Translating, adapting, and validating the medical student version of the patient care ownership scale for use in Japan

Patient care ownership (PCO) among medical students is a growing area in the field of medical education. While PCO has received increasing attention, there are no instruments to assess PCO in the context of Japanese undergraduate medical education. This study aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and validate the PCO Scale – Medical students (PCOS-S) in the Japanese context.

We collected survey data from fifth- and sixth-grade medical students from five different universities varying in location and type. Structural validity, convergent validity, and internal consistency reliability were examined.

Data from 122 respondents were analyzed. Factor analysis of the Japanese PCOS-S revealed three factors with Cronbach’s alpha values exceeding the satisfactory criterion (0.70). A positive correlation was observed between the total Japanese PCOS-S scores and the global rating scores for the clinical department as a learning environment (Pearson’s correlation coefficient = 0.61).

We conducted the translation of the PCOS-S into Japanese and assessed its psychometric properties. The Japanese version has good reliability and validity. This instrument has potential value in assessing the development of medical students’ PCO.