Faculty Profiles - NISHIGORI Hiroshi

Development of education system for medical educationist in Japan: an introduction Open Access

SUZUKI Yasuyuki, YOSHIOKA Toshimasa, YOSHIDA Motofumi, TAGAWA Masami, NISHIGORI Hiroshi, SAIKI Takuya, MORIYA Rika, OTANI Hisashi, WATANABE Yoko

Igaku Kyoiku / Medical Education (Japan) Vol. 40 ( 4 ) page： 235 - 236 2009

Language：Japanese Publisher：Japan Society for Medical Education

1) Japan Society for Medical Education launched a committee for the graduate education of medical educationists in Japan. The committee proposed a direction toward establishing the system, by way of discussion among the members, needs assessment, information gathering of overseas master courses, and discussion at the open meeting. 2) To promote medical education in Japan, we should establish 2 systems concurrently: (1) a graduate education for medical educationists who have a broad base of theories and can lead future medical education, and (2) a broader certificate system for medical teachers who have good practical teaching skills.

DOI： 10.11307/mededjapan.40.235

A model for attracting physicians to rural areas by improving residency training programs, part 1 Open Access

NISHIGORI Hiroshi, SUZUKI Tomio, MISHIMA Nobuhiko, YAMAMOTO Naohito

Igaku Kyoiku / Medical Education (Japan) Vol. 40 ( 1 ) page： 19 - 25 2009

Language：Japanese Publisher：Japan Society for Medical Education

A shortage of physicians in rural areas has become a serious problem of the new residency training program in Japan. To address this problem, we propose a model for attracting physicians to rural areas by improving residency training programs and by evaluating a curriculum introduced at Kainan Hospital, a community hospital. In this first paper, we describe the short-term evaluation of the curriculum. 1) We introduced clinical teams in which residents were able to actively participate in clinical practice as team members by being supervised by senior physicians. We also introduced teaching rounds and case conferences for residents. 2) Focus-group interviews of residents showed that "giving educational opportunities to residents" and "an explicit policy of the hospital to improve the residency training program" are examples of ways to improve residency programs. 3) The number of residents working at Kainan Hospital increased. The residency training program was somewhat improved. 4) An effective and easily generalized way to provide residents with more learning opportunities is to involve clinicians in teaching residents in hospitals.

DOI： 10.11307/mededjapan.40.19

A model for attracting physicians to rural areas by improving residency training program, part 2 Open Access

NISHIGORI Hiroshi, SUZUKI Tomio

Igaku Kyoiku / Medical Education (Japan) Vol. 40 ( 1 ) page： 27 - 33 2009

Language：Japanese Publisher：Japan Society for Medical Education

A shortage of physicians in rural areas has become a serious problem of the new residency training program in Japan. To address this problem, we propose a model for attracting physicians to rural areas by improving residency training programs and by evaluating a curriculum introduced to Kainan Hospital, a community hospital. In this second paper, we describe the middle-term curriculum evaluation and present our model. 1) Interviews of program directors revealed 8 items necessary to improve residency training programs. 2) After the residents finish their training, they remain at the same hospital, and the number of the number of physicians at the hospital increases, if the fellowship programs are well-organized. 3) Because universities are interested in hospitals at which many residents and fellows work, attracting attending physicians to these hospitals is easier. 4) Although attracting enough physicians by improving residency training programs requires 3 to 5 years, achieving this goal by increasing the larger number of medical students would take even longer.

DOI： 10.11307/mededjapan.40.27

AAMC in Seattle, USA

AOMATSU Muneyoshi, NISHIGORI Hiroshi, OTAKI Junji, BAN Nobutaro

Vol. 38 ( 2 ) page： 119 2007.4

What's your diagnosis? [33] こんな結果でええんか?

菊川誠, 小島啓尚, 傍島由香, 飯島亜由子, 錦織宏, 鈴木富雄, 伴信太郎

JIM Vol. 15 ( 9 ) page： 715 - 718 2005.9

What's your diagnosis? [28] はれのちはれ

錦織宏, 小島啓尚, 鈴木富雄, 伴信太郎

JIM Vol. 15 ( 4 ) page： 275 - 277 2005.4

Report on 2nd Asia Pacific Medical Education Conference

NISHIGORI Hiroshi, YOSHIDA Ichiro

Vol. 36 ( 1 ) page： 44 2005.2

What supports applicants' reasons for becoming physicians: a thematic analysis of their beliefs and statements. International journal Open Access

