Support Program for Medical Training to Address Community Needs
Development of an Assessment System of Basic Clinical Skills
Project Leader: Nobuo NARA, M.D., Ph.D. (Director, Center for Education Research in Medicine and Dentistry)


Facing a rapidly aging society with a low birthrate, one of the critical tasks of educational institutions is to produce well-trained medical personnel who can efficiently administer holistic medicine. TMDU has introduced many reforms into its educational methods so that the students can effectively acquire the basic clinical skills necessary for holistic medicine.

The central aim of this program is to develop a standardized assessment system to see if the students are competent enough to be able to start their clinical clerkships. The students need to have sufficient knowledge and skills, including communication skills, before they start a clinical clerkship. Otherwise, they can not maximize the educational benefits of their clerkship experiences. By collaborating with other educational institutions, we have developed and implemented a computer based testing (CBT) system to assess student knowledge. Regarding clinical skill performance, we have established an objective, structured clinical examination (OSCE) using simulators and simulated patients. The students are qualified to take part in clinical clerkships via this assessment system.

We have also promoted the active utilization of the clinical skills laboratory at TMDU and held public symposiums to share information about its educational effects.