A group of Japanese pharmacy students and faculty will spend two weeks in Birmingham learning about American clinical pharmacy practice from colleagues at McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Samford University.

The delegation from Meijo University School of Pharmacy, Nagoya, Japan, arrives Sunday, June 13. The students are enrolled in a one-year post-graduate pharmacy program.

According to Roger Lander, chair, McWhorter Pharmacy Practice Department and visit coordinator, the visitors' main goal is to learn how pharmacy is practiced and what pharmacy education is like in the U.S.

"They will take home what they observe in order to implement practice models in Japan," said Lander, noting that the U.S. is substantially ahead of Japan in the way pharmacists are involved in patient care.

After an introduction to American pharmacy education and practice models, the group will visit clinical pharmacy practice sites. Locations include hospitals, clinics and retail sites.

The group will also attend a meeting of the Alabama Society of Health Systems Pharmacists in Sandestin, Fla.