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Atsuro Chonan, who received the Excellence Award in the "Platanus Grand Prize," a medical student essay contest sponsored by the Tokyo Medical Association, was honored atItabashi Campus

On Thursday, April 2, 2026, at Teikyo University Itabashi Campus, the Executive Director and Deputy President of the University Hiroko Okinaga presented an on-campus award to Atsuro Chonan (School of Medicine 6th year), winner of the Excellence Award in the "Medical Student Essay Prize Platanus Grand Prize" sponsored by the Tokyo Medical Association, a public interest incorporated association. The award was established in FY2021 with the aim of communicating to society the image of doctors and medical care as envisioned by medical students, and to link the Tokyo Medical Association and medical students to new medical association activities while sharing the same ideals.

In her acceptance speech, Ms. Chonan reported on the awards ceremony held at the Tokyo Medical Association in March, and also spoke about what she learned during her community healthcare internship after submitting her paper. She said that she was particularly impressed by the advice she received from a medical office staff member at the hospital where she interned, who said, "It's important to have a perspective on healthcare management even while you're still a student." She reflected that this experience deepened her understanding of the perspective necessary for the sustainability of community healthcare.
In response, Executive Director and Vice President Okinaga praised Chonan, saying, "Ms. Chonan's paper makes clear recommendations for current regional healthcare, and her perspective on developing them into education is wonderful. Teikyo University and School of Medicine are extremely honored. We hope you will continue to hone your skills in the future."

The award-winning paper, "From Succession to Choice: Proposals for Educational Reform to Ensure the Sustainability of Regional Healthcare," was written with the recommendation of Associate Professor Osamu Yamazaki of the Department Internal Medicine School of Medicine Faculty of Medicine, and is published on the Tokyo Medical Association website. Coming from a family of practicing physicians, Ms. Chonan analyzes the conflicts surrounding clinic succession based on her own experiences and proposes ways to ensure the sustainability of regional healthcare from both educational reform and institutional design perspectives. Her work was highly praised for its insights based on real-world experiences, such as activities in T-MAC, an organization that deepens interaction between graduates and students of this university, and for transforming personal experiences into social issues.
We look forward to seeing even greater achievements from Ms. Chonan in the future.

The winning paper of the 2025 Tokyo Medical Association Medical Student Essay Contest, Platanus Grand Prize, can be found here.
A School of Medicine student received an Excellence Award in the "Platanus Grand Prize," a medical student essay contest organized by the Tokyo Medical Association.

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