Purpose: This study examined the relationship between achievement goals and work values, and the influence of work values on achievement goals.

Methods: The subjects were 538 students from four Physical Therapist Vocational Schools. Achievement goals and work values were measured with a questionnaire survey, and Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis were performed.

Results: There was a positive significant correlation between achievement goals and work values. Mastery goals were positively influenced by self-worth and social evaluation, and negatively influenced by the comfortable working environments. Performance approach goals and performance avoidance goals were positively influenced by social evaluation and comfortable working environments, and negatively influenced by self-worth and independence from the organization.

Conclusion: Achievement goals and work values were related, and work values were suggested to influence achievement goals.

Objective: Perceptions of citizens and health professions educators towards the socioeconomic backgrounds of medical students were investigated to elucidate the challenges of selecting medical students who will be responsible for the future of healthcare in Japan.

Methods: Ten focus groups, comprising 14 citizens and 26 health professions educators, were conducted regarding the presented information on the socioeconomic backgrounds of Japanese medical students. Data were analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis approach.

Results: Six themes related to family backgrounds, such as higher economic status, five themes related to social backgrounds, such as social and educational disparity, and four themes related to expectations for medical education, such as selection of medical students with diverse backgrounds were extracted.

Discussion: Both citizens and health professions educators were aware of the problem of the skewed socioeconomic backgrounds of medical students and the need to expand diversity. This finding will contribute to the reconsideration of future medical school admission criteria.

　The purpose of this study was to identify keywords medical educators should learn for their teaching and support. An anonymous web-based survey was conducted with 92 university faculty members and clinical supervisors. The participants were asked about their awareness and need for the 14 items related to support for students with disabilities. The items with below-average awareness and above-average need were “reasonable accommodation,” “educational considerations,” “self-understanding,” “support methods in clinical practice,” and “privacy and confidentiality” . Based on the results of this study, it is desirable to create video materials that can be studied on demand to promote understanding and awareness. This would contribute to the improvement of the qualities and skills of those who support learning and to the development of the standard of medical education.

　Since 2013, Nakatsugawa City has been holding a medical/nursing care work experience event called “Medical Kids,” aimed primarily at sixth-grade elementary school students to develop an interest in medical and nursing care and aspire to become medical/nursing care workers in the future. We investigated the current career paths of participants in this event 7 to 9 years after the event, and evaluated the impact of the event on their intentions to work in the medical and nursing care professions.

　A questionnaire survey was conducted in 2022 asking 43 participants of the event from 2013 to 2015 about their current career paths. The response rate was 81.4%, with 40% employed or pursuing higher education in the medical/nursing care field, and 64% of them stated that participating in the event was an opportunity for them to choose a career path. It turned out that this event was an opportunity for them to choose a future medical or nursing career.

　As a clinical training partner medical institution of Tokyo Medical and Dental University, our hospital accepts several residents each year and conducts regional medical training centered on home medical care. Each resident will be in charge of at least one terminally ill cancer patient and will practice end-of-life care and palliative care. Recently, the usefulness of Advance Care Planning (ACP) as part of end-of-life decision-making support has been emphasized. It is required to be included in initial training, but it is not necessarily well-recognized by doctors and is not fully practiced. This time, the author practiced ACP with residents and examined its significance and problems. Furthermore, based on educational theory, ACP training was thought to contribute not only to helping residents acquire communication skills with patients but also to motivating them to learn about patient-centered medical care.

　The United States population is growing, along with 40% of active physicians approaching 65 years of age, creating a significant physician shortage which is predicted to be a gap of nearly 124,000 physicians by 2034. Additionally, although over half the graduating medical school classes are now female, women physicians are working part-time or considering going part-time at drastic rates (representing 3/4ths of women physicians by 6 years immediately following training). There have been great strides in women's rights in the workplace and in acceptance rates into the medical field; however, these steps forward have been stifled by the lack of institutional and social support of women physician mothers. In the United States, we lack policies and a culture that adequately supports physician mothers. Here I offer a perspective after observing our Japanese colleagues in the Anesthesiology Department at Juntendo University Hospital. Juntendo University's Anesthesiology Department has a female chair and many policies to support physician mothers at a societal, institutional, and department level. The US healthcare system could learn from our Japanese colleagues by adjusting at a minimum our institutional expectations and policies to better support physician mothers in the workplace. With improved support, we may retain more US women physicians partially helping to resolve the impending physician shortage facing the country.

Addressing unprofessional behavior among medical students and residents presents a formidable challenge, characterized by the absence of straightforward solutions and a lack of established methodologies for remediation. Medical educators grapple with this issue, often experiencing physical and psychological strain. This seminar and workshop aimed to equip educators with fundamental strategies for managing students’ misconduct, featuring presentations from three universities pioneering innovative approaches within undergraduate education. Drawing from these insights, participants engaged in small group discussions, exchanging personal anecdotes and insights to glean actionable measures for immediate implementation in educational contexts. Below are the key highlights from each lecture and ensuing group deliberations.