Doctoral Courses in the Graduate School of Medicine

Aiming for a New Graduate Education System

Head of the Graduate School of Medicine
Professor
Takashi Watanabe , M.D., Ph.D.

Most graduate medical schools in Japan put an emphasis on training the up-coming generation of researchers through research. And, undeniably, from the research results, it can be said that many have become “graduate universities” oriented towards research.

Nowadays, however, the general public with individuals visiting their doctors yearn for medical organization to train doctors to be “more professional” in having suitable scientific analytical skills, being capable of providing good treatment, and having good people skills.

In other words, patients want dedicated doctors who can provide good treatment and have good communications skills, and want them to continue the advancement of medicine.

To meet these demands, in our Graduate School of Medicine, we aim to separate basic medicine and clinical medicine, for an education system that makes the most of each.

Accordingly, to try to make sure that appropriate choices, which will lead to good results, are made, students in our school discuss with the professors of their fields of interest their reasons for entering the university and how they see themselves in the future.

1. Basic Medicine in our Graduate School of Medicine

Basic medicine is divided into physiology, pathology and social medicine, but the objective of studying these fields is not limited to just obtaining excellent research results; we aim to infuse in the students research skills that will enable them to lead the next generation.

Obtaining pioneering results in the life sciences nowadays is a sure thing under the supervision of professors, but we hope that by building on this, with the right preparation, the students might become top level researchers and take a place on the world stage.

2. Clinical Medicine in our Graduate School of Medicine

In order to do away with the old-fashioned tendency of “clinical graduate schools” with unclear aims, our Graduate School of Medicine tries to foster clinicians who will become supervisors with high levels of knowledge and skills in a specialized field. On top of acquiring good skills in treating patients, they carry out research to develop their scientific thinking. In short, we contribute to the general society and foster doctors by training them to become medical specialists and to also do research to obtain academic qualifications.

3. Mutual Cooperation between Departments of Basic Medicine and Clinical Medicine

Whatever the specialty, we think that mutual cooperation between specialists is important in the progression of research. Depending on the case, it would be possible for specialists to move into another field. Thus, to improve the quality of our students, we strive for flexibility in approaches to research and study.

In our Graduate School of Medicine, we have a wide range of people from outside our university as well as from our university who are enthusiastically conducting medical research. We strongly welcome persons who can contribute to pushing the frontiers of medicine. We expect that our training will lead to good career prospects.

Outline of the Graduate School of Medicine

The Graduate School of Medicine is located in the Mitaka City campus. It opened in 1976, offering 4-year doctoral courses. Currently, there are 34 doctoral students studying in five areas: physiology, pathology, social medicine, internal medicine, and surgery.

For the doctoral course, the students need a high-level of research skills in order to do outstanding research. They need to work hard, and in addition to having to get certain credits, they have to pass an examination and complete a thesis before being awarded a Doctor of Medicine.

As of March, 2015, 420 have obtained a Doctor of Medicine by completing the doctoral course and 570 have obtained it by submitting a dissertation. They are active in research and education, as well as providing medical treatment.

Department	Specialty	No of vacancies
Physiology	Tissue engineering, patho-biochemistry, biosystem construction and control, molecular and cellular pharmacology	4
Pathology	Oncology, communicable & tropical diseases, immunology/allergology	3
Social medicine	Social medicine informatics, forensic medicine	3
Internal medicine	Respiratory Medicine, Neurology, Nephrology & Rheumatology, Cardiovascular Medicine, Hematology, Gastroenterology, Diabetes , Endocrinology & Metabolism, Stroke and Cerebrovascular Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, General Medicine, Pediatrics, Neuropsychiatry, Dermatology, Radiology	12
Surgery	Surgery I & II, critical care medicine, orthopedics, neurosurgery, cardiovascular surgery, obstetrics & gynecology, ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, urology, anesthesiology, pediatric surgery, plastic surgery	12

Results of the 2004 Spring Entrance Examination

The 2004 spring entrance examination for the Graduate School of Medicine took place on 10 February. The results are given in the table below.

There were 20 candidates in 2004, compared with 14 in 2003 — a 42.9% increase. Twelve (60%) of them choose internal medicine. The candidates ranged in age from 25 to 36 years, some had completed their residency, one had transferred from other graduate school after the first term, one was a medical researcher from China, and some were already active as doctors.

On completing the course, we expect that those who choose pathology, social medicine and other fields in basic medicine, will not only produce excellent research results, but also acquire qualities that will enable them to lead the next generation. And those that choose internal medicine, surgery, and other clinical fields, will acquire high-level knowledge and skills worthy of good supervisors.

We welcome candidates from many departments in both our university and other universities, who are keen to do medical research and who will be able to contribute to pushing the frontiers of medicine.

Speciality	Applicants	Accepted	Successful	Entrants
Physiology	0 (1)	0 (1)	0 (1)	0 (1)
Pathology	2 (0)	2 (0)	2 (0)	2 (0)
Social medicine	2 (1)	2 (1)	2 (1)	2 (1)
Internal medicine	12 (7)	12 (7)	12 (7)	12 (7)
Surgery	4 (5)	4 (5)	4 (5)	4 (5)
Total	20 (14)	20 (14)	20 (14)	20 (14)