Suggestion to Japanese Pediatric Surgeons Based on Questionnaire Analysis of Pediatric Surgical Clinics in University Hospitals in Japan

Abstract

An analytical questionnaire was conducted targeting 78 pediatric surgical units in university hospitals in Japan in order to clarify the present status and to elucidate problems in education, research and clinical practices. Answers to the questionnaire were obtained from 44 institutions. Among the 83 medical schools in Japan, only 29 have independent pediatric surgical departments. There are serious inter-institutional differences in staff number and annual surgical operation number, particularly in neonatal surgical cases. Most of the qualified pediatric surgical units in university hospitals had no more than 20 neonatal cases annually. For appropriate allocation of qualified pediatric surgeons and institutions, and for proper education of undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as resident pediatric surgeons, a novel common nationwide education and training system, not individual institution, should be constructed and introduced. The Japanese Society for Pediatric Surgeons should take the initiative for the construction and proper introduction of such a system.