Attitudes of medical and co-medical students toward congenital anomalies and prenatal diagnosis were investigated. After problem-based learning in medical genetics and embryology, students were shown a short film of a fetus with spina bifida. The students were then asked by questionnaire to answer the following question: “If you were told at 20 weeks' gestation that your fetus had spina bifida, what would you do?” About one third of the female medical students and half of the male students said they would terminate the pregnancy. The students' written comments suggested that female students are more receptive to delivery and to handicapped children. In contrast, male students' attitudes were more passive. Responses of female public health nursing students were similar to those of female medical students, and those of student midwives were much more receptive. These results will provide a basis for education in medical genetics and medical ethics.

1) A person with a medical qualification should be a capable practitioner at the start of their career and capable of adapting to future challenges.
2) Teaching models based on'competence'teach technical accuracy, but do not necessarily prepare students to be capable of making sound clinical judgements or of adapting to new developments.
3) ‘Outcomes’based curricula include technical accuracy and prepare students to make good clinical judgements and to continue to adapt to improve the quality of professional practice and performance.

1) Outcomes have been adopted in preference to competences in medical education because it promotes a higher order of professional capability.
2) New assessment instruments have been introduced to examine a student's capability in both undergraduate and postgraduate phases.
3) The principle of preparing students to be'capable doctors'is international.Leading medical educators around the world are introducing changes to traditional courses to achieve this.

1)In medical education in the United Kingdom, departments of general practice organize the basic training in clinical skills and specialty training in primary care.
2)A clinical clerkship in primary care is a compulsory 5–week subject, as are clerkships in internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, and psychiatry.
3)As a tutorial training system has been established, general practitioners are contributing to medical education as clinical instructors.

1)Leaders of skillslabs at Japanese medical schools are concerned about the future of skillslabs.2)The way skillslabs are presently used in Japan is not in accordance with current evidence on teaching skills.3)We present a stepwise process to bring Japanese skillslabs in line with the standards of 2009.

The category “Food with Health Claim” contains “Food with Nutrient Function Claim” and “Food for Specified Health Use (FOSHU)”. The definition of “Food with Nutrient Function Claim” is “food used to supplement nutritional factors such as vitamins and minerals”. Once certain standards have been met, public sale of the item is possible. In concrete terms these requirements specify that the daily intake of the aforementioned nutritional factors must be within a certain range, as well as the display of health claims and warning labels.
At the same time, because FOSHU possess components capable of affecting physiological function, and their application is essentially as specific health foods, each food to be sold as FOSHU requires authorization from the Japanese Ministry of Health. In this article we focus on the various tests required for approval.

Objectives: To clarify differences in medical students’ emotional intelligence and empathy among 4 school years and sex.
Methods: A cross-sectional study of 370 medical students in years 1, 2, 4, and 6 was performed with Japanese versions of 2 self-reported questionnaires: the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire–Short Form （TEIQue-SF） and the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy–Student Version （JSPE-S）.
Results: Total scores of the TEIQue–SF tended to decrease in higher school years. However, the total score of the JSPE-S was significantly increased in year 6 but was decreased in year 4. Male students had higher TEIQue–SF scores, and female students had higher JSPE-S scores. Of the 4 factors of the TEIQue–SF compared （well-being, self-control, emotionality, and sociability）, only sociability was higher in males. No differences were found among school years. The scores of the TEIQue–SF and the JSPE-S showed a weak correlation. Of the factors of the TEIQue–SF, only self-control showed no correlation with the JSPE-S.
Discussion and Conclusion: These results suggest that the emotional intelligence of both male and female medical students tends to decline. The increase in JSPE-S scores in year 6 suggests that medical interview training is effective. Furthermore, training is important both to enhance emotional intelligence and to teach self-control skills.

Introduction: The problems of problem learners hare not been systematically demonstrated. The purpose of this study was to summarize the English expression and definition of problem learners and classify factors associated with problems.

Method: A systematic literature review was conducted.

Results: The expressions extracted were disability, learning disorders, at-risk, difficult, problem, struggle, underperform, unprofessional, unsafe, gifted, and outstanding. Factors associated with the problems were classified into learners' characteristics, cognition, attitude, and skill.

Discussion: These findings will help teachers understand and detect the problems of problem learners appropriately.