Background: A nonprofit organization―the Supporting Center for Clinical Research and Education—has outsourced medical education to the Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine. The main targets of this education are researchers and developers in pharmaceutical and medical-equipment companies.
Method: Since 2004, the Supporting Center for Clinical Research and Education has provided short, intensive seminars on 25 subjects to 214 company employees. The key components of the seminars are lectures, practice, case conferences, interviews with patients, and comprehensive discussions.
Results: After each seminar was completed, it was evaluated with questionnaires filled out by participants. Participants expressed high levels of satisfaction with all components of the seminars, with interviews with patients being the most highly rated.
Conclusions: Medical educational activities for company employees have increased in recent years. These seminars are intended to provide short, intensive, small-group instruction to researchers and developers in pharmaceutical and medical-equipment companies with a goal of patient-centered medical practice based on a proper understanding of the actual condition of patients.

Background: Osaka University has introduced a new oral examination that evaluates comprehensive clinical competency. The purpose of this study was to clarify the characteristics of this examination.
Method: We compared the scores of this examination with those of other aßeßments: basic medicine, clinical medicine, computer–based testing （CBT）, objective structured clinical examination （OSCE）, and clinical clerkships.
Results: The Pearson correlation coefficient between this examination and other examinations was relatively low: basic medicine, 0.32; clinical medicine, 0.36; CBT, 0.44; OSCE, 0.39; and clinical clerkships, 0.24. Principal component analysis revealed that this examination could be grouped with OSCE and clinical clerkships, whereas basic medicine, clinical medicine and CBT could be grouped.
Conclusions: This new oral examination evaluates aspects of the examinees distinct from aspects evaluated by other examinations and could be an indicator of ability to solve clinical problems.

To evaluate a 30-year-old system of graduate entry at Osaka University Medical School, we analyzed the personal profiles and career choices of entrants already holding university degrees. At total of 405 such students have been admitted. Although the number of applicants with degrees decreased during the “bubble period” of asset-inflated economic expansion, it increased after the collapse of the bubble. Ninety-eight percent of graduate entrants were male, and at the time of entrance 82% of entrants were younger than 30 years, with a peak age distribution between 24 and 26 years. Ninety-six percent of entrants were graduates of a national university. Academic degrees held by the graduate entrants were bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees in 57%, 36%, and 7%, respectively. Eighty-four percent of entrants had taken science courses before being admitted to our school. After graduation, research in basic medical science was more likely to be chosen as a career by students entering with university degrees than by students entering directly from high school. Although many graduates now hold supervisory positions, such as professor and hospital director, graduate entrants were more likely to enter family medicine than were students entering directly from high school. More than 20 years after graduation, 14% of graduate entrants were working at a university and 44% at a hospital. Furthermore, 9.6% of graduate entrants were professors, 7% were hospital directors, and 27% were family practitioners. These results indicate that our graduate entry system has admitted talented people with a clear purpose in life who received advanced scientific education and has produced a large number of graduates who have assumed leadership positions.

Background: In 2011, Osaka University abolished the paper–based final examination at the end of 6th year of medical school and introduced a new examination that evaluates comprehensive clinical competency after clinical training.
Method: For this examination, sequential scenarios were developed that demonstrate the process of problem solving in patient care. The examiners administered an oral test to students using the scenarios in the same manner as ward rounds and evaluated the clinical competency of students according to their attitudes, knowledge, and thinking.
Results: The examination was administered smoothly. Eighty–nine percent of examiners and 59% of students affirmed the significance of the examination in a questionnaire.
Discussion: Our reform of the final examination was met with acceptance, especially by examiners. To assess clinical competency more accurately, our next goal is to integrate performance–based assessment into the sequential scenarios..