Japan introduced a mandatory
residency program in 2004.
Teaching hospitals are now responsible for improving
patient safety and the overall
teaching environment.
Questionnaires were sent to
teaching hospitals in Kyushu to evaluate residents'
work environments and to ask them about improving
patient safety.
Questionnaires asked about the
work environment, experience with
medical errors and adverse events,
self-reported
work conditions, personal
anxiety levels about
medical errors, and personal
suggestions for decreasing
medical errors. One hundred eight
questionnaires were mailed, and 76 (70.3%) were returned complete and were analyzed. Most residents in
Japan work long hours, feel extremely busy, and are anxious about
medical errors; many of them reported personal involvement in
medical errors or adverse events. Their
suggestions to improve
patient safety included improvement of the
work environment, establishment of a resident support system, and better
organization of medical charts and
equipment. Considering residents' viewpoints for
patient safety is important to help reduce errors in
teaching hospitals.