METHODS： By literature method， the evolution of American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy （AACP） membership criteria were described， and the development of Chinese pharmacy accreditation criteria were also described. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS： The membership criteria of AACP are characterized by attaching importance to investigation and research， highlighting goal orientation， keeping pace with the times， and strengthening process supervision. The pharmacy accreditation criteria in China was mainly promoted by the competent education department from top to bottom， which has the characteristics of government dominance， decision-making authority and caution. Compared with the American pharmacy accreditation criteria， there were some problems in our country， such as slow response to professional changes， poor flexibility of system and insufficient reflection of overall professional development. Although there is no real similar organization in China， the development of AAPA membership criteria can be used for reference in China， such as the close relationship between pharmacy industry associations and accreditation organizations， strengthening the construction of pharmaceutical accreditation organizations to maintain their independence and specialty， pharmacy standards dynamic adjustment， etc.

E-learning in Pharmacy Education: what do we know about it?

The increase and flexibilization of e-learning in Brazil has generated concern about the low capacity to ensure the quality of institutions and courses. The objective is to identify the literature on experiences of pharmaceutical e-learning. A scope review was carried out, mapping key concepts and evidence. The selected articles, without period restriction, from the Scielo, Pubmed and Scopus databases provided data on the educational level of experience, modality, workload, content delivery method, instruments used, types of topics, evaluation information and purpose of the study. There were 87 articles on preparation for subsequent classes; feedback or continuation of previous classes; to specific training; the comparison between face-to-face and distance education modalities; and distance learning. Among the subjects treated, 51.8% involved pharmaceutical clinic and 42.5% basic science. Positive student assessment was found in more than 92% of cases. Isolation, and deficits in social and analytical skills were negative points. Technology infrastructure can impact learning. In Brazil, the health area has manifested opposition to the use of distance education in undergraduate studies. There is no evidence on the organization of undergraduate distance courses, but there are elements indicating risks to the results of training and development of professional skills in this modality.

A interface ensino-serviço na formação farmacêutica: revisão integrativa / A teaching-service interface in pharmaceutical training: integrative review

OBJETIVO: Este artigo apresenta os resultados de uma revisão integrativa de literatura sobre integração ensino-serviço de acadêmicos de farmácia com o Sistema Único de Saúde, que buscou analisar as diferentes contribuições da integração ensino-serviço para o processo de formação do futuro profissional farmacêutico. FONTE DE DADOS: Pesquisaram-se publicações posteriores a 2002, nas bases de dados Literatura Latino- Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (LILACS), National Library of Medicine (PubMed) e Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) , utilizando como pergunta norteadora: "Quais as contribuições que as experiências vivenciadas no Sistema Único de Saúde trazem para o processo de formação de farmacêuticos?". Após a aplicação dos critérios de inclusão e exclusão nas 1.189 publicações encontradas, a amostra final incluiu 12 estudos. CONCLUSÕES: Os resultados mostraram as contribuições da integração ensino-serviço para a formação dos farmacêuticos, a importância das políticas interministeriais e o papel do Sistema Único de Saúde como cenário de prática no processo de formação. Conclui-se que a integração dos alunos de farmácia com os serviços públicos de saúde contribui para a formação de um profissional apto a responder aos desafios contemporâneos da saúde e capaz de incorporar uma visão mais aprofundada dos problemas sociais do País.

AIMS: This article presents the results of an integrative review of literature on the teaching- service integration of pharmacy undergraduate students with the Unified Health System, which sought to analyze the different contributions of the teaching-service integration to the process of training the future pharmaceutical professional. DATA SOURCES: Publications from 2002 on were searched in the Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), National Library of Medicine (PubMed) and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) databases with the following guiding question: "What are the contributions the experiences in the Unified Health System bring to the process of pharmacists training?". After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria in the 1,189 publications found, the final sample included 12 studies . CONCLUSIONS : The results showed the contributions of the teaching-service integration to the training of pharmacists, the importance of interministerial policies and the role of the Unified Health System as a practice scenario in the training process. It has been concluded that the integration of pharmacy students with public health services contributes to the formation of a professional capable of responding to the contemporary challenges of health management and capable of incorporating a deeper vision of the social problems of the country.

