Objective.-To survey a broad sample of Japanese internists regarding the effects of postgraduate training on their ability to provide ambulatory care.
Design.-Analysis of internists trained at university or non-university hospitals (as designated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare) by written questionnaire.
Results.-74.0% of respondents (127 in total) had undergone ambulatory care training. 30.7% were trained in outpatient clinic sessions that were held more than once a week on average. 85.8% of respondents said they recognized the differences between ambulatory care and inpatietn care. Furthermore, the percentage of respondents who understood such differences during their postgraduate training periods was higher in the group that had had ambulatory care training than the group that had not. Many respondents also suggested the necessity of training in non-internal medicine specialties (e. g. dermatology, OB-GYN, otolaryngology, orthopedics, urology and ophthalmology) that were not popular postgraduate training programs.
Conclusion.-Postgraduate training had a large effect on the ability of internists to provide ambulatory care. Japanese postgraduate training is still not sufficient in this regard. Residency training programs should put more emphasis on ambulatory care.