Nationwide questionnaire study in "the Model Core Curriculum" and current status for the undergraduate education in neurology

To investigate the current state of education for undergraduates, the subcommittee of the Japanese Society of Neurology for undergraduate education sent a questionnaire on the 2001-version of Model Core Curriculum to the department of neurology in 80 medical universities and their 7 associate medical institutes throughout Japan. Answers were obtained from 56 out of those 87 institutes (64.4%). According to the answers, the Core Curriculum was introduced to the program of undergraduate education in 93% of those 56 universities. For the revision of neurology part in the current Core Curriculum, there are number of requests for improving the description on the neurological examination, list of common symptoms and disorders, and addition of therapeutics. Despite application of the Model Core Curriculum in medical education, the present study disclosed that there were considerable difference in the number and content of the lectures, and the duration of clinical clerkship in neurology ward. These differences of the curriculum and training program depends on not only the number of staffs, but also whether they are working as staffs in a department of neurology or as a small group of neurologists within a department other than neurology.