A Research on Motive Force Factors of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Emerging / 中国药学杂志

OBJECTIVE: To explore the motive force factors of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy emerging and provide advises for development of Chinese pharmacy education. METHODS: The motive force factors of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy emerging were analyzed using literature research and historical research methods based on text. RESULTS: The rapid development of American pharmaceutical education in nineteenth Century is the fundamental emerging motive force of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. They are mainly manifested in the way of teaching, teaching content, teachers' strength and the number of pharmaceutical colleges and universities. The problems faced by American pharmaceutical education are the realistic emerging impetus of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. They are mainly manifested in different qualifications for admission, different requirements for qualifications, different academic system, confusing degree, conservative and outdated association organization of pharmaceutical colleges and universities and vicious competition among pharmacy colleges and universities. The effort of the people of insight in the American pharmaceutical education is the direct emerging motive force of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. CONCLUSION: China pharmacy education should strengthen the connotation construction of the pharmacy colleges, deepen the reform of pharmaceutical education with a problem oriented approach and give full play to the role of experts and scholars in the pharmaceutical education field.

Enlightenment of Training Mode of Pharm. D. Project in University of Nebraska Medical Center to Chinese Pharmacy Education / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE:To introduce training mode of American Pharm. D. project,and to provide reference for pharmacy education mode reform and cultivation of new pharmaceutical talents meeting the needs of pharmaceutical care in the new era in China. METHODS:The training mode,teaching concept,course setting and teaching method of American Pharm. D. project were investigated by observing and learning teaching course of pharmacy practice department in University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). The characteristics of American pharmacy education represented by UNMC were summarized,and the suggestion for pharmacy education reform in China was put forward. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS:Based on the goal of pharmacy talent cultivation for pharmaceutical care,American pharmacy education confirms and improves training process and course system around the career development goal of pharmacists,pays attention to humanistic concern and pharmacist vocational ability training in teaching mode, focuses on modern teaching technology and diversified teaching methods during teaching course, and implements strict formative evaluation to evaluate teaching effectiveness. Chinese pharmacy education should learn from the successful experience of American Pharm. D. project,confirm the training goal of service-oriented pharmaceutical talents,optimize training procedure and course system of clinical pharmacy major adhere to the goal of vocational development,focus on vocational ability and humanistic care training,actively utilize modern educational technology and diversified teaching methods,gradually combin formative evaluation with summative evaluation,and eventually transfer to the formative evaluation-centered evaluation system,so as to cultivate service-oriented pharmaceutical talents who meet the actual needs of China.

Development of the American Pharmacy Education from the Perspective of Strategic Planning of American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy / 中国药学杂志

OBJECTIVE: To explore the development trend of the American pharmacy education and provide reference for development of Chinese pharmacy education by analyzing American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Strategic Plan. METHODS: Adopting the methods of literature research and analysis of induction based on text, the article studies the development trend of American pharmaceutical education. RESULTS: The development trend of the American pharmacy education could be summarized following 6 aspects: maintaining the applicant pipeline, creating a new portrait of pharmacists and pharmacy careers, transformation of innovative pharmacy education and practice, paying more attention to the role of information technology in pharmacy education, displaying the leadership and collaboration role of AACP, showing the pharmacy value and sustaining development by advocacy. CONCLUSION: China pharmacy education should strengthen the study of mission and vision, attach great importance to the quality of students and reform and innovation of education teaching, shape pharmaceutical professional image by advocacy and show the leadership and collaboration role of industry associations.

A new experimental community pharmacy internship module for undergraduate pharmacy students in western Nepal: overview and reflections / 보건의료교육평가

Community pharmacies in Nepal and other South Asian countries are in a mediocre state due to poor regulation and the fact that many pharmacies are run by people with insufficient training in dispensing. This has led to the inappropriate use of medicines. The problems due to poor regulation and the mediocre state of community pharmacies in South Asia encompass both academia and clinical practice. In this paper, a 2-week community pharmacy internship programme completed by 2 graduating pharmacy students of Pokhara University (a Nepalese public university) at Sankalpa Pharmacy, Pokhara, Nepal is illustrated. During the internship, they were systematically trained on store management, pharmaceutical care, counselling skills, the use of medical devices, pharmaceutical business plans, medicine information sources, and adverse drug reaction reporting. An orientation, observations and hands-on training, case presentation, discussion, and feedback from 2 senior pharmacists were used as the training method. A proper community pharmacy internship format, good pharmacy practice standards, and a better work environment for pharmacists may improve the quality of community pharmacies.

