Faculty of Medicine
Study
Study
Dean, Faculty of Medicine
Professor
OZAWA Hiroshi
Nurturing the medical personnel who will support tomorrow’s medical care in the Tohoku region.
In 2016, the Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University Faculty of Medicine was established at Tohoku Pharmaceutical University, the predecessor of today’s university, to address the shortage of doctors in the Tohoku region after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. The mission of the Faculty of Medicine is to educate medical students to become competent physicians who will be responsible for community and disaster medicine in the Tohoku region. To achieve this mission, the university is committed to medical education through three systems offering generous scholarships, distinctive community medical education, and post-graduate career support. In March 2022, the Faculty of Medicine produced its first class of graduating doctors, who are now undertaking clinical training at hospitals in various regions. They are expected to become competent physicians who will support society in the future. The Faculty of Medicine is committed to nurturing the medical personnel who will support tomorrow’s medical care in the Tohoku region.
The University trains general practitioners capable of taking the lead in the future of community medicine.
From the 2nd to the 6th year, students repeatedly visit the same network community hospitals in the Tohoku region with the same colleagues, to learn about the current situation and issues of the community medicine in the field of daily life.
From the 1st year, students visit a variety of sites closely related to the livelihood of communities within the context of various fields, including industrial hygiene, hygiene administration, and epidemiological research. In addition to gaining first-hand experience with the various risks faced in daily life and the mechanisms that protect against them, students also learn how to evaluate the results of their observations. Upon reaching their 6th year of study, students gain insights relating to community-based health issues and countermeasures at public health centers within the six prefectures of Tohoku.
In their 1st and 2nd years, medical students study together with pharmacy students at the Komatsushima Campus, participating in joint practical training and group discussions, such as 1st-year experiential learning and Introduction to Medical Pharmacy. In addition, 3rd-year students engage in research activities transcending departmental boundaries. Club activities are carried out jointly by the medical and pharmaceutical faculty members with the exception of individual competitions. In the library and self-study rooms, students work side by side and progress together.
From the 1st year, students visit the Onagawa Nuclear Power Station in Miyagi Prefecture and the areas affected by the nuclear power plant accident in Fukushima Prefecture. In addition to learning about risk management associated with huge facilities, students will engage in dialogue with local residents to understand the current situation due to the nuclear power plant accident and reconstruction efforts, acquiring knowledge to act and respond appropriately as doctors in the event of a nuclear disaster.
From their 1st year, students begin early exposure to medical care and team-based medicine at the University hospital, and in the 4th year, training for basic medical procedures is provided using state-of-the-art simulators at the Medical Training Center. In their 4th and 5th years, students participate in medical practice as members of medical teams in all departments of the University hospital. Finally, in their 6th year, students move on to general medical treatment and community medicine that covers acute to chronic conditions within network hospitals in the Tohoku region.
3rd-year students are assigned to basic and clinical research classes within the Faculty of Medicine or the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Upon the advice of their faculty advisors, students engage in cutting-edge research in a variety of fields. The results of their research will be presented at a research conference and summarized in reports. Some students continue their research activities and present their results at domestic and international conferences, sometimes even receiving awards.
The Bachelor's degree (Medicine) is awarded to students completing the required number of credits in the educational program of the Faculty of Medicine.