[Nationwide research on communication education curriculum in the faculty of pharmaceutical science. Second report: study of communication education curriculum before on-the-job training].

With the recent rapid shift in pharmaceutical education to the development of clinical experts, emphasis on education in humanism and communication has increased. However, there is a lack of experience in these fields of pharmaceutical education in Japan, and there have been few studies on the curriculum, from admission to the pharmaceutical science to the stage before on-the-job training. Also our previous survey of communication-related education revealed there is no consensus on the interpretation of communication-related education. In this study, therefore, we investigated communication-related education is incorporated before on-the-job training at 46 schools of pharmaceutical science in Japan. Communication-related education was carried out at 26 (56.5%) of the 46 schools, and role-playing was incorporated in the program at 23 (88.5%) of these 26 schools. However, SP (simulated patient/standardized patient) was adopted at 12 (46.2%) of these 26 schools. There was a psychologist or a communication specialist on the staff at only 10 (38.5%) of these 26 schools, revealing the lack of instructors in these fields. Interest in education related to communication was generally weak at national and public universities, and marked differences in the approach to pharmaceutical education among university types were observed. The preparation of basic guidelines and textbooks for stepwise communication education from lower to higher grades and the training of instructors are urgently needed.