Perceptions of pharmacy clerkship students and clinical preceptors regarding preceptors' teaching behaviors at Gondar University in Ethiopia / 보건의료교육평가

This study aimed to compare the perceptions of pharmacy clerkship students and clinical preceptors of preceptors' teaching behaviors at Gondar University. A cross-sectional study was conducted among pharmacy clerkship students and preceptors during June 2014 and December 2015. A 52-item structured questionnaire was self-administered to 126 students and 23 preceptors. The responses are presented using descriptive statistics. The Mann-Whitney U test was applied to test the significance of differences between students and preceptors. The response rate was 89.4% for students and 95.6% for preceptors. Statistically significant differences were observed in the responses regarding two of the five communication skills that were examined, six of the 26 clinical skills, and five of the 21 parameters involving feedback. The mean scores of preceptors (2.6/3) and students (1.9/3) regarding instructors' ability to answer questions were found to be significantly different (P= 0.01). Students and preceptors gave mean scores of 1.9 and 2.8, respectively, to a question regarding preceptors' application of appropriate up-to-date knowledge to individual patients (P= 0.00). Significant differences were also noted between students and instructors regarding the degree to which preceptors encouraged students to evaluate their own performance (P= 0.01). Discrepancies were noted between students and preceptors regarding preceptors' teaching behaviors. Preceptors rated their teaching behaviors more highly than students did. Short-term training is warranted for preceptors to improve some aspects of their teaching skills.

Introduction and reference of pharmaceutical education and pharmaceutical qualification examination system of Korea / 中华医学教育探索杂志

Improvement of pharmaceutical qualification examination system is important for systematic and professional development of pharmaceutical industry.Korea has set up the pharmaceutical qualification examination system including pharmacy education eligibility test and pharmacist state examination.Pharmacy education eligibility test aims to select talents to get 2+4 years' pharmacy higher education and the competitiveness showed a trend of increase implemented since 2010.The candidates always major in engineering/natural/agriculture,chemistry,biology,humanistic society and ect,during preparatory course.While average pass rate of'pharmacist state examination was only 73.7％,which act as the passport to becoming a pharmacist of Korea,showed high difficulty compared to physicians and nurses.The pharmaceutical professional talents selection system in Korea was established through the difficult and sustainable pharmacy qualification examination system,and achieved the systematic,professional development of pharmaceutical industry,which can be used for reference for China.

The inspiration of American pharmacists training system / 药学实践杂志

Taking Pharm .D .degree education in School of Pharmacy ,University of Pittsburgh as an example ,this pa-per introduced the American pharmacists training system ,degree setting for service-oriented pharmacy students ,training objec-tive ,course design ,teaching staff and other aspects .This paper also reviewed pharmacy education and professional develop-ments for licensed pharmacists in China .Based on the successful experience abroad ,proposals were made to modify the domes-tic pharmacy education .The process of personnel training should be emphasized to improve the quality and capability of licensed pharmacists in China .

Public Health Service Needs of Pharmacy Customers / Шинэ санаа Шинэ нээлт

Although all the pharmacy programs (1 public and 2 private) in Mongolia comply with the national standard for pharmacy higher education D 723400 (MNS 5323-126: 2012), competence based learning has not been introduced yet. Also, pharmaceutical public health service needs have not been assessed in community pharmacies of Mongolia. Our goal was to assess the learning needs of pharmacists’ public health competencies and link pharmacy education with the health needs of populations.This cross-sectional, in-pharmacy survey was conducted in a simple random sample of community pharmacies in 6 districts of Ulaanbaatar city central region, which provide price discount on selected drugs through national health insurance. The survey was developed with evidence for reliability and validity and focused on two main needs assessment: pharmaceutical public health (PPH) serviceprovision and PPH competencies learning. Open ended and 3 point scale (1=great benefit; 2=some benefit; 3=no benefit) questions were used to obtain: general information, public health service knowledge, and needs of learning PPH competencies. Descriptive statistics and comparisons using STATA 13 were performed.A total of 248 surveys were obtained (pharmacists n=82; customers n=166). Pharmacist knowledge/skills greatly impacted the public’s decision to use expanded services. The customers reported high levels (75.3%) of needs with pharmacists providing advice on health promotion and healthy life style. 47.6% of the pharmacists replied having knowledge on health promotion and disease prevention is a great benefit to their practice.Our findings indicate that the public is very interested in pharmaceutical public health services and believe they will benefit. Also pharmacists need to be trained ecessary competencies.

