Infective endocarditis in association with pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis is rarely observed. We report an 80-year-old man with infective endocarditis and pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis requiring reoperation due to aortic prosthetic valve dysfunction. He suffered from back pain as the initial symptom, and he was admitted to our hospital. On magnetic resonance imaging, vertebral osteomyelitis was revealed, and antibiotics were started. On blood sampling α-streptococcus was identified and infective endocarditis was diagnosed. He responded to the antibiotic treatment. Despite the improvement in his general condition and the inflammatory parameters of blood samples, the aortic prosthetic valve dysfunction progressed. On echocardiography, aortic regurgitation worsened to 4/4, and the ejection fraction decreased from 72 to 46%. As heart failure was apparent, we performed a redo aortic valve replacement. Tears were found in the leaflets of the removed prosthetic valve (Hancock II). The 21-mm Carpentier-Edwards PERIMOUNT valve (CEP Magna Ease TFX) was replaced. His post-operative course was uneventful, and intravenous administration of ampicillin was continued. Oral rifampicin was also continued. On the 69th post-operative day, he was discharged and was ambulatory. Although we have no evidence that the tissue valve deterioration had resulted from bacterial damage, we were able to confirm that the structural valve deterioration involved bacterial contact in this case. Patients with infective endocarditis and pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis should be treated cautiously regardless of whether or not the inflammation is controlled.

While there is an emphasis on fostering the next generation of medical educators, it is difficult for the younger generation to find opportunities to deepen their knowledge of medical education regularly amid their busy clinical work. Using journal clubs is a strategy for lifelong learning in the professional field; yet, it is difficult to operate and maintain one. We established an online journal club for medical education and research with 9- to 12-year post-graduates from different institutions across Japan. While it is generally said that even face-to-face journal clubs are difficult to sustain, we were able to hold more than 40 online meetings in one year. We discussed why our approach was feasible, citing social congruence theory and self-determination theory.

Residents have teaching roles in clinical practice, and the importance of these roles has been pointed out. This is due to their proximity to learners as Near-Peers. There are two aspects to consider: cognitive proximity, which allows them to share what learners don’t know, and spatial proximity, which allows us to share time and space for an extended period. Residents-as-teachers programs, which aim to improve teaching skills for residents, are being developed all over the world, but are still rare in Japan. We are conducting research to determine what teaching competencies residents should have. We are running a one-year fellowship based on the results of that research. The scale of the program has gradually increased, and in 2020, due to COVID-19, the fellowship went online. We restructured the fellowship in terms of Study/Workload, Enhancing Engagement, and Technical Issues. We received high satisfaction ratings for the online implementation.