In recent years, depression has become diverse, particularly in the younger population. In the field of medical education, it is assumed that a number of educators often experience difficulties in attending to their learners with depression. In this review article, information which contributes to the promotion of mental health for medical residents is provided, considering the knowledge of recent depression in the younger population, including its diversity together with the characteristics of the "generation educated with latitude".

Purpose: We assessed the efficacy of a palliative care team (PCT) in improving quality of life (QOL) among Japanese cancer patients. Patients and methods: This prospective study involved adult patients treated in the Division of Respiratory Medicine and Medical Oncology/Hematology at Kobe University Hospital between November 1, 2009 and March 30, 2010. Every patient had requested intervention by the PCT. Patients were asked to complete the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL questionnaire at baseline and 1 and 4 weeks after initiation of the PCT intervention. Result: Of the 35 patients enrolled, 26 patients and 15 patients completed the assessments at 1 and 4 weeks after starting the intervention, respectively. Pain subscale (PA) was improved at 1 week after starting the intervention (p<0.05). Dyspnea subscale (DY) and PA were improved at 4 weeks after starting the intervention (p<0.05). Conclusion: We prospectively showed that QOL of cancer patients was improved with the intervention of the PCT, using the Japanese version of the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL. Even if the PCT can only provide short-term care for cancer patients, this intervention appears worthwhile to improve QOL of cancer patients.

We conducted a questionnaire survey on shift and on-call system targeting under-forty cardiovascular surgeons and obtained responses from 35 surgeons. We report the questionnaire results.