Rinsho Shinkeigaku (Clinical Neurology)

Committee Report

Nationwide questionnaire study in "the Model Core Curriculum" and current status for the undergraduate education in neurology

Hidenao Sasaki, M.D.1), Kimiyoshi Arimura, M.D.2), Yasuto Itoyama, M.D.3), Shin Kwak, M.D.4), Jun-ichi Kira, M.D.5), Kenji Nakashima, M.D.6), Takahiro Amano, M.D.7), Kiyoharu Inoue, M.D.8), Takenori Uozumi, M.D.9), Nobuo Kohara, M.D.10), Sadatoshi Tsuji, M.D.9), Akira Tamagawa, M.D.11), Itaru Toyoshima, M.D.12), Tomohiko Mizutani, M.D.13), Fumihito Yoshii, M.D.14), Gen Sobue, M.D.15) and Teruo Shimizu, M.D.16), Subcommittee of the Japanese Society of Neurology for undergraduate education

1)Department of Neurology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine
2)Department of Neurology and Geriatrics, Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences
3)Department of Neurology, Tohoku University School of Medicine
4)Division of Neuroscience, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo
5)Neurological Institute, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University
6)Institute of Neurological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University
7)Medical Education Center, Keio University School of Medicine
8)Department of Neurology, Jikei University School of Medicine
9)Department of Neurology, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Medicine
10)Department of Neurology, Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital
11)Department of Neurology, Kanto Rosai Hospital
12)Department of Neurology, Akita University School of Medicine
13)Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Nihon University School of Medicine
14)Departments of Neurology, Tokai University School of Medicine
15)Department of Neurology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine
16)Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Teikyo University

To investigate the current state of education for undergraduates, the subcommittee of the Japanese Society of Neurology for undergraduate education sent a questionnaire on the 2001-version of Model Core Curriculum to the department of neurology in 80 medical universities and their 7 associate medical institutes throughout Japan. Answers were obtained from 56 out of those 87 institutes (64.4%). According to the answers, the Core Curriculum was introduced to the program of undergraduate education in 93% of those 56 universities. For the revision of neurology part in the current Core Curriculum, there are number of requests for improving the description on the neurological examination, list of common symptoms and disorders, and addition of therapeutics. Despite application of the Model Core Curriculum in medical education, the present study disclosed that there were considerable difference in the number and content of the lectures, and the duration of clinical clerkship in neurology ward. These differences of the curriculum and training program depends on not only the number of staffs, but also whether they are working as staffs in a department of neurology or as a small group of neurologists within a department other than neurology.
Full Text of this Article in Japanese PDF (505K)

(CLINICA NEUROL, 48: 556|562, 2008)
key words: undergraduate education, goal of education, model core curriculum, optional curriculum, clinical clerkship

(Received: 17-Apr-08)