Curriculum

Our educational goals are “cultivate a spirit of respect for life and humanity, foster the ability to make judgements in nursing, and develop problem-solving skills and practice capabilities” and “cultivate individuals who contribute to the creation of nursing practices, advances in healthcare and welfare, bring about the systemization of nursing science and contribute to the development of nursing as a practical discipline through mutual exchange with other academic fields.” Thus, we aim to nurture leaders in nursing who embody a spirit of respect for life and humanity, combined with good judgement, problem-solving skills and capabilities in practice.

Leveraging the advantages of a comprehensive university, students can take courses from other faculties in line with their interests. They can take courses provided by the Faculty of Policy Management and the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies at Shonan Fujisawa Campus. This will allow students to enhance their learning and broaden their perspectives through study with students in other disciplines, where students will be a source of stimulation for each other.

This joint education program that we provide involves the School of Medicine, Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care and Faculty of Pharmacy. It helps enhance mutual exchange among students in the School of Medicine and two faculties, enabling them to develop as professionals capable of adopting a patient-centered group approach in future medical care.

In Japan, given that the population is aging and birth rates are declining, many courses focus on preventing the need for long-term care and learning the role of nursing professionals in home care and long-term care services. This is achieved through cooperation with local residents and healthcare professionals, along with the use of cutting-edge technology, to extend people’s healthy life expectancy and support them in living in familiar surroundings with peace of mind despite illness or disability. In addition, students study English primarily in the first year and the curriculum includes courses where students go abroad to learn about systems and healthcare in other countries as well as courses that bring nursing students from Asia, the United States and the United Kingdom to Japan. These courses foster a global perspective on people’s health issues and strategies for addressing them. This provides a good balance between local and global healthcare in learning.

The Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care offers a Public Health Nurse Course and an Obstetric Nurse Course for students who wish to pursue careers in specific specialized fields such as community health, occupational health and obstetrics in addition to gaining a nursing qualification. Both are selective courses taken starting from the fourth year, but applicants must have completed the courses’ required subjects and earned the necessary credits in the preceding academic years.

In the Public Health Nurse Course, you will gain the knowledge and practical skills required for a wide variety of fields - including community health, public health, health policy and occupational health. Through home visits, community fieldwork and understanding workplace health management, students will develop perspectives and practical skills needed for working in government, private corporations and schools. On completion, you will be eligible to take the National Public Health Nursing Examination. Additionally, if you have completed the required credits, you may apply for a Second-class School Nurse License after graduation.

By means of lectures, seminars and practical training, the Midwifery Course teaches specialized obstetric care to support women during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period, as well as their families. Through clinical training at hospitals and obstetric clinics, students acquire the judgment and obstetric care skills necessary for practice. On completion, they will be eligible to take the National Midwifery Examination (In accordance with the system, only women are eligible.).

Building on a foundation in nursing fundamentals, both courses provide paths for enhancing expertise and expanding learning into areas that students wish to prioritize.

Project courses are inquiry-based courses offered in the fourth year, where students bring together what they have learned previously while immersing themselves in self-selected projects. Students select project themes based on their interests from a wide range of fields - including health, medical care, welfare, regional studies, international health and ICT applications. They then conduct independent research in small groups, progressing from literature reviews, field investigations and data analysis to presentations. We place great importance on nurturing the ability to formulate questions, consider them carefully and summarize findings, while receiving attentive support from faculty members. The “Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care Student Project Excellence Award” has been established to recognize students who have achieved outstanding results. This course broadens students’ perspectives and enhances their practical skills as nursing professionals through the process of inquiry.

Students will enhance their self-expression skills and communication abilities as well as skills in using information.

As the foundation for their nursing studies, students gain an understanding of people, since they are the target of nursing, and acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for nursing care. Through each practical course, students gain knowledge of people’s diverse lifestyles and ways of living, as well as the actual situations of the various forms of medical care, public health and welfare. This serves to enhance their interest in the social role nursing should fulfill.

Students will acquire the specialist knowledge needed to understand people with illnesses as well as care techniques that support their healing and recovery. Integrating what they have learned in the first and second years, students will acquire the fundamental competencies required for nursing practice through seminars (case studies, technical seminars) and clinical practice.

Students will engage in learning to increase their specialization in accordance with their chosen course. We aim to cultivate nursing professionals with a broad perspective, taking collaboration in medical care into consideration. It will be a year for students enrolled in the Public Health Nurse and Obstetric Nurse Courses to develop their specialist knowledge. Linking learning to practice, we develop students’ ability to take the first step in their career after graduation.