FACULTY
- Department
- Department of Pharmacy
- Field of Study
- Medical Pharmacy
- Responsible Subjects
History
Graduate School/University, etc.
1979: B.S., Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University
Why I Became a Researcher
My favorite subjects in high school were Japanese history, classics, and physical education. Every time I saw reports on TV about excavations of ruins and the findings of those excavations, I was engrossed. I had a vague dream that I wanted to do that kind of work someday, but I didn't make a concerted effort, so when I think back to that time, I don't think I had a clear goal of what I wanted learn and what I wanted to do. However, I knew I had a mind for science, so I chose the science track when we had to decide between the humanities and science at high school. When I went to university, I chose the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences because my father, who was a science teacher, urged me to. He told me that going forward, women should choose a career or earn a certification that will allow them to work for a lifetime. After graduating from university, I worked as a researcher at a small pharmaceutical manufacturer, a supervising pharmacist for a pharmaceutical wholesaler, a supervising pharmacist for a dispensing pharmacy, and a faculty member in the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences. I changed jobs or took leaves of absence when I got married, when my husband was transferred, and when I gave birth and was raising children, but I have been able to keep working thanks to my father’s advice, so I am grateful to him.
Message to Students
Message to the Students
Immediately after you join the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, you will take classes that will teach you how the job of the pharmacist will increasingly involve having to deal with people instead of just medicines, and some of you may feel a sense of reluctance because this differs from what you had in mind. I also think many students are taken aback by the number of practical hours they must devote to communication skills when choosing their courses. When I first started teaching practicums in medical pharmacy as a Lecturer, I was also surprised by how much the curriculum had changed since I was a student. As the mechanization of counting and weighing medicines progress, more weight is being placed on developing the ability to talk to patients. With the enactment of the revised Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act on September 1, 2020, pharmacists are now required to follow up with patients by telephone or other means about their medications. How this is done is left to the discretion of the individual pharmacists. In order to make an informed decision about this, you must not only have pharmaceutical knowledge, you also need to know what problems your patients are dealing with. As the professional pharmacists of the future, I ask you to develop the communications skills you will need to engage your patients proactively and develop relationships of trust with them.