A National Survey of Community-Based Medical Education in Japanese Medical Schools (second report) / 医学教育

Introduction: Recently, community-based medical education has become widespread in Japanese medical schools, but the current status is not clear on a national level. A second survey of community-based medical education at all Japanese medical schools was conducted. The first survey was done in 2011. Methods: Members of the Council made and distributed a questionnaire to medical schools in order to assess the situation of community-based medical education as of April 2014. Results: A total of eighty schools responded. The number of schools which had community medicine programs was seventy-eight. In the first survey, the number was seventy-three. Seventy-seven schools gave community-based clinical clerkships. Discussion: The number of medical schools that had curriculum about community medicine was more than indicated in the first survey. Further research about the contents or implementation system of community-based clerkships is needed.

Career-planning problems faced by medical students in medically underserved areas of Kagoshima Prefecture / 医学教育

  The admission quota for medical students has increased rapidly from 2007 to the present in Japan. Medical students of selective admission for medically underserved areas （Chiiki-Waku） account for most of the increase. Becoming a medical specialist had been reported to be one of the necessary conditions to obtain employment in a medically underserved area. For the last three years, early admissions have occurred in the medically underserved areas in Kagoshima. Consequently, the graduates will start senior doctor training next year. It is very important to provide these individuals with a career plan so that they can become medical specialists. We investigated the information on the medical specialist system and the work system for medical students of selective admission for medically underserved areas in Kagoshima. According to these findings, it is difficult for them to become medical specialists in the current systems. Because medical students of selective admission for medically underserved areas will account for about 20% of the graduates of medical schools a few years later, these problems apply to not only Kagoshima prefecture but also Japan. Because it is difficult to become a medical specialist, the current systems need to be improved. To do so, the cooperation of all interested parties is needed.