Now is the time for us to take a great leap forward
Dear Colleagues;
Perinatal medicine in Japan today remains in a critical situation both for the people and for health care personnel. As a medical profession that bears major responsibility for providing safe, secure obstetric and gynecologic care to the people, we, the members of Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, must overcome this state of affairs and live up to the trust society has placed in us. Fortunately, thanks to the untiring efforts of our members, a variety of problems involving perinatal medicine have finally been recognized by society, and policies designed to improve perinatal medicine are now being earnestly implemented by the national government as well as by local government. Of course, when we speak of perinatal care, the beneficiaries of the medical care services are tomorrow’s society itself,and I think that additional official assistance from the national and local governments seems necessary to maintain the medical care delivery system and support to the people.
The public is now demanding specialists in a wide variety of area, and the Society has the social mission of training specialists who are capable of providing good quality, safe obstetric and gynecologic care to the people and of standardizing treatment in institutions.Recently, subspecialties have been established independently in several Societies that consider four fields of obstetric and gynecologic clinical practice, i.e., reproductive medicine, perinatal medicine, gynecologic oncology, and perimenopausal medicine, to be specialties. In order to obtain specialists in related areas, it is first necessary to acquire comprehensive basic knowledge and techniques in obstetrics and gynecology as a whole, then to accumulate training in the subspecialties, and Board certified by Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology occupy a core position in each subspecialty. Improving the education system for training specialists is an extremely important topic for that reason as well, and I think that it will be linked to the provision of high quality obstetric and gynecologic care.
We are attempting to add vitality to learning and clinical practice in the Society, and ensuring that there are young physicians who specialize in obstetrics and gynecology is an important task in order to enable it to develop even further. In 2007, we started holding Summer Schools in the Shinshu district of Japan for junior residents and medical students. Each year junior residents and medical students from throughout Japan have participated, and we have conducted ultrasound, laparoscopy, neonatal resuscitation, as hands-on seminars and received evaluations of the content as excellent by the participants. In addition, in view of current situation in which there is a shortage of obstetricians and gynecologists, an scholarship system has been inaugurated by sympathetic businesses, and financial support is being provided for the assignment of medical students who desire to become obstetricians and gynecologists.
Obstetrics and Gynecology is a future-oriented form of medical care that is directed toward future generations, and at the same time expansion of the occupation is now being called for as a comprehensive support type of medical care that serves women’s health throughout their entire lives. Now, I think the Society should focus on the training of healthcare workers who are on their way to becoming leaders in order to live up to the trust the public has placed in us, and on advancing learning, which was the original purpose of the Society. Teaching young physicians the importance and the appeal of academic basic research is crucial, and I pray that they will break through the medical care that currently seems to be stagnating, by an approach that genuinely stresses science.
The world is currently facing an unprecedented financial and economic crisis. In the midst of the uncertain prospects that lie ahead, I hope that you will put into practice obstetric and gynecologic care that makes it possible to have dreams of the future and that you will restore the gleam in the eyes of the young obstetricians and gynecologists who will be responsible for the next generation. I sincerely ask that you continue to favor me with guidance and support in the future as well.
Yasunori Yoshimura
Chairperson of the Executive Board
Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology
