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- Education and Research
April 2, 2026
A medical student from Itabashi CampusSchool of Medicine an Excellence Award in the "Platanus Grand Prize," a medical student essay contest organized by the Tokyo Medical Association.
On Tuesday, March 24, 2026, the awards ceremony for the "Platanus Grand Prize," a medical student essay contest hosted by the Tokyo Medical Association, was held, and Atsuro Chonan (5th year School of Medicine student) received the Excellence Award and was honored. This award was established in 2021 with the aim of creating medical students' ideas on "the image of a doctor and the way of medical care should be practiced," supporting medical students who will become doctors in the future, and fostering a shared understanding between medical students and the Tokyo Medical Association, leading to new activities for the medical association.
Ms. Chonan, who received this award, wrote a paper titled "From Mission to Choice: Proposals for Educational Reform to Sustainable Regional Healthcare," based on a recommendation from Associate Professor Osamu Yamazaki of the Department of Internal School of Medicine Faculty of Internal Medicine our university.
This award recognizes the high regard for the author's arguments, from the perspective of medical students, regarding the need to enhance lectures on community medicine in collaboration with local medical associations and medical institutions, given the current situation of worsening doctor shortages and the problem of clinic succession, as well as the necessity of combining medical education reform with support measures for clinic succession.
On the day of the award ceremony, Yumiko Okubo of the Department of Medical Education, School of Medicine Professor, who serves as a member of the Next Generation Doctors and Women Doctors Support Committee, also attended the ceremony. Ms. Chonan expressed her gratitude to the teachers and commented that it was a valuable experience for her as a medical student to face the challenges of community medicine. We look forward to seeing Ms. Chonan's further activities in the future.
