The Recognition by Medical Students for General Medicine and Japanese Oriental (Kampo) Medicine / 日本東洋医学雑誌

ABSTRACT

We assessed the understanding of Japanese Oriental Medicine, as well as the connection between General Medicine and Japanese Oriental Medicine, among medical students, to improve the effectiveness of clinical practice and lectures. The questionnaires were sent to fifth-year medical students (n=66), and the responses were collected anonymously. Although 22.4% of the responding students were “very” interested in Japanese Oriental Medicine and 68.7% were “slightly” interested, the students who understood Japanese Oriental Medicine even “slightly”comprised only 23.9%. The majority of students considered that the system of Japanese Oriental Medicine was most useful in combination with Western Medicine for practicing General Medicine. Nine (60%) of 15 students who understood Japanese Oriental Medicine considered that the system of Japanese Oriental Medicine was most useful for practicing general medicine. In contrast, among students who did not understand Japanese Oriental Medicine, only 8 of 42 (19%) showed the same response. Similarly, more of the students who understood General Medicine showed this response than students who did not understand General Medicine.<br>These results permit us to speculate that medical students consider that understanding both General Medicine and Japanese Oriental Medicine might contribute to the development of a medical service.