Effectiveness of Faculty Development Workshop for Clinical Education at the University of the Ryukyus / 医学教育

　Faculty development （FD） programs have been held all over Japan since the change to the postgraduate clinical training system in 2004. The programs, however, have not been well evaluated in Japan. The objective of our study was to elucidate the effectiveness of 2-day FD workshops at the University of the Ryukyus. We conducted a survey and test about clinical education involving 172 physicians of the University of the Ryukyus from October 2006 to March 2007. Of the total, 42 of them had participated in our FD workshop between 2003 and 2006, and 130 of them had not participated in it. The average follow-up period of the participant group was 24 months after workshops. The participant group （n＝42） had more knowledge of curriculum design and development, giving feedback, and educational techniques than the non-participants （n＝130）. The participant group also had a more enthusiastic attitude than the nonparticipants.<br>　Our study suggests that the 2-day FD workshops at the University of the Ryukyus could be effective for nurturing knowledge and attitudes toward clinical education, but may have a limited effect on changes in practice and networking among physician instructors.

The reform of faculty development workshop at Kobe University Hospital: To be more independent and proactive / 医学教育

Introduction: Kobe University Hospital’s faculty development workshop was unattractive, and people attended it passively.<br>Methods: We attempted to improve the workshop so that faculty would want to attend it independently and proactively. In this report we summarize the changes in the workshop and report the results of questionnaires administered before （2008） and after （2012） the change.<br>Results: Overall contents of the faculty development workshop became more open, and such practices as the Kawakita Jiro method stopped being used. Overall scores for participant satisfaction improved significantly from 2008 to 2012, but the duration of the workshop did not change significantly.<br>Discussion: We improved the quality of the faculty development workshop and increased participant satisfaction. We should continue to improve the workshop through proper assessment.