International APPE

The International APPE is designed to give pharmacy students experience, knowledge, and skills in various healthcare settings in Nagasaki, Japan. Although Nagasaki is surrounded by the ocean and New Mexico is in the high desert, the two areas are similar in that there is limited access to healthcare in rural areas. Pharmacists have different roles in Japan compared to the Unites States. However, the roles of pharmacists in rural healthcare have been advanced. Healthcare teams are interdisciplinary and include a pharmacist, physician, nurse, and case coordinator, and each individual in the team plays a significant role in improving patient’s access to care, providing better healthcare outcomes, and increasing patient’s safety. Students will learn dispensing skills of pharmacists in Japan and experience pharmacists’ roles in different healthcare settings including an urban hospital, a rural hospital, and a rural community pharmacy. In addition, students will learn Kampo, the traditional Japanese herbal medicine at a pharmacy. The experience in Nagasaki will give students opportunities not only to learn different healthcare systems but also will provide them with an approach to improve rural healthcare in New Mexico as well as identify new roles for pharmacist in rural health care.