Abstract
ObjectivesThe purpose of this research is to elucidate the actual status of Infectious Diseases (ID) Fellowship programs in Japan to improve them further. MethodsWe conducted qualitative interviews with infectious diseases fellows and his/her faculty consultants from 10 institutions providing ID Fellowships in Japan. We qualitatively analysed the data to delineate the actual status of each program and the fellowship program policies overall, and to identify measures for further improvement. ResultsThe interviews revealed that there are largely two kinds of ID fellowships; ID programs entirely devoting full time to infectious diseases, and programs that are subordinate concepts of other subspecialties, where only a portion of hours were devoted to ID. Some institutions did not even have an ID department. Time spent by the faculty consultants on fellows also varied among programs. The desire for improvement also varied among interviewees; some being happy with the current system while others demanded radical reform. ConclusionsEven though there are many ID fellowship programs in Japan, the content, quality, and concepts apparently vary among programs. The perceptions by interviewees on the educational system differed, depending on the standpoints they have on ID physicians. There probably needs to be a coherency in the provision of ID fellowship programs so that fellows acquire competency in the subspecialty with sufficient expertise to act as independent ID specialists. Further studies are necessary for the improvement of ID subspecialty training in Japan.
Highlights
Infectious Disease (ID) is an important subspecialty in medicine.[1]
No such rigorous requirements exist in ID programs in Japan, and this fact has cast a cloud on the quality of ID physicians in Japan
Our qualitative study suggests that there may be significant variation in the content, the quality, and the concept of the programs among postgraduate ID fellowships in Japan
Summary
Infectious Disease (ID) is an important subspecialty in medicine.[1] Studies have addressed this topic,[2,3,4] but few addressed the issue of program structure with adequate curriculum development in this field. Board certification in Infectious Diseases in Japan is provided by the Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases (JAID). JAID has mandated that those who wish to become infectious diseases specialists undertake 3 years of postgraduate training at accredited institutions since 2007.5 few studies were conducted to investigate the actual status and quality of this specialty training in Japan. Our previous quantitative study, conducted through a questionnaire sent to each teaching facility in Japan, found that less than half of teaching hospitals for ID physicians in JAID provides a fellowship curriculum, it is a list of subjects, like the Table of Contents of textbooks, and does not provide an actual syllabus, which fellows are expected to undertake.[6]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
