Teamwork is increasingly important for high-quality patient care, and education in multiprofessional or interdisciplinary teamwork has recently been proposed as an essential subject in the core curriculum of Japanese medical schools. We developed a course in teamwork in which medical students devised diagnostic, therapeutic, and support programs from a written patient scenario with the help of a multiprofessional staff, including subspecialty physicians and surgeons, nurses, a counselor, a social worker, and a dietician. The course promoted understanding of mutual roles and the ideal relationship between physicians and comedical staff. Active discussion is necessary for understanding interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teamwork.

The recent urbanization of rural communities and the associated changes of the living environments influenced the health conditions of children in rural districts of Shimane Prefecture, Japan. It obliged therefore to review the usual school health approach and to evaluate the care system to new trends of critical health problems of children.
A questionnaire was sent to school nurses asking their worries and problems about each step of the scientific school health procedure to recognize the health needs, to analyse the health problems, to plan the appropriate counterplans, to practice and to evaluate.
As a result of our investigations, the following remedies were necessary for the development of rural school health activities.
Firstly, the specialization of school nurses should be established without delay, and their working conditions should be more improved.
Secondary, school nurses should strengthen the contacts with teachers, parents and other school staffs to organize the developed school health system.
Finally, school nurses should make their efforts to delop the community-based school health care which connected the comprehensive community health care.