Message from the President

Takashi OHYAMA,DDS,PhD
President

Tokyo Medical and Dental University is unique among medical and dental universities in Japan in that we have three divisions dedicated to graduate education and research: Medical and Dental Sciences, Health Care Sciences, and Biomedical Sciences（Education and Research）. In all, TMDU is composed of four undergraduate faculties（Medicine, Dentistry, Health Care Sciences and Oral Health Care Sciences）, an undergraduate College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, two research institutes（the Institute of Biomaterials and Bioengineering and the Medical Research Institute）, a university hospital attached to the Faculty of Medicine, and a university hospital attached to the Faculty of Dentistry.

　At TMDU we strive to produce scientists who expend every possible effort in seeking the truth, and who have the courage and ability to explore new areas, the tolerance and humility to respect diversity and accept new ideas, and the intellectual curiosity born of a broad education. These qualities are necessary for successfully engaging in clinical practice or research, and, indeed, are required for ensuring the future of mankind. Meeting the challenging standards expected of a TMDU student will lead you to a satisfying and fulfilling scientific career, one that will completely reward the hard work you will invest in your studies.

　With the above goals in mind, we determined“ Cultivating Professionals with Knowledge and Humanity” to be a statement of our mission. “Knowledge” consists of learning and techniques, and “Humanity” encompasses education and sensitivity. Medicine is driven by knowledge, and humanity smoothes its implementation. The proper combination of these factors thus leads the way to becoming a professional. In fact, medical care is an art woven by knowledge and humanity acting as weft and warp threads.

In the Discourses of Confucius we can find the statement,“ A scholar is not a vessel.” In this context a “vessel” is a device with a single or specific purpose. In other words, a scholar, or sage, is not merely a specialist who has been trained for one purpose. Instead, a scholar is one who has broad knowledge, wide experience, and rich sensibility. Health care providers should not impose artificial limits on themselves.

　In one of the dialogues recounted in the Discourses, one of Confucius’s disciples asked, “Is there any single word which can be a guide to conduct throughout one’s life?” To this the great thinker replied, “Thoughtfulness. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Confucius meant that one had to be true to oneself while, at the same time, having the intellectual sympathy to be considerate of other people. The concept of“ intellectual sympathy” is very important here, as it means that the sympathy is not merely composed of kindness or pity, but is rather a refined sympathy that is based on a broad education.

　The ability to provide intellectual sympathy is the mark of a true health care professional. Certainly, as health care providers, we treat our patients to the utmost of our abilities. However, if in our treatment we were simply expressing our determination to do our best to the end, our actions would only result in a feeling of contented selfsatisfaction. The true sense of accomplishment as a medical professional can only be achieved when we see the joy of life restored to a patient or a family member of a patient. In order to attain such a worthy accomplishment, we have to understand the pain a patient has, and have sympathy for the patient’s surrounding situation, family circumstances, occupation, viewpoints, and other factors.

　To become an ideal professional, we need to obtain a broad range of knowledge and diverse ways of thinking, and we must also cultivate a rich education, deep insight into human nature, high ethical standards and a solid ability to explain what we do. A broad education rooted in liberal arts is thus necessary.

Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine use a chest with many drawers, which is called a hundred-drawers chest or a hundred-herbs chest. Medical students must make such a chest of drawers of their own, storing knowledge and techniques as they are learned. In actual clinical and research situations these drawers can be opened in various combinations. As you continue to practice, you will learn techniques through your knowledge and obtain new knowledge through the techniques you perfect. This positive feedback loop system will continue throughout your life.

　Concretely, the acquisition of a sufficient level of knowledge and a multitude of techniques will make it possible for you tocorrectly identify problems and solve them appropriately. To attain the requisite knowledge and techniques for becoming a true professional, patience and effort are indispensable. Moreover, mental and physical discipline is essential.

　The Master said, in the Discourses of Confucius, “If one learns from others but does not think, one will be bewildered. If, on the other hand, one thinks but does not learn from others, one will be in peril.” When you pursue academic training, try to learn as many things as possible. Endeavor to thoroughly digest what you have learned, and then make efforts to apply what you have learned to solve problems around you. If you can do all these things, you will be able to understand the spirit of the Discourses. In short, as a person who pursues science, you must build your character to the point where you will be able to identify and solve problems independently.

　Regardless of how much knowledge and information you acquire, unless you think about how it can be utilized in your life, that hard-won knowledge and information may turn out to be useless. At the other extreme, if you base your judgment only on cold reasoning, you may become self-righteous and make mistakes due to hubris or narrow mindedness. The teachingsof Confucius are echoed in the critical philosophy of Kant, who said that knowledge can start with experience, but without the use of thoughtful reflection, knowledge may become blind.

　I thus expect you to appreciate the utility of each subject presented to you in class, to learn to identify problems and ask questions, and to then formulate your own thought processes to discover and evaluate solutions to the problems. A university is the best place to pursue these goals and gain autonomy.

Our aim as a university is to nurture medical professionals who can take international leadership roles in both clinical and research fields. To this end we are funding 10 special scholarships to allow our most outstanding students to pursue study and research abroad, a program that complements our present overseas initiatives.

　In the Faculty of Medicine, for example, we have sent 8 students to Harvard University this year for a 3-month clinical clerkship. We also exchanged 4 students with Imperial College of London, a program in which the participating students spend 4 months at a department in the partner university. Since these programs have received high evaluations in regard to their educational and research aspects, we have created a new curriculum entitled “Medico-Dental Integrated Education.”

　In addition, during the past year we have sent 10 students to our international collaborative centers, namely the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in Ghana and the Latin American Collaborative Research Center in Chile.

　Furthermore, we encourage and support our graduate students to pursue research abroad by offering scholarships for graduate students and a sabbatical system for teaching staff and researchers. The Medical Research Institute and the Institute for Biomaterials and Bioengineering are promoting the new International Researcher Overseas Assignment Program and the International Research Institute Program, respectively.

How wonderful it is that the more you review what you have learned, the deeper you understand it! Also, how joyful it is to discuss what you have been doing with friends who visit from afar! Even so, if other people do not understand you, do not get upset. It is natural for a scholar to not always be understood at first.

　By learning received wisdom from books and those who have mastered their arts, and constantly repeating what you have learned, naturally you’ll be ready to learn from your experiences. This may lead you to having confidence in what you can do, being able to challenge accepted wisdom and to embrace new findings. This is, as it must be, the joy of learning. If you succeed in training yourself in this manner, friends and followers will come to visit you from afar. It would be incredibly wonderful to be in such a position, wouldn’t it? From your discussions with your visitors, from everyone present sharing their truths, you will wake to a completelynew understanding of the world. How tremendous! It is not until you reach this point that you can really understand the true meaning of Confucius’s statement,“ Even though others may not understand you, do not get upset about it.”

　That is, once you reach a confident level of knowledge, you will not easily get upset with others or blame them for not understanding you. Instead, you will behave accordingly and appropriately, despite a lack of recognition for what you have attained. Doesn’t this behavior describe a true medical professional? We can thank Confucius for making clear the importance of adhering to one’s knowledge-based beliefs, regardless of what other people might think of you.



Reference: Analects of Confucius
(translated and annotated by Shigeki Kaizuka, Chuko-bunko, 1973)