Shujitsu University / Shujitsu Junior College

Shujitsu University, celebrating its 110th anniversary in 2014, established the School of Pharmacy in 2003. This was one of the two newly established schools of pharmacy since the last one was set up 20 years ago. The establishment was realized thanks to eager demand for a new school and overall support from local administrative bodies, the Pharmacy Association, and the Society of Hospital Pharmacies in Okayama prefecture.

The school enrolls approximately 120 students each year. At first, the School employed a 4-year education program. This consisted of two departments, the Departments of Biological Pharmacy (DBP) and Clinical Pharmacy (DCP). The 6-year program was introduced to the pharmacy education system in Japan in 2006; the DBP and DCP were united to form the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. The first cohort of the 4-year program graduated from the school on March 20, 2007, and the first cohort of the 6-year program graduated on March 20, 2012.

Center for clinical pharmacy practice

A favorable environment produces pre-clinical situations on the same scale as in a hospital pharmacy for students. In this training center, students gain knowledge and learn technical skills in all general aspects of pharmaceutical work. Afterwards, the ability to integrate knowledge concerning many specialized subjects is developed. Problem Based Learning (PBL) develops practical abilities and cultivates ethics, a sense of mission, teaches responsibility and sharpens judgment that will contribute greatly to medical services. Many teachers with broad experience present situations similar to the actual work of a pharmacist. The student acquires a well-rounded education and becomes capable of performing the role of a pharmacist within patient-oriented medical teams.

The aim of the Department of Pharmacy is, through lectures and research activities, to cultivate individuals who improve their problem-finding-and-solving abilities and their abilities to make proper judgments. By doing so, students will not miss out small “buds (chances or factors)” on a regular basis, and will be able to develop a flexible, discerning “eye” and “brain (way of thinking)” without being swayed by fixed ideas. Students must be able to overcome challenging problems in society when they engage in everything with the spirit of inquiry.