Shunsuke Kimura, Fumitaka Tanemura, Satoshi Kodama, Hiroshi Nishigori

International journal of medical education Vol. 16 page： 163 - 171 2025.10

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)

OBJECTIVES: To address the problem of medical school applicants' lying about their reasons for becoming physicians in the admissions process, this study aims to explore the grounds for their reasons by distinguishing between their beliefs and statements. METHODS: The participants, recruited by convenience sampling, were 15 medical students and physicians who had entered graduate-entry programs of medical schools in Japan. We conducted individual semi-structured online interviews in 2020 and performed a reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS: We generated five themes regarding the grounds for applicants' reasons in their beliefs: consistency with past interests, experience of being underprivileged, experience of family disease, parental influence, and no grounds; four themes regarding the grounds for applicants' true reasons in their statements: consistency with actual past interests, actual experience of being underprivileged, actual experience of family disease, and actual experience of being powerless for patients; and four themes regarding the grounds for applicants' untrue reasons in their statements: consistency with actual or fictional past interests, actual experience of family disease, fictional parental influence, and convenient origin. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to distinguish between applicants' beliefs and statements and analyze the grounds for their reasons for becoming physicians. The findings propose a reconstruction of the concept of reasons for becoming physicians and suggest that admissions committees may be able to verify applicants' reasons in their statements by asking them to present the grounds for them.

DOI： 10.5116/ijme.68f3.9b51

Exploring Japanese Medical Students' mental distress and wellbeing challenges. International journal

Mariko Morishita, Ali Ajaz, Ania Korszun, Hiroshi Nishigori

Social science & medicine (1982) Vol. 383 page： 118426 - 118426 2025.10

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)

Medical practitioners often perceive patients primarily as clinical subjects rather than as individuals they themselves might one day become. When physicians become patients and are unable to work full-time, they may experience marginalisation within the medical community. In undergraduate medical curricula, the ability to work hard is strongly emphasised. While physicians are expected to demonstrate generosity and altruism toward disabled patients, professional relationships are frequently shaped by competition and a prevailing drive for excellence. Medical students similarly navigate a demanding environment, characterised by examinations and practical training, where continuous competence is expected. This focus on individual ability reflects the structural ideology of ableism. This mixed-methods study explores how medical students experience mental health challenges and seek wellbeing under the influence of ableism. Quantitative data from questionnaires revealed a high prevalence of anxiety and depression. Qualitative insights from a focus group and a World Café discussion illustrated a nuanced understanding of wellbeing, ranging from basic self-care (e.g., eating and sleeping) to the pursuit of meaningful engagement. Students reported anxiety stemming from feelings of incompleteness and social comparison. Many expressed difficulties in discussing mental health concerns with familiar individuals due to fear of judgment. However, the development of trusted relationships was identified as a potential strategy for fostering safe spaces. These relationships may facilitate open dialogue about struggles and limitations-moving beyond a narrow focus on competence and achievement. The findings highlight the role of ableism in shaping distress and silence in medical education, pointing to the need for more inclusive and supportive learning environments.

DOI： 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118426

Dialogic interactions among multi-professionals in the context of online sessions: The use of Mederu to understand Moyatto experiences Open Access

An “integration” of professional identity formation among rural physicians experiencing an interplay between their professional and personal identities Reviewed Open Access

Junichiro Miyachi, Miho Iwakuma, Hiroshi Nishigori

Advances in Health Sciences Education Vol. 30 ( 1 ) page： 125 - 149 2025.2

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Abstract

The present understanding of professional identity formation is problematic since it underrepresents minority physicians and potentially excludes their professional identity formation experiences. Rural physicians are expected to have similar underrepresented aspects as minority physicians because of their specific sociocultural contexts and consequent private–professional intersection, which lead to ethical complexities. Therefore, to bridge this research gap, we interviewed 12 early- to mid-career Japanese physicians working in rural areas and explored their experiences. Through a narrative analysis guided by Figured Worlds theory, we analysed the data by focusing on the vocabulary, expressions, and metaphors participants used to describe their experiences. A central theme emerged concerning how the rural physicians configurated their personal versus professional participation in their local communities. Further, their identity narratives varied regarding how they constructed their identities, rural communities, and relationships as well as their identity formation ideals and strategies to achieve them. Informed by ‘Big Questions’ concerning worldview framework, we delineated four identity narratives as prototypes to describe how they participated in their communities. These identity narratives provide a preliminary understanding of how diverse identity formation is for rural physicians. In addition, our findings exposed the current professional identity formation framework as potentially biased towards single forms of participation in monolithic communities, overlooking complicated forms of participation in multiple communities. We argue that applying frameworks and concepts to capture these multiple forms of participation as well as revisiting the ‘discourse of integration’ are necessary steps to overcome the limitation of the current understanding of professional identity formation.

