University Accreditation Results(Results for Certified Evaluation and Accreditation for University)

Osaka Medical College

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Osaka, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2020
Accreditation Status: accredited （Accreditation Period: April.1.2021 – March.31.2028）

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Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Osaka Medical CollegeOverview
Osaka Medical College holds as its mission a founding spirit (“The mission of medical
training institutions is medical education and medical research, which is accomplishedwhen applied to actual medical practices.”) as well as its credo (“Benevolent Art withSincere Attitude”). It determines its aim as “have rich humanity and address the issues
shared by all human beings, health maintenance and improvement, prevention of andtriumph over diseases, and relief from pain; respond to the changing society and learn thelatest knowledge and best techniques over the rest of their lives; and are inquisitive about
and actively engage in their fields ranging from community healthcare to world-classresearch and development”. In addition, in order to achieve the founding spirit and thepurpose of the University, although a medium-term (long-term) plan as a university has
not been settled on, an “educational reform policy and action goals as the President of
Osaka Medical College” have been established, alongside five educational reform
policies and KPIs, and efforts are being made to enhance educational and research
activities.
Regarding internal quality assurance, the “Education Strategy Council” and the“Research Strategy Council” (hereinafter referred to as the “Strategy Council”) have been
established as university-wide promotion organizations. Each department, etc. has asystem in place for working on internal quality assurance by means of a PDCA cycle,
such as an “Education Center”, and it can be commended that it is functioning on thewhole. However, the details of feedback from the Strategy Council made to eachdepartment, etc., and the record of efforts for improvements and enhancements
implemented by each department, etc. based on the feedback were not left in a form that
could be verified by a third party. In addition to maintaining these records, in promoting
university-wide internal quality assurance, a more systematic verification schedule isexpected be established, such as tangibly defining the period of the PDCA cycle, and thenumber and timing of meetings held, etc. in each University organization (department).
In addition, in 2019, the “Academic Check and Review Committee” consisting of experts
from outside the University was set up, and during the first meeting in 2020, theappropriateness of the university-wide internal quality assurance system was verified.
From here on, we hope that the internal quality assurance system will be improved andenhanced based on the verification results of the same committee, and that the PDCA
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cycle centered on the Strategy Council will function more effectively.
Regarding education, all faculties and graduate schools have organized theircurricula appropriately in accordance with the degree award policy (diploma policy) andcurriculum design and implementation policy (curriculum policy). Particularly in theundergraduate divisions, the University has introduced a curriculum map showing theoverall structure of each curriculum and relationships between the curricula, and anumbering system according to the lesson content and level of each subject, creating ameans for students to take courses systematically and sequentially.
It is commendable that the “MISSION / COMPETENCE Card” distributed tomedical students clearly states the University's mission and three policies, including
graduation competencies, to improve accessibility and promote public awareness. Inaddition, the joint off-campus training camp for new students of all faculties is expected
to foster awareness and a multidisciplinary collaborative mindset as a medical
professional, and further lead to multidisciplinary off-campus clinical training in theupper grades. As a form of team medical training, this can be said to be a unique initiative.
The research support system for faculty members is also easy to use and highly fulfilling.
In particular, the regulations stipulate a guarantee of status and financial support for longterm off-campus training, and the results of this training are linked to the fostering of auniversity-wide research system that transcends courses. In Takatsuki City, where theUniversity is located, the continuous promotion of support projects for an aging society
in collaboration with the public and private sectors, has been highly commended.
On the other hand, the issues to be improved are that all faculties and graduate
schools do not set the purpose of education and research in the school rules or regulations
equivalent to them, and that the ratios of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap
in the Department of Medicine and the Graduate School of Nursing Doctoral Program arehigh.
The University is expected to solve these issues through efforts with internal
quality assurance, and accelerate its numerous distinctive initiatives for further
development of its program.
Notable Strengths
Mission and Purpose
The “MISSION / COMPETENCE Card” is distributed to all students and faculty
members at the Faculty of Medicine in order to publicize and disseminate the2

