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Purpose: Digital transformation (DT) is significantly impacting medical education. Despite advancements such as virtual reality and remote education, the influence of DT on the development of curricula and guidelines has not been thoroughly explored. This study aims to explore the enabling factors and impacts of DT on the revision process for Japan's Model Core Curriculum (MCC) in 2022.

Materials and methods: Taking a constructivist perspective, this study investigated the enabling factors and impacts of DT through qualitative document analysis. Thematic analysis was conducted on materials including emails from the MCC revision team, meeting minutes, and survey responses.

Results: Enabling factors were experimentation spaces for users, deep integration between revision and digitalization teams, continuous development, and coordination with existing methods. The impacts of DT included ensuring accuracy and consistency, gaining the ability to preview and aggregate data, and expediting and reducing workload.

Conclusion: DT not only streamlined the revision process but also improved the quality of the guidelines and changed the nature of the MCC into an interactive infrastructure. The involvement of personnel with expertise bridging IT and medical education, combined with an environment conducive to user acceptance and opportunities for practice, were crucial for successful DT.

The Model Core Curriculum for Medical Education (MCC) currently, there are 82 medical schools in Japan. The combined enrollment capacity of medical schools nationwide stands at 9,217. Students are eligible to enter medical school upon graduation from senior high school. The standard undergraduate medical education curriculum in Japan spans six years. The Model Core Curriculum for Medical Education (MCC), developed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), serves as the guideline for all medical school curricula. The Common Achievement Tests Organization (CATO) conducts the Computer-Based Testing (CBT) and the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in all medical schools. The Japan Accreditation Council for Medical Education (JACME), formally recognized by the World Federation of Medical Education (WFME), is responsible for the accreditation of undergraduate medical education in Japan. The National Examination for Medical Practitioners, administered by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and held annually, is a paper-based examination in which examinees answer multiple-choice questions. After graduating from medical school and obtaining a medical license, individuals progress to a two-year basic postgraduate clinical training program. Upon completion, they advance to a three-to-five-year specialty training phase. The lifelong learning of physicians is overseen by the respective medical societies and the Japan Medical Association. Current issues facing medical education in Japan include bloated curricula, faculty members' busy schedules and burdens, educational disparities and admission selection, and uneven distribution of specialties. The author believes that medical education should continue to evolve to reflect future changes in society.

Background: Discrepancies existed between the medical knowledge sections of the Model Core Curriculum for Medical Education (MCC) and the Guidelines for the National Examination for Medical Practitioners (GNEMP) in Japan. These discrepancies have been one of the underlying factors hindering the development of learner-centered medical education in the country. The project team responsible for the 'Problem-Solving' section of the MCC aimed to address discrepancies between the disease lists in the MCC and the GNEMP.

Method: We refined the disease list for the 2022 revision of the MCC using a three-phase process: (a) procedure development, (b) selection, and (c) adjudication. First, we developed a scoring system for sifting and prioritizing diseases in the GNEMP, selecting those that met our scoring criteria. An expert adjudication panel then finalized the list of diseases through discussion.

Results: Among the 1,456 diseases identified in the GNEMP, 781 met the selection criteria. The adjudication panel selected 56 of these diseases to be newly added to the 2022 MCC, resulting in a total of 691 diseases.

Conclusions: The list of diseases defined as required medical knowledge in the MCC was finalized through dialogue among medical education stakeholders, effectively minimizing discrepancies between the MCC and GNEMP.

Purpose: This study examines the impact of the 2010 and 2016 Model Core Curriculum (MCC) revisions on medical education across all 82 medical schools in Japan.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2021, focusing on the response to the MCC revisions, curriculum changes, and factors influencing these changes. The survey included questions on approaches to implementing the MCC revisions, timing of curriculum updates, factors triggering these revisions, changes in student performance and career paths, and the introduction of new subjects.

Results: The response rate was 100%. Most universities rapidly implemented changes following the 2016 MCC revision, demonstrating agility in adapting to national standards. Key factors influencing curriculum revisions included external evaluations and the MCC revisions themselves. Despite no significant changes in student performance or career paths from faculties' perspective, an increase in scholarly activities was noted. The introduction of new subjects post-2016 reflects a shift toward holistic perspectives such as behavioral science, general medicine/community medicine, and professionalism.

Conclusions: The findings highlight a commitment to maintaining educational quality in Japanese medical education. The responsiveness to MCC revisions suggests a growing interest in medical education among faculties and an alignment with global medical education trends to meet evolving healthcare needs.

Background and objectives: The global shift towards competency-based medical education (CBME) has led to the development of national guidelines for CBME implementation (CBME Guides). The characteristics of CBME Guides from CBME-developed countries were analysed to inform the revision process for the CBME Guide in Japan, a CBME-developing country.

Methods: Document analysis of CBME Guides from Canada, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States was conducted by six Japanese medical education experts. The process of analysing the CBME Guides was also reviewed.

Results: While the CBME Guides contain many commonalities in structure and content, there is variation in terminology and forms of expression. The characteristics vary according to national systems, culture, and customs. The content of the Guides may have changed depending on the publication date, in line with changes in medical technology, medical needs, and advances in the understanding of CBME.

