Speaker
Description
Over the past two decades, Japanese medical education has undergone substantial reform through the introduction of the Model Core Curriculum, the Common Achievement Test, and accreditation based on international standards. These developments have strengthened quality assurance and promoted greater alignment with global trends in medical education. At the same time, globalization has increased expectations for medical graduates to participate in international academic communities and collaborate with people from diverse cultural and professional backgrounds.
Within this context, English for Medical Purposes (EMP) has played an important role in medical education. However, the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence is transforming the landscape of language learning and communication. As AI increasingly supports translation, writing, and information access, it is timely to reconsider the role of medical English education in contemporary medical training.
This presentation reviews recent developments in Japanese medical education and reflects on the author's experiences in international medical education communities, including AMEE and APMEC. Drawing on these experiences, the presentation explores the role of medical English education within broader efforts toward internationalization in medical education. It also considers approaches to internationalization and English education adopted in different countries and educational contexts.
Building on discussions surrounding the Model Core Curriculum and the activities of the Japan Society for Medical Education, the presentation examines the kinds of international communication competencies expected of future physicians. Rather than viewing English solely as a linguistic skill, it proposes understanding it as a means of participating in international scholarly communities, engaging with diverse perspectives, and contributing Japanese medicine and medical education to global conversations.
The presentation concludes by considering how medical English education can support the next generation of physicians in an era where AI is reshaping communication, knowledge access, and professional practice, while creating new opportunities for Japan to engage more actively with the global medical education community.
Speaker Biography
Professor Hiroshi Nishigori graduated from Nagoya University School of Medicine in 1998. He became a Fellow of the Japanese Society of Internal Medicine in 2004 and was certified as a Diplomate of the Japan Primary Care Association in 2011.
He obtained a Master's Degree in Medical Education from the University of Dundee in 2008 and completed his PhD in Health Professions Education at Maastricht University in 2020.
His scholarly work focuses on medical professionalism (Bushido and Yarigai), culture in medical education, Hypothesis-Driven Physical Examination (HDPE), and the teaching and assessment of behavioural and social sciences.
He is Professor of Medical Education at Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine and currently serves as President of the Japan Society for Medical Education. He is also a founding member of the Asian Pacific Medical Education Network (APME-Net), a Fellow of the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE), and a Fellow of the Karolinska Institutet Prize for Research in Medical Education (KIPRIME) in 2025.