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founding spirit and the purpose of the faculty. The card clearly states the founding
spirit, credo, university mission and educational objectives, medical school
educational goals, and three policies including medical school educational goals andgraduation competencies, and students are instructed to always carry them with theirstudent ID cards. As a result of the “Academic Survey,” it became clear that thedegree of awareness of the founding spirit among medical students increased
significantly over AY 2018 to AY 2019 and therefore it is commendable that thiscontributes to the permeation of the founding spirit and the purpose of the faculty.
Student Support
 In order to foster awareness and a multidisciplinary collaborative mindset as a
medical professional, the joint off-campus training camp, which is held for new
students of the Faculties of Medicine and Nursing immediately after enrollment,functions to offer emergency resuscitation hands-on learning and topics for students
from both faculties to jointly discuss in groups, such as “what is required forbecoming a good medical professional.” Students from both faculties exchange andrespect each other's opinions while working on various program assignments, suchas creating and presenting posters that summarize their aspirations to become bettermedical professionals, and ultimately derive one answer. Hence they strive to put into
practice what is precisely the first step in multidisciplinary collaboration. It is also
expected that the experience provided by this training camp will lead tomultidisciplinary off-campus clinical training in the upper grades, and the excellent
initiative as a team-based medical education that will be the foundation for forming
a medical mindset as a future doctor or nurse is to be commended.
Education and Research Environment
 In addition to allocating individual research funds to support education and research
activities, the “Magari Scholarship Fund” research grants, the “Tadahiro Tanaka
International Exchange Fund” for young teachers who want to study abroad, and the“Goldman Sachs Young Doctor Long-term Study Abroad Support Scholarship Fund”
are made available to applicants. In order to obtain the Grant-in-Aid for Academic
Research or the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research, the Research Promotion
Section firstly checks the application form, an external coordinator then looks over
the application form, and the “Young Researcher Research Grant Application
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Incentive Grant” and the “Research Center Training Incentive Grant” are given tosupport research that provides a foothold for obtaining external funding. In addition,
the University has established a “long-term off-campus training system”, and faculty
members who are permitted to carry out business training are guaranteed their statusduring that period. Utilizing various subsidies provided by the University, many
young researchers have conducted off-campus research for one to two years both athome and abroad in the past three years. Through the above series of initiatives, theresearch results are continuously announced, and it is commendable that the researchsupport of the University has achieved a certain level of results.
Social Cooperation and Contribution
 The “Takatsuki Sustainability Project”, which is based on a comprehensive
agreement with the core city of Takatsuki City, where the population aging isaccelerating, and the Takatsuki Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is a social
cooperation and social contribution project spanning cooperation between many
institutions such as Takatsuki City, Takatsuki Medical Association, Takatsuki Dental
Association and the Takatsuki Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This isdeveloping health education and enlightenment activities for the citizens of Takatsuki
City along with comprehensive community care. The results of the project are sharedwith students at the FD & SD “Education and Research Meeting,” and efforts relating
to public health are incorporated as practical training into the “Student Research” ofthe Faculty of Medicine’s curriculum. It functions as an opportunity for learning
based on the hands-on experience of medical students. These social cooperation andsocial contribution activities aimed at promoting health, extending healthy life
expectancy, and developing the region in Takatsuki City are commendable because
they meet the educational objectives of the University and are also linked to thelearning of students.
Suggestions for Improvement
Mission and PurposeThe Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Nursing, the Graduate School of Medicine
and the Graduate School of Nursing do not define the purpose of education andresearch in the school rules or regulations equivalent to them, so improvement is4

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required here.
Student Enrollment
 The ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap in the Department ofMedicine is high at 1.02, so improvements are needed to ensure that undergraduate
student quotas are properly managed.
 The ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap is high at 2.44 in theGraduate School of Nursing Science Doctoral Program. The University should
thoroughly implement graduate school quota management to improve the situation.

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