Background: Clinical clerkship training does not always provide an ideal environment for self-regulated learning (SRL) among medical students, and how students manage their learning during this period remains unclear. This study aims to explore how medical students perceive their SRL during clinical clerkship training in the emergency medicine department.　Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 fifth-year medical students at University A. Thematic analysis was performed using the SRL cyclical model as a theoretical framework.　Results: Eight themes were identified, including the emergence of professional identity through clinical training, the flexible selection of learning goals and tools in uncertain environments, and the appropriate planning of next-day goals and learning strategies through dialogue.　Discussion: The findings suggest that dialogue with colleagues, participation in team-based care, and clerkship structures grounded in the cyclical SRL model positively influence the transformation of students' perceptions of SRL.

Objective: To determine the socio-economic and educational backgrounds of first-generation college students (FGCs) among Japanese medical students, with the aim of contributing to the improvement of medical school admissions.　Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional online questionnaire survey was conducted. A total of 1,849 medical students and 295 nursing students participated.　Results: The proportion of FGCs among medical students was 12.1%, lower than that among nursing students (39.4%). The backgrounds of FGCs were compared with those of non-FGCs (students whose parents were university graduates). FGCs were more likely to come from small cities and from outside the Kanto/Kansai regions. They reported lower annual family incomes and had fewer doctors or dentists among their relatives. FGCs attended cram schools less frequently, were more likely to have graduated from national or public high schools, and had higher academic grades. They applied exclusively to national or public medical schools, were more likely to take regional quota or recommended AO entrance examinations, passed these exams immediately after high school graduation, and were more often enrolled in their first-choice and national or public medical schools. FGCs also expressed a stronger intention to work in less-populated areas in the future.　Discussion: The backgrounds of FGCs differ significantly from those of non-FGCs. Further investigation into the challenges and potential of FGCs in medicine is warranted.

In health professions education in the 21st century, there is a need to move toward a third-generation educational practice oriented toward the transformation of healthcare and social systems. However, few examples of the development of such an educational model have been reported. In the context of community-based health professions education-where universities, governments, and hospitals are attempting to co-create a new type of health professions education, we have developed an educational model grounded in the principles of third-generation health professions education, including problem inquiry and interdisciplinarity. It is a project- and inquiry-based learning model that suggests the possibility for second-year medical students to contribute to social change, however small, through their proactive involvement in the inquiring, investigating, and proposing solutions to local problems. Further dissemination and validation of this model, which embodies the philosophy of third-generation health professions education, are anticipated.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the socioeconomic backgrounds of medical students who intend to practice in less-populated areas.METHODS: A nationwide online questionnaire survey was conducted among 1,822 Japanese medical students (1,024 from public universities and 798 from private universities) across 40 medical schools.RESULTS: Regarding preferred future practice locations, 25.2% of students intended to work in areas with populations over 1,000,000; 36.8% in areas with 200,000-1,000,000; 17.2% in areas with 50,000-200,000; and 4.8% in areas with fewer than 50,000 residents. Students who intended to work in less-populated areas (population >200,000) were more likely to have grown up in such areas, come from families with lower annual incomes, have fewer physician parents, have graduated from public high schools, and be enrolled in regional quota programs. Logistic regression analysis identified having a family background in a less-populated area (OR 9.46) and enrollment in a regional quota program (OR 2.72) as significant predictors of the intention to work in less-populated areas.DISCUSSION: There is a correlation between medical students’ intentions to work in less-populated areas and their socioeconomic backgrounds, which are important factors to consider when addressing the uneven distribution of physicians in Japan.

This study aimed to identify new competencies for an educational program designed to cultivate the ability to improve health professions education from an overview and interactive perspective, in response to its increasing complexity. At the Center for Medical Education Development, Gifu University, a competency framework was drafted based on systems thinking, design thinking, and adaptive leadership. A questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the needs of potential participants. The survey targeted 138 medical university staff members who attended the 91st Medical Education Seminar. Multiple regression analysis revealed that willingness to participate was significantly associated with being a healthcare professional and having strong motivation for collaborative improvement. Based on these findings, four competencies were identified: (1) organizational analysis, (2) problem evaluation, (3) improvement design, and (4) collaborative improvement. This study introduces a marketing-informed perspective into FD/SD development, offering a learner-centered approach to educational design and highlighting the importance of collaboration between healthcare professionals and administrative staff in driving educational reform.

The role of academic journals evolves with the times. Academic publishing is diversifying, shifting from traditional paper-based formats to broader dissemination through open access. In response to these developments-and to contribute to ongoing progress in medical education-Medical Education (Japan) has undertaken a comprehensive revision of its submission guidelines. As of January 17, 2025, all submissions, peer reviews, and editorial processes are being conducted in accordance with the updated guidelines.　The Editorial Board convened a round-table discussion to explore recent developments, beginning with the revision of the submission guidelines. This discussion elaborates on the journal's role and its relevance to the academic community, including society members, authors, and readers. It features statements from participating editorial committee members and highlights the key issues discussed, including the criteria each member uses to evaluate manuscripts. The aim is to offer insight into the journal's editorial stance and decision-making process.

Due to the importance of developing physicians' competencies to utilize information, science, and technology, the 2022 revision of the Model Core Curriculum for Medical Education newly established guidelines for qualities and competencies, which it refers to as "Competencies to utilize information, science, and technology." The Model Core Curriculum outlines these qualities as "understanding the ever-developing information society and practicing medical research and treatment while utilizing information, science and technology such as artificial intelligence." The guidelines are organized by the three perspectives of "ethical viewpoints and rules for dealing with information, science and technology," "principles of information, science and technology necessary for medicine and its surrounding society," and "utilization of information, science and technology in the medical field." The objectives of the course were set from the three perspectives of "ethics and rules for dealing with information, science and technology," "principles of information, science and technology necessary for medicine and the society surrounding it," and "utilization of information, science and technology in medical practice." We looked back on the process of formulating these qualities and competencies, which will become increasingly important, and discussed their future prospects.

In this revision, we have attempted to align the Model Core Curriculum for Medical Education competency, "problem-solving ability based on specialized knowledge," with the "Standards of National Examination for Medical Practitioners." The major diseases and syndromes in "Essential Fundamentals" correspond to the basic diseases in Table 1 of the Core Curriculum, symptoms, physical and laboratory examinations, and treatment in "General Medicine" correspond to the items in Table 2 of the Core Curriculum, and the diseases in "Medical Theory" correspond to the diseases in PS-02 of the Core Curriculum. The validity of the diseases in the Core Curriculum was verified using the evaluation results of the examination level classification of the "Research for Revision of National Examination Criteria." Approximately 690 diseases were conclusively selected. This revision mentions the number of diseases in the Core Curriculum for the first time. Hopefully, this will lead to a deeper examination of diseases that should be studied in medical schools in the future.