Perceptions of Japanese Medical Trainees and Physicians About Writing Case Reports: A Questionnaire-Based Survey

Writing case reports is scientifically and educationally valuable both for junior and senior physicians. To encourage this practice, the present study aimed to assess the perceptions of Japanese medical students, residents, and physicians about the value, facilitating factors, and barriers to writing case reports and specifically to compare the perceptions of trainees with those of attending physicians.

A questionnaire-based survey was administered to attendees of a lecture on case report writing held at a Japanese medical conference. The participants, who included medical students, residents, and physicians, completed a questionnaire on the benefits of, factors facilitating, and barriers to the activity of writing case reports. The respondents were categorized as trainees (postgraduate year (PGY) ≤ 6) or attending physicians (PGY ≥ 7) for comparison.

In total, 116 individuals responded. There was strong consensus on the value of writing case reports, with most of the respondents agreeing with "(case report writing) improves critical thinking" (93.9% agreed/strongly agreed). "Lectures and workshops" were most often cited (98.2%) as factors facilitating the activity. The most frequently cited barriers were "lack of formal training in writing case reports" (91.4%) and "lack of training in reviewing scientific literature" (91.4%). A subgroup analysis found that the trainees were significantly more likely than the attending physicians to cite "lack of English skills" as a barrier (81.8% vs. 59.0%; p = 0.008). More attending physicians than trainees supported the mandatory presentation of case reports at conferences (p = 0.002) and setting aside time for research or other scholarly activities (p = 0.048).

Case reports were perceived as a highly valued academic activity among Japanese physicians in a wide range of disciplines. Identifying the respective needs of attending and early-career physicians and providing individualized support may help promote the writing of case reports.