Curriculum Policy
Medical Course of the School of Medicine (Doctor of Medicine Degree)
The Medical Course of the School of Medicine at Asahikawa Medical University offers a curriculum with four types ofprograms and encourages their systematic completion: the Basic Liberal Arts Program for broad understanding of various
value systems found in medical fields, the ICM (Introduction to Clinical Medicine) Program for the cultivation ofprofessionalism and acquisition of introductory knowledge and skills across related fields of clinical medicine, the Basic andClinical Medicine Programs for more advanced practical knowledge and skills. The Medical Course reorganizedCompulsory Elective Course I, II, and III in the ICM Program, adjusting its curriculum to rapid progress in basic andclinical medicine.
The Medical Course designs the curriculum and makes explicit the above policy. In addition, students are expected toattain the following:
Attitudes—A Sense of Ethics and Professionalism✓ A respect for the dignity of life, understanding of medical ethics, and a positive attitude toward medical practices based on team-approach
medicine

1. To help understand ethical principles as medical professionals, Introduction to Medical Science I – IV are included in the ICM Program forthe first year for students to enhance their systematic learning.

Knowledge—Adequate Knowledge about Medical Science and Related Fields and the Ability for Lifelong Learning✓ A broad knowledge of liberal arts and basic knowledge of basic, clinical, and social medicine and understanding of the necessity of lifelong
learning and its realization in order to apply this knowledge
2. The classes in the Basic Liberal Arts Program, aiming to help acquire a broad knowledge on culture, society, nature, and various valuesystems, are optional.
3. For cultivation of professionalism and acquisition of introductory knowledge and skills across related fields of clinical medicine, the classes
in the ICM Program are compulsory.
4. In order to be able to develop a self-motivated learning style and enhance active learning and a solid understanding of one’s specialized
field, in addition to the lecture-style and practice-style Basic Liberal Arts Program and Basic and Clinical Medicine Programs, theseminar-styled Tutorial System in Medicine I –V in the ICM Program is taken systematically beginning in the freshman year.

Skills—Holistic Medical Skills, Basic Consultation Skills, and Practical Clinical Skills✓ A deep compassion and respect for patients and their families and the ability to communicate with them
✓ An understanding of patients that helps them maintain and enhance their health in an appropriate manner, and basic abilities to offer
clinical care

✓ The ability to plan medical treatments for acute/chronic medical problems on the basis of the principles of consultations and safe
treatments
5. Practice in Psychology and Communication, a subject in the Basic Medicine Program to facilitate medical communication based onpsychological understanding, is offered in the freshman year.
6. In order to help understand medical principles of diagnoses and treatments based on major symptoms, Lectures on Clinical Symptoms
and Problems in the Clinical Medicine Program and Tutorial System in Medicine III - IV in the ICM Program are linked and offered in thesenior year.
7. In order to help acquire basic diagnostic abilities and clinical reasoning abilities necessary for bedside learning, Introduction to ClinicalClerkship in the Clinical Medicine Program and Tutorial System in Medicine V in the ICM Program that is taught in a team-based learning
style are linked and offered in the senior year.
8. Bedside learning is offered in the fourth and fifth years by rotating all the clinical subjects, and, in the fifth and sixth years, it is offered in
the form of a clinical clerkship as a required subject held on a three-week basis mainly in the basic clinical departments.

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Thinking and Judgement—Problem-Solving Ability, Developmental Consultation Ability, and Research Ability✓ An understanding of the significance of research on basic, clinical, and social medicine, and to be able to apply it to actual medical
settings, objectively collecting and evaluating scientific information✓ The ability to draw up logically and ethically valid research plans in order to spread innovative information
9. The following subjects (the first four in the ICM Program and latter seven in the Basic Medicine Program) are offered systematically in thefirst year: Laboratory Course in Basic Biology, Laboratory Course in Basic Biochemistry, Laboratory Course in Biochemistry, andLaboratory Course in Immunology; Laboratory Course in Pathology, Laboratory Course in Physiology, Laboratory Course inPharmacology, Laboratory Course in Microbiology, Laboratory Course in Parasitology, Practice in Hygiene and Public Health, andLaboratory Course in Forensic Medicine.
10. Clinical Epidemiology is included in the Clinical Medicine Program to apply information from clinical science to research, and Medical
Research Special Seminar, a seminar in the ICM program, is offered in the fourth year to help enhance the abilities of medical researchers
by providing activities in which students apply various types of knowledge acquired to solving real problems.

Willingness—Ability to Contribute to Communities in Japan and Throughout the World✓ The ability to understand the necessity and methodology for the contribution to domestic and global communities through medical practiceand research, and an understanding of social needs related to medical treatment
11. In order to help acquire, beginning systematically in the first year, the ability to contribute to local and international communities, thefollowing subjects are included in the ICM Program and the Clinical Medicine Program: Community Medicine: lectures about the problemsof regional medicine, Early Practical Training I – II: subjects which explore medical needs in Asahikawa and its suburbs as well as regionsin Hokkaido, and Medicine for People with Disabilities to learn the medical needs of vulnerable people in the local area.
12. In order to help learn how to contribute to the international community through medical research, Medical Research Special Seminar isoffered in the fourth year.

