Foundation Program in Medical Education organized by Kyoto University since 2015, previously funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), is a program that combines face-to-face and distance learning to develop medical education training systematically. The students (or clinical teachers), who study about 120 hours a year, form a strong learning community, which is the envy of the supervisors, with their 12 peers. In addition, the program is characterized by its emphasis on educational philosophy and cultural anthropology.

The importance of student participation has been noted, but there is not enough accumulated knowledge on how that “participation” can be achieved. In Kyoto University, a student circle called KS-CoM started a “student-faculty meeting” in 2016 with the objectives of (1) two-way communication between students and faculty and (2) reexamining the nature of pre-graduate medical education. We discussed the handling of past exam questions, grading methods, lectures within the practicum, etc. We tried to clarify both sides’ thoughts on why the education was being provided and how it was being perceived by students and faculty. A “semi-official forum” is needed for students to examine the premise of their education. It will also be effective for establishing partnership-based educational participation.

We conducted a case conference to solve problems in teaching practices and for clinician teachers to discuss various issues occurring in the field. The conference was based on the presentation of individual educational practice cases from faculty development workshops approved by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. We prepared two months before the event and dealt with four cases on the day of the event. During the discussion, we tried to link educational problems with a theory or a conceptual framework in medical education so that participants, including case presenters, would have a better understanding of clinical training settings. In addition, communication across disciplines was facilitated through discussions. This attempt has the potential to contribute to the development of a community of practice related to cross-disciplinary education. The key to success for this case conference was the "interpreter" role. The person in that role considers the background and context of practice and links practice with theory appropriately. In addition, faculty development for educators who can play the role will also be an issue in the future.