Initiatives and achievements of the Japanese Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Obstetrics and Gynecology MIRAI Committee 2020

Backgrounds: In 2013, the total number of obstetrician-gynecologists decreased. The Japanese Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology established the Obstetrics and Gynecology MIRAI Committee in 2015. Within the MIRAI Committee, Japanese Trainees in Obstetrics and Gynecology (JTOG) was established; it was comprised of 20 promising young obstetrician-gynecologists recommended from regions across Japan. The office term is 2 years. Objective: The purpose of this report is to learn and inform about the results of MIRAI's activities. Methods: We surveyed the trends in new obstetrician-gynecologists and also matched each seminar participant with them. Result: The number of new memberships has been increasing since the nadir in 2016. In particular, there are over 100 more new physicians specializing in the field in 2020 than there were at the nadir in 2016. It was revealed that approximately 50% of the participants in the summer school specialized in obstetrics and gynecology. Furthermore, approximately 70% of POP2 participants specialized in obstetrics and gynecology, which shows that these two recruitment seminars are extraordinarily effective events that result in an increase in the number of new obstetricians and gynecologists. Conclusion: We conclude that the activities of this MIRAI Committee and JTOG have been effective. With the spread of COVID-19 and the inability of obstetrician-gynecologists and students/clinical trainees to perform social distancing, it is currently difficult to hold hands-on seminars. However, we hope that new JTOG members will be able to create a new seminar format.