Nursing Course of the School of Medicine (Bachelor’s Degree)
The Nursing Course of the School of Medicine at Asahikawa Medical University, to meet newly-arising social needs inmedical and nursing sciences such as the advent of an aging society and rapid advances in medical care, conducts basic
education in nursing science to produce nursing professionals with practical nursing abilities supported by a broad
knowledge of liberal arts. The course also offers optional subjects for those who wish to be public health nurses andmidwives.
The Nursing Course of the School of Medicine at Asahikawa Medical University offers a curriculum with three types ofprograms and encourages their systematic completion: General Basic Subjects, Basic Specialized Subjects, and SpecializedSubjects. Specialized Subjects consist of three stages: Basics of Nursing Science, Characteristics and Nursing Science, andDevelopment and Exploration of Nursing Science. It also offers Community-based Integrated Care Ⅰ to IV in eachacademic year and a Community-based Integrated Care Practicum in the third year.
The Nursing Course aims to produce practical nursing individuals with a developmental and systematic education
combining the teaching methods of lectures, seminars, and practical training.
We, in the Nursing Course, have designed this curriculum which makes explicit the policy above, as well as requiring thefollowing:
Attitudes—Fulfillment of Social Roles in Nursing Based on Ethics✓ An sincere attitude focusing on practical nursing rooted in high ethical standards✓ An attitude toward nursing practices with the awareness of nurses’ missions in serving their communities
1. In order to help understand medical ethics required for nursing professionals, Introduction to Nursing Science, Communication Theory,and History and Philosophy of Medicine are offered in the first year and Medical Ethics in the second year.
2. In order to help students prepare for nursing practice as a member of a medical team Early Practical Training I is offered in the first year
as well as Early Practical Training II in the second year.

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Curriculum Policy

3. In order to help students feel awe and respect for human physiology and to raise a sense of awareness and responsibility as medicalprofessionals, the Applied Physiology Laboratory Course is offered.
4. In order to help students acquire an appropriate attitude as nursing professionals, clinical training for nurses is offered throughout the fouryears and the Comprehensive Nursing Practicum is offered in the fourth year.

Knowledge—Adequate Knowledge about Nursing Science and Related Fields and the Ability for Lifelong Learning✓ A broad knowledge of liberal arts and a specialist knowledge of nursing
5. Various optional Liberal Arts classes in the category of General Basic Subjects are offered, such as an Introduction to Japanese Sign
Language. These classes focus on understanding patients with diverse needs and aim to help students acquire a broad knowledge ofsociety, nature, and various culture and value systems. Required classes include Freshman Seminar and Information Literacy to help
students acquire learning skills and form a career vision.
6. In order to understand human beings not only as biological organisms, but as people who exist within a society, students are required totake classes in Basic Specialized Subjects, which include classes on the human body and mind, which are offered in the first year, andclasses on diseases, treatments, and pharmacology are offered in the second year.
7. In order to help students acquire a wide range of knowledge on clinical care, fundamental knowledge on nursing science, and a rangeof subjects on the developmental features of human beings and nursing treatments, we offer classes in Specialized Subjects. Weoffer compulsory elective classes to explore nursing practice in depth: Dementia Care, Critical Care Nursing, Cancer Nursing II(Cancer Survivorship), Cancer Nursing III (End of Life Care) These are available in the third and fourth years.

Nursing and Communication Skills – Evidence-based, Practical, Basic Nursing Skills✓ The skills to conduct evidence-based basic nursing practices and communication skills according to each patient’s life stage and healthassessment

8. Basic Nursing I, II, and III and Physical Assessment for Nursing are offered in the first and second years so that students can acquire basicnursing skills. Basic Nursing Training I is offered in the first year to help students understand patients’ daily lives and nursing in general.
Basic Nursing Training II is offered in the second year to provide students with opportunities to practice the nursing process.
9. Training subjects, such as Advanced Nursing Skills I (Adult Nursing) and II (Psychiatric, Maternity, and Pediatric Nursing) are offered in thethird and fourth years to teach nursing skills integrated with knowledge about nursing science that has been gained though the classes ineach field in the second year and to teach practical nursing abilities.
10. The curriculum is designed for students to take the OSCE test (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) in the third year to ensure theirknowledge and skills before participating in clinical trainings for nurses. It also offers nursing training of specialized areas in the third andfourth years for individual nursing practice, so nurses understand the characteristics of patients’ life stages and their health issues.
11. Comprehensive Nursing Practicum; the opportunity in which students are involved in training held at night and with multiple patients, isoffered in the fourth year to further improve practical nursing abilities.

