Ryo Takase (2nd year, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy *at the time) August 17, 2025 – August 23, 2025

In August 2025, I participated in the Thai Pharmacy Experience course. This course began with learning about the Japanese healthcare system in order to understand the Thai system. Then, during the summer vacation, I actually visited universities, hospitals, and pharmacies in Thailand.

The reason I applied for this project was that I thought interacting with pharmacy students from overseas and learning about the actual state of local medical care would be stimulating for me. I decided to participate because I believed that having such a special experience would further increase my motivation for my daily studies and practical training in Japan, allowing me to enjoy university life to the fullest.

Regarding the content of the experience in the course, it first started with preparatory study in Japan. In the first class, I learned about Japanese medical care through self-study, and in the second class, I attended a lecture on Thai medical care given by a Thai pharmacist. I mainly learned about the role of pharmacists.

After successfully completing the preparatory study, I actually visited the Faculty of Pharmacy at Khon Kaen University in Thailand, as well as nearby hospitals and pharmacies. Among the things I learned there, what was particularly impressive was that in Thailand, pharmacists can also diagnose and prescribe medication for diseases with relatively mild symptoms. In Japan, diagnosis and prescription are only permitted for doctors, so I found this difference interesting. I heard that pharmacists were given certain authority to alleviate hospital congestion. However, hospitals are still crowded, and it can reportedly take a whole day to see a doctor. On the other hand, if you pay high medical fees, you can go to a different, less crowded private hospital. There, I newly learned that there is a gap in the accessibility of medical care. Since Khon Kaen, which I visited this time, is classified as a regional city, the situation might be different in the capital Bangkok or in suburban areas. Therefore, I have also become interested in medical disparities in places other than Khon Kaen.

During this training in Thailand, I learned about the current state of medical care in Thailand by actually visiting medical sites. However, that wasn't all; I was also able to experience traditional Thai medicine and visit nearby ruins and night markets. Furthermore, I was able to interact with pharmacy students from Khon Kaen University.

One of the friends I made there said, "There are so many types of beta-lactam antibiotics that it's hard to remember them all." I strongly empathized with that. At the same time, I felt that the difficulties I feel in my daily studies are universal. In the classes in Japan after the Thai training, I studied many things, such as the functions of many vitamins (A, B1, B2...) and the substrates and inhibitors of many CYPs (1A2, 2C9, 2D6...). It was very difficult because there were so many things to memorize, but thinking that there are peers in Thailand studying the same content hard made me feel like I could work a little harder.

I want to continue enjoying my studies and life in the Faculty of Pharmacy by utilizing the knowledge and experience I gained through this training.