Educational environment changes toward resident duty hour restrictions in Japan
Abstract Japan’s workplace reforms, including a 60-hour weekly work limit for medical residents, that has been in effect from April 2024, have raised concerns about compliance and its impact on training quality. This study analyzed data from 17,967 residents who participated in the General Medicine...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-00347-1 |
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| author | Kazuya Nagasaki Yuji Nishizaki Taro Shimizu Yu Yamamoto Kiyoshi Shikino Koshi Kataoka Hiroyuki Kobayashi Yasuharu Tokuda |
| author_facet | Kazuya Nagasaki Yuji Nishizaki Taro Shimizu Yu Yamamoto Kiyoshi Shikino Koshi Kataoka Hiroyuki Kobayashi Yasuharu Tokuda |
| author_sort | Kazuya Nagasaki |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Japan’s workplace reforms, including a 60-hour weekly work limit for medical residents, that has been in effect from April 2024, have raised concerns about compliance and its impact on training quality. This study analyzed data from 17,967 residents who participated in the General Medicine In-Training Examination from 2019 to 2022, focusing on weekly duty hours, clinical responsibilities, and training environments. Duty hours increased from 2019 to 2021, before declining in 2022. The proportion of residents working over 60 h per week decreased from 57 to 49%, while those working under 50 h increased from 12 to 19%. Concurrently, the percentage of residents managing zero to four inpatients rose from 18 to 39%. University hospital residents reported shorter duty hours but fewer patient encounters and diminished clinical exposure compared to community hospital residents. These findings underscore the educational consequences of duty-hour restrictions, particularly in university hospitals, where reduced clinical responsibilities may compromise competency-based training. The results highlight the need for balanced policies that ensure compliance while maintaining sufficient clinical exposure. Future reforms should prioritize equitable workload distribution, increased clinical opportunities, and targeted interventions to address disparities between hospital types, thereby ensuring the dual goals of resident well-being and high-quality medical education. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c78e0ae85a814ab583d8f4e11fcc682b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-c78e0ae85a814ab583d8f4e11fcc682b2025-08-20T03:53:46ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-05-0115111010.1038/s41598-025-00347-1Educational environment changes toward resident duty hour restrictions in JapanKazuya Nagasaki0Yuji Nishizaki1Taro Shimizu2Yu Yamamoto3Kiyoshi Shikino4Koshi Kataoka5Hiroyuki Kobayashi6Yasuharu Tokuda7Department of Internal Medicine, Mito Kyodo General Hospital, University of TsukubaDivision of Medical Education, Juntendo University School of MedicineDepartment of Diagnostic and Generalist Medicine, Dokkyo Medical University HospitalDivision of General Medicine, Center for Community Medicine, Jichi Medical UniversityDepartment of Community-oriented Medical Education, Chiba University Graduate School of MedicineDivision of Medical Education, Juntendo University School of MedicineDepartment of Internal Medicine, Mito Kyodo General Hospital, University of TsukubaMuribushi Okinawa for Teaching HospitalsAbstract Japan’s workplace reforms, including a 60-hour weekly work limit for medical residents, that has been in effect from April 2024, have raised concerns about compliance and its impact on training quality. This study analyzed data from 17,967 residents who participated in the General Medicine In-Training Examination from 2019 to 2022, focusing on weekly duty hours, clinical responsibilities, and training environments. Duty hours increased from 2019 to 2021, before declining in 2022. The proportion of residents working over 60 h per week decreased from 57 to 49%, while those working under 50 h increased from 12 to 19%. Concurrently, the percentage of residents managing zero to four inpatients rose from 18 to 39%. University hospital residents reported shorter duty hours but fewer patient encounters and diminished clinical exposure compared to community hospital residents. These findings underscore the educational consequences of duty-hour restrictions, particularly in university hospitals, where reduced clinical responsibilities may compromise competency-based training. The results highlight the need for balanced policies that ensure compliance while maintaining sufficient clinical exposure. Future reforms should prioritize equitable workload distribution, increased clinical opportunities, and targeted interventions to address disparities between hospital types, thereby ensuring the dual goals of resident well-being and high-quality medical education.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-00347-1Duty hour restrictionMedical residentPostgraduate medical educationWell-being |
| spellingShingle | Kazuya Nagasaki Yuji Nishizaki Taro Shimizu Yu Yamamoto Kiyoshi Shikino Koshi Kataoka Hiroyuki Kobayashi Yasuharu Tokuda Educational environment changes toward resident duty hour restrictions in Japan Scientific Reports Duty hour restriction Medical resident Postgraduate medical education Well-being |
| title | Educational environment changes toward resident duty hour restrictions in Japan |
| title_full | Educational environment changes toward resident duty hour restrictions in Japan |
| title_fullStr | Educational environment changes toward resident duty hour restrictions in Japan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Educational environment changes toward resident duty hour restrictions in Japan |
| title_short | Educational environment changes toward resident duty hour restrictions in Japan |
| title_sort | educational environment changes toward resident duty hour restrictions in japan |
| topic | Duty hour restriction Medical resident Postgraduate medical education Well-being |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-00347-1 |
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