Impact of general practice / family medicine training on Japanese junior residents: a descriptive study

Background: Despite international recognition of the impact of general practice / family medicine training on postgraduate training outcomes, there have been few reports from Japan. Methods: Junior residents who participated in community medicine training for one month between 2019 and 2022 were enrolled in the study. The settings were five medical institutions (one hospital and four clinics) that had full-time family doctors. The junior residents were assigned to one of these institutions. The training content mainly consisted of general ambulatory care, home medical care, community-based care, and reflection. The junior residents evaluated themselves at the beginning and end of their training, and the family doctors evaluated the junior residents at the end. The evaluation items were 36 items in 10 areas, based on the objectives outlined in the Guidelines for Residency Training - 2020 Edition, and were rated on a 10-point Likert scale. In the statistical analysis, Wilcoxon signed rank test of two related groups was performed to analyze changes between pre and post self-evaluation, and the effect size r was calculated. Results: Ninety-one junior residents completed the study. Their self-evaluations showed statistically significant increases in all 36 items. The effect size was large in 33 items. The family doctors’ evaluation was 8-9 points for all 36 items. Conclusion: General practice / family medicine training may greatly contribute to the acquisition of various required clinical abilities in postgraduate training even in Japan.