Thinking and Judgment – Problem-Solving Ability, Developmental Thinking Ability, and Research Ability✓ The ability to examine nursing questions and problems from a research perspective and the ability to solve these issues
12. In order to foster critical thinking, Freshman Seminar, in which students acquire learning skills through group work, role play, presentation,etc., is offered in the first year. In the second year, Basic Nursing Skills IV, in which students practice the nursing process based on aproblem-solving approach, Physical Assessment for Nursing, in which students learn how to assess patients’ health status, and Health
Statistics, in which students learn how to deal with medical statistics, are offered. In the third year we offer Health, Medical and Welfare
System and Epidemiology, in which students understand health phenomena of individuals, groups, and local communities.
13. In order to help acquire basic abilities to apply knowledge gained throughout actual nursing settings, Nursing Research and Advanced
Nursing Research are offered in the third and fourth year respectively.

Willingness – Ability to Contribute to Communities in Japan and Throughout the World✓ The willingness to solve problems through nursing practices and research based on social needs related to medical treatments, healthcare, and welfare in Japan and communities throughout the world✓ The devotion to train themselves continually as nursing professionals

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14. In order to help students acquire learning skills required in the undergraduate course, the Freshman Seminar is offered in the first year,
improving student motivation.
15. In order to help students become interested in regional medicine and explore medical needs specific to Hokkaido, Early Exposure I andII are offered in the first and second years, giving students opportunities to practice nursing in neighboring areas and districts.
16. In order to help students explore and learn how to support those living in their home communities, Community-based Integrated Care I –IV are offered during the four years.
17. In order to enhance the ability to help local and overseas communities through nursing practices and research, Health, Medical and Welfare
System and English Reading Seminar are offered in the third year and International Health and Disaster Nursing in the fourth year.

The Graduate School of Medical Science (Ph.D. Degree)
The Graduate School of Medical Science at Asahikawa Medical University (Ph.D. degree) offers two courses: the Research
Course, in which students aim to conduct cutting-edge research in their specialized fields, and Clinical Research Course, in which
students foster their abilities to advance clinical research and tests. In both courses, professors in the same field of research provideindividual guidance to students’ research. Students are engaged in research activities in a liberal and academic atmosphere,producing high quality research achievements. Through participating in a series of lectures held for two years in Advanced
Medical Science, Foundation of Medical Science, and Medical Thesis, students acquire the ability to carry out medical research:essential basic knowledge, broad application knowledge, and grounding in ethics. Our comprehensive education produces
individuals ready to take leading roles in supporting future medical science and meeting the needs of local communities.
Although students must choose one of the two courses at first, they can switch to the other course as their research is being
conducted. If found to be beneficial to their research, they can be advised by other professors at the graduate school and visit
other graduate schools and research institutes, domestic or international, to deepen their research. Students can start theirresearch activities at the graduate school in their first year of being a junior resident. By taking online lectures available on thewebsite of the graduate school as well as taking normal offline lectures, they can complete some classes based on their researchand training schedules. The graduate school makes every effort to foster students’ active learning and provide a flexiblecurriculum.

The Graduate School of Nursing Science (Master’s Degree)
The Graduate School of Nursing Science at the Medical Related Research of Asahikawa Medical University offers two courses:
The Master’s Thesis Course and the Advanced Practice Course. In both courses, graduate students are instructed/supervised byprofessors specialized in the fields related to the courses.
The Master’s Thesis Course offers general education subjects in the first year to help acquire basic knowledge in nursing scienceand specialized knowledge in health science in order to enhance research abilities. It then offers advanced subjects to help acquire
highly professional knowledge in biodefense, mental health, public health nursing, health education and promotion, child-family
nursing, maternal nursing and midwifery, gerontological nursing, adult nursing, fundamental nursing, home healthcare nursing,
etc. In this way, the Master’s Thesis Course deepens students’ knowledge in general education and advanced subjects, andenhances students’ abilities to conduct research to contribute to developments in nursing science.
The Advanced Practice Course is designed to develop students’ highly professional knowledge and practical abilities requiredfor being a certified nurse specialist in cancer nursing and gerontolocial nursing. In the first year, it offers general education
subjects to help students acquire basic knowledge in nursing science and specialized knowledge in health science, explores
advanced practical problems, and enhances research abilities. It then offers subjects on cancer nursing and gerontological nursing
in which students acquire advanced knowledge and training enabling them to assist others and provide the best possible care. In
this way, the Advanced Practice Course aims to deepen students’ knowledge and skills in general education and advanced subjects
and enhance their abilities to provide high-standard nursing practice from the perspective of the developments in nursing to
improve patients’ and their families’ quality of life (QOL).
The Graduate School of Nursing Science at the Medical Related Research of Asahikawa Medical University attempts tosupport active learning in an effective learning environment.

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