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

ABSTRACT

  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.