Drawing on a Heritage That Dates Back More Than 140 Years

Nippon Medical School is Japan’s oldest private medical school, its precursor, Saisei-Gakusha, having been established in 1876. Guided by its founding principle, Saisei-Kyumin (to save people everywhere ), and a credo embracing Kokki-Junko (to dedicate oneself to public service), for 140 years Nippon Medical School has focused on ensuring that its graduates are equipped with ideals and qualities embodying these concepts. Moreover, the school boasts a long-standing tradition of fostering a culture of free academic inquiry. In line with our educational philosophy of nurturing outstanding physicians and medical practitioners who exhibit human empathy and academic zeal, we have been working to equip our students with correct and accurate medical understanding and skills while encouraging them to maintain resourceful and open minds. Thanks to these efforts, we have graduated more than 10,000 students who have gone on to become brilliant clinicians, medical researchers and medical policy experts.

Drawing on this heritage, we continually strive to develop human resources who have not only specialist knowledge, academic capability and medical skills but also a strong passion to serve society.

At the Forefront of Technological Breakthroughs by Employing Our Distinctive Strengths

Today, research into such novel technologies as gene modification, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are advancing at an ever-faster pace. At the same time, government-led efforts are reforming medical education. We therefore believe that future medical practitioners will be required to be responsive to advances in technology, especially in such rapidly-evolving areas as molecular biology and engineering. In line with this belief, we prioritize exposing our students to cutting-edge technological environments, with instructors who concurrently serve as frontline medical experts providing them with key inputs.

In this regard, Nippon Medical School boasts a number of professors recruited from a wide range of fields and equipped with outstanding capabilities in every aspect of pedagogy, medical treatment and clinical research. These individuals provide hands-on training based on the focus of their research and practical treatment experience at such facilities as the newly renovated graduate school building. We are currently looking forward to the grand opening of the Nippon Medical School Hospital, and the Musashi Kosugi Hospital will soon reopen its doors following scheduled facility upgrades now under way.

Reflecting the solid reputation our medical services have earned under the Nippon Medical School brand in a range of fields, including emergency and intensive care and cancer treatment, we are confident that students will gain invaluable insights from leading medical experts in these fields.

Looking at institutions of higher learning around the world, our European and U.S. counterparts have reached academic maturity while a number of Asian universities are energetically pursuing new accomplishments. Japanese institutions, however, continue to struggle with a variety of long-standing issues besetting both faculty systems and student attitudes. Having undergone a third-party examination based on the Global Standards for Quality Improvement of Medical Education established by the World Federation for Medical Education, Nippon Medical School has moved a step beyond its domestic counterparts while introducing IT solutions aimed at embodying the active learning concept in the pursuit of an even better educational environment.

In addition, we will closely collaborate with such partners as Tokyo University of Science and Waseda University to secure our responsiveness to advances in cutting-edge engineering fields, including AI, robotics, virtual reality and augmented reality. By doing so, we will act as an agent of change bringing about a revolution in the field of medical technology as well as in medical education and post-graduate education as a whole.

A Final Thought

Looking ahead, in the face of the growing social presence of AI and robots, it is important that we, as human beings, do not discount emotional quality of life.

We believe that a school’s culture has a considerable impact on its students’ hearts. I entreat you therefore to meditate on the significance of nurturing outstanding physicians and medical practitioners who exhibit human empathy and academic zeal.

PROFILE

Akihiko Gemma
President, Nippon Medical School