The Dean’s Welcome Message

Welcome to Okayama University Medical School

To all those who aspire to become “medical professionals” to lead the local and global healthcare by mastering the cutting edge of medicine at a traditional school.

Welcome to the homepage of the Okayama University Medical School. We consist of two main departments: one for training doctors and medical researchers, and another for training nurses, public health nurses, radiological technologists, and medical technologists. Our mission, guided by our medical diploma policy, is to develop ‘medical professionals’ who will lead and shape the future of healthcare and research in medicine and health sciences.

We have our origins in the Okayama Domain Medical School established by the Okayama Domain in April 1870 (Meiji 3). Over the past 150 years, the School has established a wide range of hospital partnerships in Japan, mainly in the Chugoku and Shikoku regions, but also in the western Kinki region. Many of our graduates are active locally and globally in various medical careers, supporting the local medical infrastructure and engaging in world-leading research and development in advanced medicine as “medical professionals”.

However, we are now faced with emerging global medical and health crises in which prevailing knowledge and experience do not seem to apply. In these unstable and uncertain times, it is necessary to contribute to the development of sustainable global medicine and healthcare, as well as to the promotion of welfare and health, by providing high-quality and safe medical care to many people suffering from serious illnesses and by breaking new ground in medical research. To this end, we believe it is of utmost important to “connect” the vast amount of practical and scientific knowledge accumulated at our university to the next generation with fresh perspectives and insights.

The unique characteristics and strengths of Okayama University Medical School and Okayama University Hospital in fostering “medical professionals” lies not only in the many enthusiastic medical specialists and researchers who serve as our faculty advisors, but also in our wide range of partnerships, which give students access to practical training early on in their studies, exposing them to real-life issues currently facing medical care in local regions. Our practical training programs include first-class bedside training in small groups and domestic and international medical research internships.

The Okayama University Medical School and Okayama University Hospital, which is involved in the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), has set forth the ideal of “a campus that continues to take on the challenge of becoming one of Japan’s leading international hubs for medical education and medical research. We are already paving the way for state-of-the art medical and healthcare in Japan as the only recognized base for creating innovative medical technology, as well as the only Clinical Research Core Hospital and Cancer Genome Medicine Core Hospital, in the Chugoku and Shikoku regions. We hope that you will knock on the door of Okayama University Medical School and open the door wide for the future of medicine with us.

Shinichi Toyooka, MD, PhD
Dean,  Okayama University Medical School