Policies Graduate School of Medicine Master’s Course ■Division of Nursing Science

Philosophy of Education

The Division of Nursing aims at nurturing human resources who are capable of flexibly responding to changes in healthcare, welfare and society, based on respect for life and humankind. Specifically, its objectives are to foster high-caliber resources to take on scientific and practical problem-solving in pursuit of the enhancement of quality of life (QOL), and to carry out research that contributes to both the development of nursing science and human health from a global perspective.

Division of Nursing Three Policies

Diploma Policy (principles guiding graduation requirements)
We cultivate high-level professionals who will be engaged in a broad range of nursing practice and education in Japan and overseas, with an awareness of their social responsibilities, based on their educational objectives and high ethical values, while having advanced specialized knowledge and research ability concerning nursing science. The attainment criteria of ability and behavior to be acquired by master’s degree holders produced by the university following completion of this course are as follows:

1. Specialized Knowledge/Understanding
- To have the ability to understand, acquire and utilize high-level practical specialized knowledge and theory on nursing science, and to have perception predicated on extensive knowledge and expertise as high-level professionals.

2. Research/Application Abilities
- To have the ability to plan and implement research on nursing phenomenon based on logical and scientific thinking, as well as to present and discuss the results of such research.
- To be able to work for the development of nursing science through the creation and development of specialized knowledge/skills based on research and practice, towards the resolution of various issues related to human health.

3. Ethical Values/Social Responsibility
- To have the ability to select an action autonomously as a high-level professional, while having high ethical values as a nursing professional, thereby contributing to the realization of sound human lives.
- To be capable of giving well-grounded explanations for their own actions, while recognizing their social responsibility.

4. Global Perspective
‐To be capable of flexibly coping with changes in health, medicine and welfare as well as society from a global perspective.

Curriculum Policy(principles underlying the educational framework and experiential learning)
In order to cultivate human resources as described under the Diploma Policy, the curriculum of the Division of Medicine (Master’s Course) provides a curriculum covering ten specialty areas in three fields, consisting of Foundation Course (5 subjects, 10 credits or more) as a platform for specialized research, Advanced Study in Specialty Areas (3 subjects, 6 credits) which extends knowledge of the basic theory of nursing, and Thesis Seminar by Specialized Areas (1 subjects, 4 credits) to clarify a research topic and approach, and Special Research (10 credits). The division also offers an opportunity for an interim presentation to allow students to prepare a research plan based on multifaceted opinions. The completion requirements are; to obtain the above 30 or more credits, and following receiving the necessary research guidance, to pass the master’s thesis review and the final examination. The course subjects are taught based on varied teaching formats specified by the respective syllabus, while the thesis research projects are carried out by the chief and sub-research examiners, flexibly accommodating the theme and duration of research of individual students.
 
Each item under the Diploma Policy will be attained through the following systematic education.
1. Specialized Knowledge/Understanding
In the Foundation Course provided during the first and second academic years, students study nursing theory and learn to understand and acquire specialized knowledge concerning the nursing education method and management, while further deepening their insight concerning clinical science. Through each of the subsequently provided Advanced Study in Nursing, students further acquire the broader specialized knowledge required to assume an active role as nursing specialists.

2. Research/Application Abilities 
In Nursing Research of Methodology I and II (Foundation Course) during the first semester of the first academic year, students acquire basic skills in conducting specialized research. In Thesis Seminar by Specialized Areas during the second semester, they clarify their own research topic and approach and prepare a research plan. In order to prepare a research plan based on multifaceted opinions, students receive open guidance through of the interim oral presentation. They then conduct research for the topic on their specialty areas through Special Research under the guidance of more than one research supervisor, and then draw a certain conclusion to complete their master’s thesis, thereby developing their own abilities regarding research and application.

3. Ethical Values/Social Responsibility
In Nursing Ethics provided during the first semester of the first academic year, students acquire systematic knowledge with respect to the nursing ethics and ethical decision-making required by nursing professionals, in addition to the ethics involved in the accomplishment of research itself, such as research ethics, safety education, information literacy and intellectual property. Furthermore, in Nursing Management, they acquire the capability to contribute to the improvement of nursing practice quality, by understanding and being aware of their legal obligation and social responsibility as nursing professionals respectively.

4. Global Perspective
In Advanced International Nursing provided in the first semester of the first academic year, students learn the role of nursing concerning its education, practice, and medicine and welfare programs of overseas countries with different cultures. They acquire a flexible response capacity by learning to comprehend the current situation of worldwide nursing, healthcare, medical care and welfare systems from a global perspective. They also acquire skills to approach issues with a global view through reading literatures in English when appropriate in all provided course subjects.

The learning outcome of the above is assessed based on a rigorous evaluation method employing the five grade point average (GPA). In the case of the course subjects, it is evaluated basically on the level of students’ comprehension concerning their acquired knowledge and ability to explain, while in the case of thesis research projects, it is evaluated on an overall rating of their abilities to plan and implement research through the application of knowledge and special skills. The master’s thesis is evaluated for its acceptance by examiners (one chief examiner and two or more sub-examiners) appointed by the School of Medicine, in accordance with the thesis examination criteria stipulated by the school, following the rigorous thesis review and an open thesis presentation.

Admission Policy(principles underlying student admissions)
The Division of Nursing seeks enrollees who have the following academic achievements, abilities and qualities:

1. Knowledge/Skills/Understanding Abilities
Interdisciplinary knowledge, and practical skills and understanding required for restoration from health problems, or health maintenance and advancement, prevention of diseases, and provision of an environment contributing to health, not only for all people and their families at every stage of their development, but also including the community and society.

2. Thinking/Judging/Expressive Abilities
Expressive ability to explain various issues concerning nursing science based on their own logical thinking and judgment.

3. Research/Application Abilities
Basic skills and application ability including logical/critical thinking skills while examining nursing phenomena from diverse views, and the information collecting and communication abilities required for solving problems to carry out research on nursing science.

4. Inquisitive Mind/Motivation/Attitude
Ability to express their creatively questing minds, having a high aspiration, motivation and attitude towards learning and researching specialized knowledge concerning nursing science.

5. Ethical Values/Social Responsibility
Ability to articulate the social responsibility expected from those engaged in the nursing profession, having high ethical values and a rich sense of humanity, basing on the respect for human life and dignity on their conduct and judgement as nursing professionals.

6. Global Perspective
Command of foreign language(s) to understand domestic and overseas information on nursing science, and flexible ingenuity to enable them to compare global issues with local those.