• Soichi Koike, Atsushi Shimizu, Masatoshi Matsumoto, Hiroo Ide, Hidenao Atarashi, and Hideo Yasunaga.
• Center for Community Medicine, Jichi Medical University, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0498, Japan. koikes@jichi.ac.jp.
• Surg. Today. 2016 Jun 1; 46 (6): 661-7.

PurposeTo investigate the career pathways of board-certified surgeons' and the factors associated with them maintaining their certification in Japan.MethodsWe analyzed data from the surveys of physicians, dentists and pharmacists. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to investigate whether factors such as gender, year of registration, place of work, and subspecialty board certification were associated with maintaining board certification.ResultsMost Japanese surgeons attain board certification within 5-10 years of initial medical registration. After adjusting for possible confounding factors, the odds of maintaining board certification were significantly lower for women, those who were beyond 20 years post-registration, those who worked in hospitals other than academic hospitals or clinics, and those who had board certification in surgery only. Of the total board-certified surgeons analyzed, 93.2 % continued to work in hospitals and 2.8 % moved to clinics within 2 years. Of those who moved from hospitals to clinics, half continued to practice surgery, while nearly 40 % changed their specialty to internal medicine.ConclusionIt is necessary to establish a special training system for mature surgeons who move from surgery to general practice later in their careers. As the number of female surgeon increases, a support system is also required to secure the future supply of surgeons.

25 keywords...

hide…