Where do we start? The first survey of surgical residency education in Japan

Abstract

Background: Currently, Japan does not have a national standardized program for surgical residency. Therefore, surgical education information and strategies are not shared among teaching hospitals. This was the first study aiming to clarify the current situation of surgical residency in Japan. Methods:A questionnaire survey investigating the present situation of surgical residency was sent to the 76 teaching hospitals in Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. Results:The response rate was 64.5%. Data from the 36 hospitals with active residency programs were analyzed. Most of the program directors (79.4%) were in charge of educational work for less than 5 hours per week. While half of the hospitals had skills laboratories or simulation centers, only two used them routinely for their residency program. Half of the hospitals evaluated the residents' competency and the quality of their educational programs. this system is that information and surgical education strategies are not being shared among teaching hospitals. The purpose of this study was to conduct the first survey aiming to clarify the current situation of surgical residency and the problems related to surgical education in Japan. Conclusions Methods Survey developmentThe questionnaire items were created after three roundtable discussions among the authors, each of whom were senior staff surgeons and in charge of teaching medical students and surgical residents at Hokkaido University Hospital. (Table 1). SubjectsThe questionnaires were sent by mail to the persons responsible for the surgical residency programs at the 76 teaching hospitals with university-based or community-based programs in Hokkaido prefecture. Hokkaido prefecture is the northernmost island in Japan, with a population of 5.4 million and the area of 32,210 square mile. The subjects of the residency programs of these 76 hospitals included general surgery, gastroenterological surgery, thoracic surgery and cardiovascular surgery, and each hospital had capacity for one to five postgraduate year (PGY) surgical residents.

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