Impact of general practice/family medicine training on Japanese junior residents: reflective writing analysis using text mining

Abstract

Background: We previously reported the impact of general practice/family medicine training on postgraduate training in Japan using evaluation criteria standardized nationwide. However, there is a possibility that new insights may be gained by analyzing the reflective reports written by these residents. Methods: Junior residents who participated in one-month general practice/family medicine training at one of five medical institutions with full-time family medicine specialists between 2019 and 2022 were enrolled in this study. They were assigned to submit a reflective report on their experiences and thoughts every day during the training. We analyzed these reflective writings using text mining and created a co-occurrence network map to see the relationship between the most frequently used words. Results: Ninety junior residents participated in the study. The words that appeared most frequently in the sentences referring to clinical ability included “symptoms,” “medical examination,” “consultation,” “treatment,” and “examination.” The words of “family” and “(patient) oneself” showed strong association in the co-occurrence network map. Conclusion: It was suggested that general practice/family medicine training greatly contributes to the acquisition of clinical abilities and deepens the learning of junior residents not only about patient care but also about family-oriented care.