We had previously identified the mutant allele of apm1+ that encodes a homolog of the mammalian μ 1A subunit of the clathrin-associated adaptor protein-1 (AP-1) complex and demonstrated that the AP-1 complex plays a role in Golgi/endosome trafficking, secretion, and vacuole fusion in fission yeast. Here, we isolated a mutant allele of its4+/sip1+, which encodes a conserved AP-1 accessory protein. The its4-1/sip1-i4 mutants and apm1 -deletion cells exhibited similar phenotypes, including sensitivity to the calcineurin inhibitor FK506, Cl− and valproic acid as well as various defects in Golgi/endosomal trafficking and cytokinesis. Electron micrographs of sip1-i4 mutants revealed vacuole fragmentation and accumulation of abnormal Golgi-like structures and secretory vesicles. Overexpression of Apm1 suppressed defective membrane trafficking in sip1-i4 mutants. The Sip1-green fluorescent protein (GFP) co-localized with Apm1-mCherry at Golgi/endosomes, and Sip1 physically interacted with each subunit of the AP-1 complex. We found that Sip1 was a Golgi/endosomal protein and the sip1-i4 mutation affected AP-1 localization at Golgi/endosomes, thus indicating that Sip1 recruited the AP-1 complex to endosomal membranes by physically interacting with each subunit of this complex. Furthermore, Sip1 is required for the correct localization of Bgs1/Cps1, 1,3-β-D-glucan synthase to polarized growth sites. Consistently, the sip1-i4 mutants displayed a severe sensitivity to micafungin, a potent inhibitor of 1,3-β-D-glucan synthase. Taken together, our findings reveal a role for Sip1 in the regulation of Golgi/endosome trafficking in coordination with the AP-1 complex, and identified Bgs1, required for cell wall synthesis, as the new cargo of AP-1-dependent trafficking.

To produce well-qualified medical doctors, clinical training is a crucial part of medical education. To this end, teaching hospitals should be carefully selected and professionally managed. However, in Korea, there are no regulations or standards for training hospitals. Instead, some of the regulations that target teaching interns and residents are applied to teaching hospitals. In this study, we reviewed standards and regulations for training hospitals in other countries as a basis for proposing new standards for teaching hospitals in Korea. These new standards take into account the current environment of Korean medicine with the aim of designing appropriate educational programs for students and professional development systems for professors as well as providing educational resources and addressing the local community and international exchange opportunities.

Medical education departments or offices are established in response to public expectations relating to health care, societal trends towards increased accountability, educational developments, increased interest in what to teach and how to educate doctors. However, heavy workloads and mixed feelings towards medical education departments or offices by the other members of a medical school can threaten job satisfaction and increase burnout. The authors investigated the prevalence of burnout among medical education specialists and related issues. Individual in-depth interviews with four medical education specialists were conducted to develop a questionnaire. After content analysis of the interview, the authors generated a survey form with 28 items including 6 categories: motivation to choose medical education as a career, job satisfaction, intention to leave their current position in medical education, the frequency and causes of burnout, and demographics. In September 2013, an email survey was administered to 43 faculty including non-tenure staff who were working in the department/office of medical education in 41 medical colleges in Korea. Of 43 medical education specialists, 25 (60%) returned surveys. Forty three-point-three percent of them felt encouraged when their endeavors generated a visible educational improvement in the medical school. A majority (87%) reported feeling burned out. Fifty percent of them experienced the feeling once or twice a year. The extent of burnout tended to be greater in women, those in their forties, those with non-medical doctor degrees, and in non-tenured staff. To reduce and prevent burnout among medical education specialists, the participants suggested that leadership of medical schools and a systematic approach to medical education should be established. A majority of the medical education specialists reported experiencing burnout, although they were satisfied with their jobs. To reduce their burnout and allow them to focus on their own work in medical education, the following factors are needed: perceptual changes of other members of the college about medical education; more systematic institutional strategies; networking among medical education specialists; and personal efforts for professional development.

Introduction: The patient-doctor relationship has evolved from early paternalism to a consumerism and partnership model that emphasizes cooperation. Patient-doctor relationships might vary with the socio-cultural environment, because the medical environment affects such relationships.Method: We investigated the patient-doctor relationship among medical students through concept mapping analysis. Twenty-six fourth-grade Korean medical students wrote a reflection journal and participated in the concept classification and the importance evaluation of the derived concept. ALSCAL multidimensional scaling and Ward hierarchical cluster analysis were performed. Also, the 5-point Likert scale was used to evaluate the importance of the concept.Results: Sixty-six statements about the patient-doctor relationship were extracted and grouped into six clusters. The x-axis is the dimension of “Information-Respect,” and the y-axis is “Changeability-Persistence.” Six patient-doctor concepts were derived and students evaluated “Patient-centered” as the most important.Conclusions: Medical students express various concepts of the patient-doctor relationship. Considering that they may encounter various medical conditions and patients, it is necessary that they understand deeply the complex patient-doctor relationship.

No abstract