Conclusions: Analysing CBME Guides from CBME-developed countries may lead to more meaningful revisions to a CBME-developing country's guide, enabling it to be better aligned with the local, social, cultural, and historical context of the country now and in the future.

Purpose: The 2022 revision of the Model Core Curriculum (MCC) for Japanese undergraduate medical education aimed to develop a stratified, national-level competency framework. This paper aims to explore what innovations emerge during the process of competency-based medical education (CBME) glocalisation, driven by the interplay between global and local language and the dynamics among multiple stakeholders.

Methods: This is an explanatory, retrospective, single-case study with a mixed-methods approach, combining document review and participant reflections. Meeting minutes, documents, email exchanges and data from the Delphi rounds (ratings, free-text comments and panellist demographics) were analysed to identify the influence of stakeholder interactions and external contexts when deliberating competency frameworks and their hierarchical structure.

Results: The development of a shared language of imported educational concepts required the critical reframing of terminology rather than direct translation. This process involved the interweaving of expressions rooted in the local educational context and highlighted the importance of developing a unique structure that embodies the CBME philosophy through the educational language generated.

Conclusions: The localisation of global educational trends into a country's own context may reveal the universality of imported educational concepts, provided that the process is underpinned by discussions with a robust, grounded rationale.

Introduction: Medical education globally has evolved, with community-based medical education (CBME) and interprofessional education (IPE). This study aimed to explore the implementation of CBME, community comprehensive education, and IPE in Japan.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted across all Japanese medical universities in 2021. Data on CBME clinical clerkships, community comprehensive care education, and IPE were collected from 82 medical universities using a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results: The study achieved a 100% response rate. 91.5% of universities offered CBME clinical clerkships, with 39.0% providing training periods up to 10 d. Outpatient practices were the primary CBME location in 90% of cases. 85.4% of institutions provided clinical care services, home medical care, and interprofessional collaboration. Direct observations were adopted 85.4% of the universities as an assessment method. Community comprehensive care education peaked in the fourth year (32.9%), while IPE was most prevalent in the first year (48.3%), followed by the fourth year (35.4%).

Conclusion: This study, notable for its 100% response rate, highlights the significant incorporation of CBME. Future research should focus on the long-term effects, with recommendations for standardizing CBME curricula and enhancing staff development in a community to improve healthcare outcomes.

Objective: To identify generalism-related competencies that medical students in Japan should acquire in order to provide comprehensive care for patients.

Methods: The team responsible for developing the new 'Generalism' section of the 2022 revision of the Model Core Curriculum for Medical Education in Japan (MCC) consisted of nine members from diverse medical backgrounds across Japan. We adopted pragmatism paradigm and analyzed to identify decision-making processes using a qualitative document analysis.

Results: The competency list was presented as a four-tier structure. The first tier of generalism was defined as 'take a multi-systemic view of the patient's problems and consider the patient's psychosocial background in order to provide comprehensive, flexible medical care that responds to the needs of the patient and is not limited to one's own specialty, supporting the achievement of individual and societal well-being.' The second tier was framed in terms of 'perspectives' and constructed of four different domains: 'holistic,' 'community,' 'life,' and 'social.'

Conclusion: We identified and defined the competencies required by medical students in Japan to provide comprehensive care for patients. By including these competencies in the MCC, undergraduate medical education will be better placed to respond to anticipated changes in the demand for medical care in Japan. Success factors in our guideline development process include facilitating a collaborative and iterative development process, ensuring that diverse perspectives are integrated, and using practical examples and feedback to refine competencies based on a pragmatic approach.

The United States faces an impending crisis in primary care physician shortages, while Physician Associates (PAs) and Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are poised to help bridge the gap. This manuscript explores a groundbreaking solution: introducing a clinical doctorate program tailored to PAs and NPs, designed to equip them with the knowledge and skills to assume leadership roles in primary care. Unlike traditional medical education, this innovative approach allows these professionals to continue their clinical practice while advancing their education, addressing the workforce shortage and the need for advanced leadership within the primary care landscape. This comprehensive curriculum includes intensive didactic coursework, residency-like training, credentialing examinations, and research opportunities, positioning PAs and NPs as critical contributors to the future of primary care. By recognizing their untapped potential and investing in their advanced education, we can elevate the quality and accessibility of primary care, ensuring that healthcare delivery reaches new heights.

Reflective practice is an essential aspect of the professional development of all health professions educators, with the intention to enhance both learning and teaching. This Guide presents an overview of reflective practice for educators and provides a practical and developmental reflective practice approach for health professions educators. The importance of structured thinking frameworks to stimulate greater understanding of both learning and teaching situations is highlighted. Medical Educator Reflective Practice Sets (MERPS) is an innovative approach for enhancing learning and teaching in health professions education that integrates lesson study and action learning. The key features of the approach are participation in three collaborative sessions, the use of structured thinking frameworks, and solution-focussed teaching in response to the identified problem. The MERPS approach is flexible and can be adapted for implementation across the continuum of health professions education, from undergraduate to postgraduate and continuing professional development.