Establishment and current status of patient community at Tokyo Dental College.

The "Dental students training to address the needs of each individual patient: enhancement of ability to make a comprehensive diagnosis and treatment plans with high ethical standards and good communication skills", project launched at Tokyo Dental College was adopted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology as part of its "Program for Promoting University Education and Student Support, Theme A: Program for Promoting University Education Reform" in 2009. One of the main goals of this subject is "the establishment of Patient Community". Patient Community members allowed students to gain a more realistic experience of clinical practice than simulated patients. The Patient Community consists of patients and members of the parents' association who have agreed to cooperate for the advancement of dental education, becoming involved in dental student education through Communication Studies, which are held for first- to fourth-year students. Patient Community members were recruited at the open lectures (15 times, between July 10, 2010 and November 30, 2011). The Patient Community comprised 24 members, including 8 men and 16 women by November 30, 2011. The cumulative number of attendees in Communication Studies (I-IV, 6 times) was 35, including 13 men and 22 women. Fourteen people applied for admission on the day of the open lecture. Seven people signed up between 1 and 7 days after the open lecture. On the other hand, only 3 people applied within 8 to 9 days after the open lecture. However, interestingly, the ratio of the attendance for Communication Studies by Patient Community members who applied 8 to 9 days after the open lecture was higher than that of members who applied for admission on the day of the open lecture. Since the number of Patient Community members is insufficient for the purposes of the Patient Community, it is necessary to think about how recruitment methods can be made more effective and how such open lectures should be conducted in future.