Community Pharmacists’ Perception On Patient Counseling And Continuing Pharmacy Education Program In East Malaysia

Nowadays, community pharmacist plays an important role in medication counseling, patients’ side effects monitoring and drug information delivery. The need of patient counseling has become a vital part of the pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical care. Through Continuing Pharmacy Education (CPE) program, pharmacists can develop into professions in different areas including drug delivery, drug information, technology and patient education. This study was conducted to evaluate the perception of community pharmacists towards patient counseling and continuing education program in Sabah and Sarawak, East Malaysia. A cross-sectional study design utilizing questionnaires was prepared by an extensive literature review. The research was carried out in four major areas in Sarawak; Sibu, Kuching, Bintulu and Miri and in three major areas Sabah; Kota kinabalu, Sepilok, Tawau by convenience sampling method. Descriptive analysis was conducted using SPSS version 18. Perception of community pharmacists towards patients counseling and continuing education program was analysed using scaling method. A cut-off score of 25.8 was used to indicate the perception of community pharmacists. The Pharmacists scored a cut-off point of 25.8 and above were considered to have good perception. A sample of 174 community pharmacists from Sabah and Sarawak were participated in this study. All of the respondents except one had positive perception towards patient counseling and continuing education program. Overall, almost all the community pharmacists had positive perception towards patient counseling and continuing education program in Sabah and Sarawak, East Malaysia. Further research is needed to evaluate perception of community pharmacists in different states of Malaysia and explore more on continuing education program in Malaysia.

Thinking and suggestion on the teaching of hospital pharmacists standardized training / 中华医学教育探索杂志

To cultivate more excellent pharmacists, ensuring patients rational drug use, standardiza-tion training of hospital pharmacists in Beijing has been carried out since 2000, and the wonderful effect has been achieved. The teaching methods mainly include centralized training model, small lectures, practice teaching and self-study. The training teaching content mainly includes prescription audit, drug dispensing and management as well as the pharmaceutical care. In this paper, based on the analysis of the status quo, it is recommended that detailed training formulate, teaching methods and content of the second stage of the training about the training management policy, and the clinicians teaching should be added to the contents of teaching. The thought moral qualities, laws and regula tions, as well as academic and research training should also be added to the teaching content.

An active learning assignment to improve pharmacy students’ knowledge of herbal medicine.

Medicinal plant courses represent an essential part of the applied sciences component in the curriculum of pharmacy education in Egypt. One of the intended learning outcomes of these courses is to demonstrate knowledge and understanding in the theory and practice of herbal medicine. The aim of the current work was to improve pharmacy students' knowledge and understanding of the herbs used for medicinal purposes. The students, in groups, conducted direct interviews with staff members of the university using a semi-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire included questions about medicinal herbs used by the participants, purpose for use, method of preparation, and sources to obtain. The educational impact of this assignment was evaluated by a questionnaire distributed to the participated students. The majority of students agreed that carrying out the assignment helped them in improving their knowledge and understudying about medicinal herbs. Moreover, their oral communications skills were improved. The described active-learning assignment offered a great opportunity for the students to improve their communication skills and to gain knowledge about the commonly used medicinal herbs in their community.

A Systematic Review on the Vocational Pharmacy Education and Pharmacists' Role in the Singapore's Healthcare System

BACKGROUND: Singapore has the stable healthcare system with utilizing pharmacist manpower in proper positions by demand of populations' health among Asian countries. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to systematically review (1) the pharmacists' role and (2) the pharmacy education system of Singapore in comparison with Korea. METHOD: We searched for information about academic, medical and governmental institutions related to professional pharmacists' practice in Singapore by primarily using database such as DBpia, KISS, Google Scholar and ProQuest and the official website of the Singapore Ministry of Health. We contacted and arranged the visit schedules with National University of Singapore, National Health Group's polyclinics, Agency for Integrated Care, National University Hospital, and community chain pharmacies. During onsite visits, we interviewed pharmacists working in each institution and obtained additional documents and materials relevant to this manuscript work. RESULTS: To become a registered pharmacist in Singapore, the pharmacy curriculum requires four full-time academic years and six additional months allotted for pre-registration training. Pharm.D. course is offered for pharmacy graduate students with additional two full-time years of study. Team teaching and inter professional education program seem the most significant method in pharmacy education. Pharmacists working at hospitals, polyclinics, and community pharmacies in Singapore take broader roles and offer more cognitive services such as smoking cessation program and medication reconciliation. Especially, pharmacists in Agency for Integrated Care fill the role of primary care providers for the continuing care of the community through the governmental support toward the patients-centered integrated care. CONCLUSION: Singaporean pharmacists take significant and active roles in collaboration with other healthcare providers. Efforts such as interprofessional pharmacy education and governmental endorsement of the systematic and interactive care between pharmacists and other medical providers in Singapore are needed to be urgently applied to Korea healthcare system for the promotion of population health.

