Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the yearly changes in scores of medical students’ written examinations in physiology and to find evidence in these scores for the lowering of academic performance levels of medical students in Japan after the number of medical students was increased.
Methods: With the scores of examinations in physiology from 2002 through 2012, the mean scores, standard deviations（SD）, the mean±SD, the numbers of students, the numbers of failing students, and the percentages of failing students were examined.
Results: The scores of examinations in physiology decreased significantly after the number of medical students was increased.
Conclusion: One cause of the lowering of academic performance levels of medical students in Japan is the increase in the number of medical students.

1) The need for Japanese medical students to learn medical English increases each year. However, recruiting native-English-speaking academic staff with medical knowledge to work in various regions of Japan, such as Wakayama prefecture, is extremely difficult.2) Wakayama Medical University is now testing a new method of medical English education for second-year students. The method involves the employment of a native (United States)-speaking teacher of general English, who also works at other universities, and the use of dynamic image software developed in the United States for patient education to explain diseases.3) This method may be effective for medical English education in regions where recruiting native English-speaking teaching staff with medical knowledge is difficult. In addition to learning medical English, students might also enhance their knowledge of a broad range of diseases.

1) In addition to developing medical knowledge and skills, medical education should include training in the understanding and compassionate consideration of patients' feelings, such as anxiety.2) Fifth-year medical students at Wakayama Medical University engaged in role-play on medical care issues they raise themselves before being involved in clinical practice. This role-play has been incorporated in the curriculum to promote compassionate care.3) By performing all of the processes up to the presentation themselves, the students can enhance their knowledge of the topics. Thus, role-play on medical care issues is an effective means for understanding the importance of compassionate care and team communication.

1) As part of a training program for compassionate care and community-based medicine, Wakayama Medical University began experiential training for first-year students at local welfare facilities for the elderly in 2006.2) Students were divided into groups of 2 or 3 and sent to welfare facilities for the elderly throughout Wakayama prefecture for 5 days of "on-the-job" training. After the training period, the students completed a questionnaire survey. Survey results from 2006 and 2007 were compared.3) The surveys showed that many students considered the training to be valuable because they could start communicating with the elderly residents of the facility by around the middle of the training period. On the basis of this result, we concluded that the 5 consecutive days of the program enhance the effectiveness of training.

1) The Department of Tourism Medicine was established at Wakayama Medical University in 2006. "Health tourism," a project of the department combining sightseeing with health care, has involved patients with a variety of diseases.
2) As a part of training to promote the compassionate care of patients, students participated in an overnight tour for patients with Parkinson's disease and kept the patients company all the time with various types of assistance.
3) The students could understand the daily condition of patients with Parkinson's disease, which they could not do in the hospital, and had favorable relations with the patients' families. This experiential practice was an effective means for promoting the compassionate care of patients.

　To encourage the broad use of simulation-based medical education and establish partnerships to promote objective structured clinical examinations after clinical clerkship among medical teachers, we hosted the first team-based clinical skills competition event for medical students in Japan, named ‘Medical Students' Simlympic Games 2014'. Thirty-six (12 teams of three) open-recruited 5th or 6th grade medical students participated in this event. Student teams performed clinical tasks at 6 stations, which actively utilized the strengths of simulators or simulated patients. Contents, composition, difficulty level, and validity were tested by trainee doctors and examined by committee members in advance. In this report, we describe our concept, executive committee formation, a variety of arrangements, the outline on the day of the event, and the results of a questionnaire targeting participants. (126 words)

Introduction: Compared with faculties in clinical and medical research departments, those in medical departments are not appropriately evaluated in terms of their contributions to or achievements in medical education. Therefore, the aims of this study were to investigate the contributions of medical department faculties to medical education, and to examine differences in contributions according to duty positions and specialties.

Methods: Five-grade self-assessments in relation to 20 items on a rating form for performance in medical education, which was developed by the Japan Society for Medical Education's Committee for Performance Evaluation, were carried out by medical department faculties in Japanese universities. The data were then totalized and analyzed.

Results and Discussion: Although faculties belonging to departments other than medical education units did not actively participate in examinations or the education system, they still made contributions to lectures and practice. In addition, faculties with positions with more duties tended to show greater participation in the education system.

Conclusion: Based on these findings, we recommend the use of a rating form as a standard scale to evaluate performance in medical education.

　The education program in all medical schools in Japan has been studied and analyzed every 2 years since 1974 by the curriculum committee of the Association of Japan Medical Colleges. Based on the most recent analysis in 2015, the marked innovation of medical education, such as an integrated curriculum, active learning, and clinical clerkship, was recognized.