DOI： 10.1007/s10459-024-10337-z

Other Link： https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10459-024-10337-z/fulltext.html

Itsuki Sano, Mariko Morishita, Hiroshi Nishigori

Dialogic Pedagogy: A Journal for Studies of Dialogic Education Vol. 13 ( 1 ) page： PLC47 - PLC77 2025

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：University Library System, University of Pittsburgh

This study discusses professional love in the context of online sessions where healthcare professionals employ a dialogic framework to reflect on or explore how discomfort arises in their interprofessional practices. The goal of this study is to provide frontline practitioners and educators with insights into what constitutes professional love in dialogue and to suggest avenues of support for the development of continuous health profession education through such dialogue. We took a reflective writing approach based on observations of dialogic practices. This essay represents a reflective writing conducted by the first author as he explored, in his own practice, love in dialogic interactions among professionals in online sessions. He established a Study Group in 2014, aiming to improve interprofessional collaboration through dialogue on Moyatto, which is defined as emotional, cognitive, and physical distress experienced when individuals face conflicting communication with people who have different viewpoints and interests. We describe actual events that occurred in sessions and interactions that continue even without direct conversations after the conclusion of the session.The results indicate that the first step for professionals to experience love in their professional practice is to share the Moyatto experiences without any quid pro quo in response to the other’s narrative. Even after the session's conclusion, the participants continued to feel something that could not be verbalized because of the other’s alienness. Therefore, the interactions comprising the exchanging of Moyatto experiences can continue even without direct conversations, and such experiences can motivate participants to inquire about perspectives hitherto unknown to them. We postulate that this process can be regarded as Mederu, a Japanese sense of loving used by people to willingly observe and care for the diverse elements of others or materials. This transitional learning that transcends professional and disciplinary boundaries may need to recur at various points in a professional’s career, requiring more sustainable and stable educational resources.

DOI： 10.5195/dpj.2025.607

DOI： 10.2486/indhealth.62_500_references_DOI_PiYmask5N691NaGiV9c1yrq4NEP

Online Problem-Based Learning in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Nagoya University, Japan Reviewed Open Access

Daseul Kwon, Takeshi Kondo, Noriyuki Takahashi, Hideki Takami, Hiroshi Nishigori, Branko Aleksic, Itzel Bustos-Villalobos, Tetsuya Yagi, Norbert Skokauskas

International Medical Education Vol. 3 ( 4 ) page： 501 - 511 2024.12

AI’s Accuracy in Extracting Learning Experiences from Clinical Practice Logs: An Observational Study (Preprint)

Takeshi Kondo, Hiroshi Nishigori

2024.11

Exploring yarigai: The meaning of working as a physician in teaching medical professionalism Open Access

Nishigori, H; Shimazono, Y; Busari, J; Dornan, T

MEDICAL TEACHER Vol. 46 ( 11 ) page： 1486 - 1493 2024.11

Language：English Publisher：Informa UK Limited

Introduction: The shift in medical professionalism now considers the well-being of physicians, given the prevalence of burnout and the importance of work-life balance. To reconsider the question ‘Why do doctors work for the patient?’ and explore the meaning of working as a physician, this study adopts the concept of ‘yarigai,’ which represents fulfillment and motivation in meaningful work. The authors’ research questions are: How do doctors recount experiences of yarigai in caring for patients? What kind of values are embodied in their stories about yarigai? Method: They adopted narrative inquiry as the methodology for this study. They interviewed 15 doctors who were recognized by their colleagues for their commitment to patient-centered care or had demonstrated yarigai in caring for patients. The semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face with each participant by the Japanese researchers, yielding 51 cases of patient-doctor interactions. After grouping the interview data, they translated the cases into English and identified four representative cases to present based on the set criteria. Results: From the 51 case studies, they constructed four representative narratives about the yarigai as a physician. Each of them spoke of (1) finding positive meaning in difficult situations, (2) receiving gifts embodying ikigai, (3) witnessing strength in a seemingly powerless human being, and (4) cultivating relationships that transcend temporal boundaries, as being rewarding in working as a physician. The main results of the study, which are the narratives, are described in the main body of the paper. Conclusion: The stories on yarigai gave intrinsic meanings to their occupational lives, which can be informative for students, residents, and young physicians when contemplating the meaning of their work as doctors. Rather than demanding selfless dedication from physicians towards patients, they believe it more important to foster yarigai, derived from the contribution to the well-being of others through patient care.