The Factors Related to the Intention of Hospital Pharmacists for taking the Role of a Preceptor

BACKGROUND: Pharmacy schools newly adopted a 6-year program strengthening clinical knowledge since 2011 in Korea. The clinical training under the guidance of preceptors at hospital sites is a requisite for pharmacy students during the last year of undergraduate course. It has been rarely studied on the hospital pharmacists' perspective regarding being a preceptor or teaching pharmacy students. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine the hospital pharmacists' intention toward student training and to identify the relevant factors among the individual pharmacists' characteristics and working environment within the theoretical frame of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). METHOD: A mail-survey was conducted for pharmacists working in tertiary hospitals in Seoul and Incheon. The survey questionnaire consisting of 131 questions with a 5-likert scale was developed for investigating pharmacists' attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and the intention to teach pharmacy students as well as other demographic variables. To estimate the construct validity of components, factor analysis was conducted and Cronbach's alpha was calculated to estimate the reliability of the observed variables. Statistical analyses of one-way variance analysis and multiple regression analysis were performed using SPSS 18.0. RESULTS: The survey response rate was 53% (116/210) and the three constructs of attitude (r = .519), subjective norm (r = .233) and perceived control (r = .392) have appropriate correlations with the intention, proving the appropriateness of using the TPB model. Pharmacists working in inpatient (mean = 3.45) and outpatient clinics (mean = 3.34) generally showed positive intention for teaching. The attitude (beta = .432, p < 0.01) and perceived control (beta = .270, p < .01) constructs were significant predictors of the intention. Both age (r = 0.246, p = 0.017) and length of career (r = 0.310, p = 0.002) were positively related with the perceived control. CONCLUSION: Hospital pharmacists showed generally positive intention to provide student training in spite of the concern on their limited perceived behavioral control. Future research to find the actual barriers pharmacists faced in educating students need to be conducted.

Exploration and Practice of Industry-university-institute Unification Mode for Pharmacy Professionals / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE:To explore the new mode of industry-university-institute unification for pharmacy professionals. METHODS:The research-teaching interactive platform was established through the principles of“complementary advantages, shared interests and mutual benefits”. RESULTS:It changed the traditional teaching mode,and it ensured the professional plan-ning,curriculum development and training objectives of students based on“4 analysis,2 setting and 1 implementation”. CONCLU-SIONS:The opportunities for cooperation between students and employers were broadened and students’awareness of innovation and entrepreneurship was enhanced. It cultivates project-based pharmaceutical,technical and skilled personnel,solves the problem of industry-university-institute unification and has certain significance for the development of China’s pharmaceutical education.

Changes in Degree of Recognition and Understanding of Pharmacy Students and Its Evaluation in Palliative Care Education / 医薬品情報学

<b>Objective: </b>In this study, we evaluated the change in degree of recognition and understanding of palliative care as pharmacy students’ years advanced.<br><b>Methods: </b>A questionnaire survey consisting of 11 items about recognition of narcotics and 27 items about understanding of palliative care was conducted with first- to fifth-year pharmacy students.  We divided the questions about the image of narcotics into groups and classified the questions about their knowledge of palliative care into the categories based on some reports.<br><b>Results: </b>Among the three groups of questions about the image of narcotics, the degree of “right recognition of narcotics” increased, and those of “wrong recognition of narcotics” and “sense of resistance to narcotics” decreased as pharmacy students’ years advanced.  Additionally, questions about their knowledge of palliative care were categorized into three: “basic guidelines for cancer pain relief and methods of narcotic use,” “role of pharmacists in palliative care and support for patients,” and “pharmacologic characteristics of narcotics.”  Their degree of understanding of each category increased with an increase in years.  Both the recognition of narcotics and understanding of palliative care changed in the fourth- and fifth-grade year students compared to the first-, second-, and third-year ones.<br><b>Conclusion: </b>These results suggest that the recognition and understanding of palliative care changed along the same trends as pharmacy students’ years advanced.  Therefore, it is important that pharmacy students acquire appropriate knowledge to play an active role in palliative care.