Comparison of the University Pharmacy Education Programs in Germany and Vietnam

Abstract

During the global COVID pandemic, the importance of professionals in the health care sector has been put in a new light, including pharmacists. In this context, the focus is also on how pharmacists are trained in different countries. Through an exchange of pharmacy teaching staff from a German to a Vietnamese university, the pharmacy education programs in both countries were compared. Aspects such as access to studies, structure of studies, and further training opportunities were considered. Differences and similarities emerged. In both countries, students first acquire basic knowledge and then delve deeper into pharmaceutical content in main studies. There is, expectedly, a great overlap in the content of the courses. Overall, the education at Vietnamese universities seems to be more practice-oriented due to a large number of placements. This also allows a specialization, which can be pursued in Germany with self-interest after graduation. There, the preparation for everyday work in the community pharmacy is separated from the university by a mandatory practical year. For the future, efforts are being made in both countries to strengthen the importance of clinical pharmacy in the curriculum. To this end, the Vietnamese are taking their inspiration from abroad in many cases, including Germany.

Factors Affecting the Decision of First-Year Pharmacy Students to Study Pharmacy in Can Tho, Vietnam

“…Nonetheless, pharmacy remains a popular field of study. In Vietnam, the total number of pharmacy students enrolled in public universities in 2020 was 12,466 (Baecker et al, 2022). Despite this, the pharmacy industry in Vietnam still experiences a shortage of personnel.…”

“…The Ministry of Health has set a goal for clinical pharmacists to account for 30% of all pharmacists, but the actual percentage was reported to be only 3.78% in 2019 (Prime Minister of Vietnam, 2021). Despite the high number of pharmacy graduates each year, there is still a shortage of pharmacists in hospitals and healthcare facilities due to many pharmacists preferring to work in other pharmacy-related fields (Baecker et al, 2022). The Ministry of Health reported that Vietnam became an aging population country in 2011, and it is estimated that the proportion of elderly people living in Vietnam will increase from the current 11% to 18% by 2030 and further to 26% by 2050 (Tien Phong Online, 2020).…”

“…In Vietnam, besides military universities, there are 16 public universities that offer a pharmacy program (Baecker et al, 2022). The number of private universities offering a pharmacy program is even higher and has increased in recent years (Baecker et al, 2022), likely due to the growing demand for pharmacy professionals.…”

Perception of learners on the effectiveness and suitability of MyDispense: a virtual pharmacy simulation and its integration in the clinical pharmacy module in Viet Nam

“…Conventionally, pharmacy students have been provided a series of lectures on medication use to obtain sufficient pharmaceutical knowledge [ 2 ]. However, whether skills for pharmacy practice are well trained is uncertain due to limited training hours in the curriculum across universities in Viet Nam [ 3 , 4 ]. In addition, the internship at a pharmacy only takes place in the final year of the 5-year pharmacy programme and lasts for one week; accordingly, students could hardly conceptualize the pharmaceutical activities and operation procedures at community pharmacies within this short duration [ 2 , 3 ].…”

“…However, whether skills for pharmacy practice are well trained is uncertain due to limited training hours in the curriculum across universities in Viet Nam [ 3 , 4 ]. In addition, the internship at a pharmacy only takes place in the final year of the 5-year pharmacy programme and lasts for one week; accordingly, students could hardly conceptualize the pharmaceutical activities and operation procedures at community pharmacies within this short duration [ 2 , 3 ]. Therefore, a self-learning tool that provides the visualization of pharmaceutical activities in a community pharmacy is necessary, especially when human resources are limited.…”