Accreditation Results (Accreditation Results for School of Dental Education) Nagasaki University, School of Dentistry
The purpose of Nagasaki University is to "contribute to local and global communities by developing deeply knowledgeable and highly skilled professionals with broad perspectives, creativity, and problem analysis skills through providing the highest quality of education with a focus on practical learning." To achieve this purpose, Nagasaki University School of Dentistry has defined its distinctive objective as "producing dentists with a strong sense of responsibility and social skills, and dental researchers with abundant creativity, sound judgement and acumen imparted through a liberal arts education, broad foundational knowledge required to build expertise, and advanced proficiency in dentistry." Influenced by its geographical location, the School works to produce dental professionals with the ability to take a community- based, holistic approach to dental and oral care, combined with advanced expertise and problem analysis skills. To achieve its goals, the School offers a unique curriculum comprised of liberal arts courses and specialized education courses that promote sequential and structured learning. The courses combine e-learning with small group instruction and incorporate active learning strategies, including Project Based Learning (PBL) and a clicker system. Some unique initiatives include practical training in dental care, community healthcare and nursing care on remote islands, and dental checkups and other community healthcare practices implemented as part of clinical practice and participation in care. Especially notable are the off-campus clinical experience training early in first-year that embodies the concepts of “planetary health” and “glocal”; the community education and practical training course taught by external instructors; and the practical training program in which students learn about medical care, healthcare, and nursing care on remote islands. It is commendable that the School’s activities ensure students develop communication skills required of medical practitioners while gaining on-site experience, and nurture their ability to take a holistic approach to dental and oral care in local communities. The School adopts a distinctive student selection method in its comprehensive selection process for student admissions. Applicants are required to attend two to three sessions of the School of Dentistry Seminar that covers topics related to dental and oral medicine, and dental and oral healthcare. The students are then given time to study the seminar topics on their own 1
and assessed on their understanding the day after. This is a commendable admissions method that opens up the opportunity for a diverse student body to study at the institution. It is also highly notable that the School’s faculty organization is achieving positive outcomes in the various research activities it undertakes guided by the mission "to help improve the quality of life and healthy life expectancy of people around the world through dentistry" and in line with Nagasaki University's research goal of “contributing to planetary health.” There are areas for improvement identified by the certified evaluation and accreditation, however. The specific duties and responsibilities of the dentists who instruct the patient care clinical practice course are not clearly defined. This situation should be improved by stipulating the roles and responsibilities of the instructors. Also, the number of cases the students are exposed to in the clinical practice course varies significantly from student to student, and a large portion of clinical practice is completed through simulated clinical practice. Efforts should be made to increase the opportunities for patient care clinical practice. Regarding student admissions, the ratio of student enrollment to the student enrollment cap is high. The School needs to better manage student enrollment, enlisting follow-up support from teachers responsible for each level and the student committee. To address the issues raised above, the School is advised to adopt the results of the certified evaluation and accreditation for schools of dentistry and continue its self-study efforts for improvement. Going forward, we expect the School to assure and enhance the quality of its dental education program (bachelor's program) and to further develop its unique characteristics.