Why Kampo? Why Now? Why Me? / 日本東洋医学雑誌

The world has now rediscovered the value of traditional medicine. Much traditional medicine in South-East Asian countries originated from the medicines of ancient China, and developed independently within those individual countries. As a measure toward information exchange and communication among these countries, the World Health Organization's Western Pacific Regional Office (WHO-WPRO) has published its International Standard Terminologies (IST) for use globally. While domestically in Japan, Kampo is now taught as a regular subject in all medical schools. In this light, there is significant meaning to holding conference with the purpose of understanding the current status of Japanese Kampo around the world, and considering the best ways to disseminate Kampo information globally. The International Conference of Kampo Medicine (provisional title) has been held thus far a total of three times, to address the current status of Japanese Kampo, Japanese Kampo issues from global point of view, as well as the current status of traditional medicine in China and Korea also originating from the ancient Chinese medicine. The conference was entitled &lsquoWhy Kampo? Why Now? Why Me?—The reason why foreign medical doctors worldwide choose Japanese Kampo, and the situation or development of Kampo medicine in their own countries”, in which foreign doctors in Japan, medical students, and leading Kampo medical practitioners were invited to give lectures, which were followed by free discussions by all participants.

Education about kampo medicine at Keio University Medical School / 医学教育

1) For third-year students at Keio University Medical School, 10 lectures are given about why <I>kampo</I> medicine is effective, Fourth-year students receive 8 lectures on <I>kampo</I> medicine and participate in independent study sessions 3 times a week for 4 months.<BR>2) In lectures entitled “Why Is <I>kampo</I> Medicine Effective?”we introduce the functional mechanism of action of <I>kampo</I> medicine and address the skepticism of medical students. In the lecture series entitled “Kampo Medicine, ”we introduce the clinical foundations of <I>kampo</I> practice and provide students with a checklist of the key points of each lecture.<BR>3) In the independent study sessions, several students perform mentored basic-science research into <I>kampo's</I> mechanism of action.

Teaching about Kampo Medicine in Foreign Countries Via a Web-based Virtual Class / 医学教育

1) Although many people all over the world are aware of traditional Chinese medicine, <I>kampo</I> medicine is not as well known. <I>Kampo</I>, traditional Japanese herbal medicine, is an integral part of medical practice in Japan and deserves greater attention. 2) In response to increasing interest in <I>kampo</I> we have created a web-based virtual class as a reliable source for information about <I>kampo</I> medicine. This virtual class incorporates the latest data on <I>kampo</I> and numerous features to pro- mote a basic understanding of <I>kampo</I>. 3) Through this website and virtual class for health professionals, knowledge of the reliability, usefulness, and safety of <I>kampo</I> will be shared with the world.