Aligning pre-licensure education with entry-level clinical demands is central to effective professional development in health professions education. We conducted a national gap analysis in clinical engineering, comparing 40 competencies across two Japanese datasets: graduate attainment levels assessed by 64 educational programs (five-point scale) and perceived entry-level necessity rated by 249 practicing clinical engineers (four-point scale). Program ratings were linearly rescaled and standardized; item-level gaps were computed as necessity minus rescaled attainment, with robustness verified through z-score analysis and rank aggregation. The 40-item scale demonstrated high reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.965). Principal component analysis revealed a general competence factor alongside dimensions contrasting technology/data skills with ethics/patient-centeredness, and social context with reflection/professional demeanor. Strong convergence emerged in ethics, confidentiality, professional demeanor, and interprofessional collaboration—domains where high graduate attainment aligned with practitioners' ratings. The largest gaps highlighted self-management capacities (autonomy, initiative, sustained effort, reflective practice), rated highly necessary by practitioners but showing lower graduate attainment. Conversely, manager-oriented safety competencies (leading training, organizing incident-prevention programs) exhibited education-leading patterns, exceeding entry-level necessity. We recommend embedding behavioral-change assessments into OSCEs, problem-based learning, and portfolios (reflection → improvement planning → re-performance) to strengthen self-management competencies, while deferring managerial safety roles to postgraduate training. This framework offers a replicable approach for enhancing education–practice alignment in clinical engineering and other health professions.

Authors:
Takao Asai, Kobe University, Japan
Mototsugu Kudo, Japan Healthcare University, Japan
Jun'ya Hori, Okayama University of Science, Japan
Hiroshi Tsukao, Juntendo University, Japan
Akihiro Watanabe, Nihon Institute of Medical Science, Japan
Akio Nakajima, Kyorin University, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Takao Asai is currently an Associate Professor of Medical Device Engineering at Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.

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