Evaluation of medical students using the "qi, blood, and fluid" system of Kampo medicine.

Objective: Although "qi, blood, and fluid" (QBF) is the most important concept for patients in Kampo medicine, there are few studies about the conditions of the QBF system among healthy populations. We used QBF pattern scores to determine whether or not medical students, presumed to be healthy, had any potentially pathological conditions.

Methods: Six consecutive fourth-year classes totaling 652 medical students evaluated their own QBF conditions using Terasawa's QBF pattern scores.

Evaluation of Kampo education with a focus on the selected core concepts.

Objective: Japanese medical schools currently only offer students traditional Japanese Kampo medicine education for an extremely limited amount of time. The purpose of this study was to discover how to generate interest in and motivate learning Kampo medicine.

Methods: Kampo medical sessions, including a lecture series, written examinations, and small-group (12-14 students) EBL (experience-based learning) sessions, were provided for 4th-year medical students (N=117) at Tokai University School of Medicine.