Department of Emergency Medical Science

The Department of Emergency Medical Science trains its students using a curriculum that integrates lectures in basic and clinical medicine, lecture and demonstrative courses in emergency and disaster medicine, on-site practicums involving ride-along training in ambulances at several fire departments in the Kanto region, and training at famous specified clinical hospitals, etc. along with academic dissertation research instructions, which are all designed to maximize the students’ chance of passing their national examinations, and to develop them into healthcare professionals that possess excellent theoretical capacity and sensibility and are able to thrive professionally in various fields.

Ride-along practicum in ambulances at fire stations in various parts of Japan

While many schools that provide training to become emergency life-saving technicians have been cancelling their practicums at hospitals and fire stations due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, NSSU’s Department of Emergency Medical Science has been conducting its practicums as it normally does, based on its belief that such time as this presents a crucial opportunity where the students should learn about health professionals’ work by observing them in action. Ride-Along Practicum in Ambulances II is one of the courses offered for this very purpose. The Department’s curriculum includes several on-campus practicums that employ state-of-the-art science and technology to hold IT-powered remote review sessions and learning modules using VR-enabled study materials, through which the students learn the entire flow of emergency medical activities, from the time the initial emergency call is placed to the 119 hotline until the patient is safely admitted to the hospital. The students then move onto the ride-along practicum in ambulances at fire stations in various parts of Japan, to which NSSU has reliable ties. Through such rare and valuable experience, the students develop their tried-and-true crisis management capability.

The profession of emergency life-saving technicianhelps create a society where more female professionals flourish!

Currently, only 2% of all ambulance service crew members in Japan are female. As there is a fifty-fifty chance that any given patient waiting to be rescued at the scene of an accident is of either biological sex, it is expected that more females will enter the field of emergency medicine in the future. Ms. Mayumi Nakazawa—one of the instructors teaching this course—worked for the Tokyo Fire Department for 20 years and has a wealth of experience serving in the capacity of ambulance service captain and lieutenant. She is living proof that females are capable of executing all necessary tasks that occur in emergency medical services. The ratio of female students enrolled at the Department of Emergency Medical Science is roughly 20% at the moment. The team of instructors led by Ms. Nakazawa provides attentive support to all students, both male and female, until they become capable of executing their tasks effectively as emergency life-saving technicians, drawing from Mr. Nakazawa’s professional experience taught in the course.

Cadaver DissectionObservationPracticum

Learn the essential structure of the human body relevant in emergency medical services through this gross anatomy course.
The study of anatomy is a vital foundation based upon which one can learn specialized knowledge and technical skills required of a competent clinical health professional. The curriculum at the Department of Emergency Medical Science offers this macroscopic anatomy course involving multiple practicums such that the students can clearly understand the human body structure three-dimensionally, which is unheard of at other higher education institutions in Japan. The experience delivered through this course—the emotionality felt the moment the actual organs are held in one’s own hands, and the sense of gratefulness that arises for the individuals that left the cadavers for the study—is sure to evoke a sense of sublime spirituality in each student participating student and leads to its internal growth. In Anatomy III, an instructor that is one of the luminaries in the field of gross anatomy is invited to give lectures.

Disaster Medicine

Leading experts in disaster medicine in Japan are invited to teach the latest knowledge in the field.
After allthedisaster medicine courses covering natural disasters, human-induced disasters, and special disasters have been held, prominent domestic and international experts as well as leaders playing an instructional role in Japan’s disaster medical assistance team (DMAT) are invited to speak in this course, sharing their experience of providing instructions at various disaster sites around the world. This unique yet practical lecture series is one of the course highlights, which certainly gives the motivational drive that the students need to become competent emergency life-saving technicians themselves!

Hospital practicum

NSSU is the first higher education institution in Japan with an emergency life-saving practitioner training program that has implemented this unique hospital practicum protocol that is not only designed to enhance the educational impact of hospital practicums but also pay attention to and care for the participating students’ mental aspect. Based on this protocol, the practicums in the second year are held at initial-level and second-level emergency hospitals, while the practicums in the third year are held at third-level emergency hospitals (emergency life-saving centers).

Comprehensive cooperation agreement between NSSU and the Japan Coast Guard

On November 30, 2020, NSSU has signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement with the Japan Coast Guard’s 3rd Regional Coast Guard Headquarters. This arrangement will afford valuable opportunities for the students to obtain insights into emergency medical rescue activities in maritime disasters, in addition to those conducted by the fire departments.