Medical education had begun in the 1970s as a pedagogical science and art by the establishment of the Japan Society for Medical Education and its activity thereafter. WHO had played an important role in the backbone of the Society by introducing a new concept of medical teacher training as the shortest way in order to realize "Health for All by the Year of 2000". In 1973 the founder and first president Prof. Ushiba attended the WHO Workshop for Deans held in Sydney and was influenced with a shockingly effective experience.
The WHO's principle of teacher training (faculty development) came from pedagogy professor Bloom's theory of the taxonomy of educational objectives, strategy and evaluation and its practice.
After 40 years since then, the theory and practice of higher education have changed and improved. Of course, medical education is not an exception of higher education. Therefore, we apply its progress in medical education and it does the same each other. They say ten years make an age–old epoch; therefore accordingly, 40 years are four times.
A life expectancy of the theory of medical education will be 40 years. Now we have to reform medical education by change of our mind and by introducing new theory and practice.
Problems facing medical education such as shortage of physicians and medical and health care expenditure, national policy, education of physician scientists and successor medical educators are also discussed.