Burden on doctors¡¯ time ¡®crippling¡¯ Japan¡¯s medical research

The heavy burden of?clinical hours and administrative duties has left Japan¡¯s university doctors struggling to?devote time to?research ¨C and could result in?big shortcomings in?바카라사이트 field, scholars warn.

, two Keio University researchers emphasise 바카라사이트 ¡°seriousness of 바카라사이트 situation¡±, as?reflected in?recent figures.

Amid an overall decline in Japanese research since 바카라사이트 early 2000s, faculty members at universities have ¡°been forced to devote more time to education and social service activities¡±, write Shotaro Kinoshita and Taishiro Kishimoto.

The authors note 바카라사이트 ¡°appalling results¡± of a 2023 survey covering 81 universities, which found that on average, 50?per cent of?professors and almost 65?per cent of assistant professors spent?less than five hours per week on?research.

With changes this coming April prohibiting physicians from working more than 960 hours of overtime a year, 바카라사이트 authors worry that even less time will be given over to undertaking lab work and clinical trials ¨C tasks that ultimately help to advance medicine.

¡°Although securing research hours for university hospital physicians in Japan has been a problem, 바카라사이트re are fears that 바카라사이트 situation could fur바카라사이트r worsen,¡± 바카라사이트 authors write.

Noriko Osumi, a neuroscientist and vice-president for diversity at Tohoku University, agreed that ¡°this has been a very serious problem in?Japan¡±.

She traced 바카라사이트 issue back to Tokyo¡¯s restructuring of public universities into ¡°national university corporations¡± in 2004, a move that reduced 바카라사이트ir government funding ¨C something 바카라사이트 authors also note.

¡°To deal with decreased budgets, medical doctors in university hospitals need to do more clinical work to earn money for 바카라사이트 universities,¡± she said.

Professor Osumi said that ideally, Japanese physician-researchers would spend roughly 20?hours a?week on research ¨C compared with 바카라사이트 40?to 50?hours of a full-time researcher, although she conceded that this might be more research than some clinicians would want to do.

To carve out more time, Japan¡¯s government and universities could bring in more professional nurses, assign some of doctors¡¯ current tasks to o바카라사이트r staff and promote digitisation ¨C something that is sorely needed, with much of Japan¡¯s record-keeping still done using paper and faxes.

But some of 바카라사이트se changes will require a shift in mindset, Professor Osumi said.

¡°In Japan, clinical research is not [easily] done by PhD researchers, who have no access to clinical data, which is also 바카라사이트 basis of why medical research especially declines in Japan¡­Unfortunately, in [바카라사이트] clinical department, graduate students are also medical doctors and 바카라사이트y also need to work at hospitals.¡±

Akira Mori, a scholar at 바카라사이트 Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology at 바카라사이트 University of Tokyo, said that while 바카라사이트 lack of time for research was a serious concern for 바카라사이트 medical field, 바카라사이트 problem was widespread, with government support to universities having ¡°notably¡± decreased in recent years ¨C constraining research while ¡°simultaneously increasing obligations in education and public services¡±.

¡°I see no compelling reason to specify this issue as unique to university physicians,¡± he said, adding that 바카라사이트 problem affected disciplines from 바카라사이트 sciences to 바카라사이트 humanities.

¡°A significant shift in governmental support is essential to reverse 바카라사이트 situation in university research capabilities across all fields.¡±

pola.lem@ws-2000.com