Integrated lecture programs for high school students involving university teaching staff have recently become popular. Here, we report on such a program involving lectures on tumor pathology attended by 110 high school students at the Yokohama City University School of Medicine. Two weeks before the lectures at our university, the students were given a 45-minute introductory lecture by a teacher at their school. The 1-day course at our university comprised an overview lecture by the author (40 minutes), light-microscopic observation of histologic specimens of normal and tumor tissues (50 minutes), and a summary with an introduction to diagnostic pathology (20 minutes). During light-microscopic observation, medical students served as teaching assistants. The high school students were given handouts of microscopic

Since the publication of To Err is Human in 1999, medical schools around the worldhave been discussing ways to teach medical students about patient safety. To deepen the understanding of patient-safety curriculums used in the United States, Dr. Matthew Weinger, director of the San Diego Center for Patient Safety and a professor at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine (UCSD), was invited to participate in around-table discussion on “Patient Safety Curriculum for Medical Students” held at Yokohama City University. Althoughthere have been active discussions in journals and within medical school faculties, no discernable consensus has emerged in the United States, other than that patient safety should become part of the educational system. The patient-safety curriculum used at UCSD and the curriculums promoted by the Department of Veterans' Affairs National Center for Patient Safety are introduced.

In autumn 2005, a 15-hour patient-safety education program was incorporated into the core curriculum for fourth-year medical students at the Yokohama City University School of Medicine. Sixty students took part in the program. The goals of the curriculum are for students to understand the prevalence and origins of medical errors and to increase awareness of the physician's responsibility for patient safety. Because typical learning methods, such as didactic lectures, might not be effective, we developed an experimental or case-based learning method. Educational modalities included small-group discussion of medical errors, role-playing of medical error disclosure, and experience operating infusion pumps. In addition, to bridge the gap between educational systems and hospital systems, we collaborated with other healthcare workers, such as nurses and hospital pharmacists. Students evaluated the program favorably; most recommended continuing the curriculum for future medical student classes.

We have used two methods for education of pathology at the Yokohama City University School of Medicine: 1) clinicopathological conferences on autopsy cases and 2) journal club using “Case Records of the Massachusetts General Hospital” published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Both methods are extremely effective for stimulating students' enthusiasm for learning, improving presentation skills, and consolidating the minds of students as future medical staff members. Furthermore, journal club enhances the affinity for reading medical English.