Investigation of the Current Situation of Medical Education in Japan Based on the Results of Accreditation Based on Global Standards

Abstract

The Japan Accreditation Council for Medical Education (JACME) is conducting an evaluation of medical education programs based on the Global Standards in Japan. A total of 34 institutions have been evaluated by JACME. However, only the individual reports for each institution are available, without any summarized data. This study investigates the current situation of Japanese medical education programs, including their advantages and disadvantages. After summarizing the reports from the 34 institutions, it was found that most reports showed that Area 3 (Assessment of Students) and Area 7 (Program Evaluation) were the weakest points, with many institutions only partly meeting the standards for these areas. The same applies to certain sub-areas of Area 2 (Educational Programme) and Area 6 (Educational Resources). One reason for the low scores of Area 3 and Area 7 is the lack of assessment policies using Information and Communication Technology and the excessive expectations of Institutional Research, including learning analytics. In contrast, almost all institutions met the standards set forth in Area 8 (Governance and Administration). This study has some limitations in that it is based on the results of the JACME reports, which only describe the results of the sub-areas and not those of each standard. More detailed information is needed to further investigate the aspects of Japanese medical education.