DOI： 10.1080/0142159X.2024.2316227

A mixed-methods study comparing human-led and ChatGPT-driven qualitative analysis in medical education research.

Takeshi Kondo, Junichiro Miyachi, Anders Jönsson, Hiroshi Nishigori

Nagoya journal of medical science Vol. 86 ( 4 ) page： 620 - 644 2024.11

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)

Qualitative research, used to analyse non-numerical data including interview texts, is crucial in understanding medical education processes. However, it is often complex and time-consuming, leading to an interest in technology for streamlining the analysis. This study investigated the applicability of ChatGPT, a large language model, in thematic analysis for medical qualitative research. Previous research has used ChatGPT to explore the deductive process as a qualitative study. This study evaluated thematic analysis including the inductive process by ChatGPT with reference to human qualitative analysis. A convergent design mixed-methods study was used. Using a thematic analysis approach, ChatGPT (model: GPT-4) analysed some interview data from a previously published medical research article. The assessors evaluated the qualitative analysis of ChatGPT using human qualitative analysis as a benchmark. Three assessors compared the human-conducted and ChatGPT-driven qualitative analyses. ChatGPT scored higher in most aspects but showed variable transferability and mixed depth scores. In the integrated analysis including qualitative data, six themes were identified: superficial similarity of results with human analysis, good first impression, explicit association with data and process, contamination by directions in prompts, deficiency of thick descriptions based on context and research questions, and lack of theoretical derivation. ChatGPT excels at extracting key data points and summarising information; however, it is prone to prompt contamination, which necessitates careful scrutiny. To achieve deeper analysis, it is essential to supplement the research context with human input and explore the theoretical framework.

DOI： 10.18999/nagjms.86.4.620

To teach is to learn twice, revisited: a qualitative study of how residents learn through teaching in clinical environments Reviewed

Takeshi Kondo, Noriyuki Takahashi, Muneyoshi Aomatsu, Hiroshi Nishigori

BMC Medical Education Vol. 24 ( 1 ) page： 829 2024.8

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Abstract

Background

Teaching helps the teacher’s own learning as a professional—as the saying goes, ‘to teach is to learn twice’. Near-peer teaching in clinical practice has been shown to contribute to the development of both teaching skills and necessary competencies for doctors. Research on how near-peer teachers learn through their teaching roles has mainly focused on classroom learning. However, understanding how the phenomenon of ‘teaching is learning twice’ occurs in clinical settings and its influencing factors is important for the development of a quality workplace learning environment. Therefore, this study investigated how residents learn through teaching in clinical practice and the factors influencing this process.

Methods

This study’s methodology is based on the constructivist grounded theory from a social constructivist perspective. Several teaching hospitals in Japan were included, and the study participants were post-graduate year 2 residents (PGY2s) from these hospitals. The interviews were recorded, transcribed into text, and analysed by the first author.

Results

From January 2016 to July 2022, 13 interviews were conducted with 11 PGY2s from nine educational hospitals. The PGY2s played diverse educational roles in clinical settings and learned competencies as physicians in almost all areas through such roles. We found that knowledge transfer and serving as role models stimulated PGY2s’ intrinsic motivation, encouraged reflection on their own experiences, and promoted self-regulated learning. Further, educating about procedural skills and clinical reasoning prompted reflection on their own procedural skills and thought processes. Supporting post-graduate year 1 residents’ reflections led to the refinement of PGY2s’ knowledge and thought processes through the verbal expression of their learning experiences. Such processes required the formation of a community of practice. Thus, education promoted learning through reflection and clarified the expert images of themselves that PGY2s envisaged.

Conclusions

The study found that residents acquire various physician competencies through multiple processes by teaching as near-peer teachers in clinical settings, that a community of practice must be formed for near-peer teaching to occur in a clinical setting, and that teaching brings learning to those who teach by promoting reflection and helping them envision the professionals they aim to be.

DOI： 10.1186/s12909-024-05814-3