This paper reviews the basic knowledge of noncognitive abilities, which have been greatly discussed literature in recent years, and deliberate implications for medical education. Noncognitive ability is a term that implies separation from being a cognitive ability. However, here, the binary value of ability does not refer to a wide range of cognitive abilities, but rather to a narrower range of abilities measured by intelligence tests and academic achievement tests. Noncognitive ability is defined in terms of four aspects: noncognitive, measurable, predictive, and intervening. Noncognitive competence includes many psychological characteristics, all of which are important in the practice of medicine and should be systematically developed.

　In recent years, non-cognitive abilities have garnered attention, and their significance is attributed to overall well-being. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is an educational program specifically focused on the social and emotional aspects of non-cognitive abilities. The domains of SEL are divided into self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. These can be incorporated into various educational settings, including classroom instruction and extracurricular activities. While SEL is primarily introduced in elementary education, non-cognitive abilities remain crucial for higher education and professional training as they both learners and educators.

　Education aimed at nurturing “non-cognitive abilities” that are not measured as academic skills has been garnering attention because these abilities can contribute to academic performance and life success. Empathy, one of these “non-cognitive abilities,” has been conceptualized in different ways in education, psychology and health care professional education. Therefore, this article provides an overview of the topic by combining its status as a “non-cognitive ability” with its role in health care professional education. This paper also reviews educational practices implemented to foster empathy.

　First, we attempt to clarify the characteristics of empathy within the focus of different contexts. Through this, we introduce the concept of empathy in health care professional education as similar to that of psychology, in that it can be divided into two elements: cognitive and emotional. Second, regarding the elements of empathy, we review examples of educational programs that have been implemented to foster empathy among students in health care professional education, comparing them to their general education counterparts. Thus, we broaden the scope of empathy to include psychological attributes and skills, as well as empathetic environments and situations in which students and health care professionals find it difficult to empathize with others. Thus, this article can be used as a guide for overviewing the concept of empathy and developing education on empathy in health care professional education.

　Mindfulness, a non-cognitive ability, is characterized as the awareness that arises from intentionally paying attention to the present moment without being influenced by value judgments. The importance of medical students acquiring mindfulness skills has been highlighted to encompass 1) a mindful response to patients, 2) an appropriate response to their own stress, 3) developing resilience as clinicians and faculty, and 4) cultivating better clinical decision-making skills. This paper will provide an overview of mindfulness, including its history and introduction into medical education, particularly students’ education for health care providers, and will present recent findings on the effectiveness of mindfulness and the challenges associated with it.

　Grit is considered one of the important non-cognitive abilities that support the educational process for health professions, which requires a long period of study and training. Grit is defined as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals.” Grit has been shown to contribute to career achievement in various fields by supporting commitment to long-term goals.

　In the context of health professions education, grit contributes to career achievement by reducing the risk of burnout and supporting lifelong, continuous learning and deliberate practice. This paper discusses two approaches to fostering grit in medical education: one based on achievement goal theory and the other on superordinate goals.

　This article examines the role of the noncognitive ability, Emotional Intelligence (EI), in leadership. As the complexity of tasks required of teams expands, leaders are increasingly expected to play a role in supporting followers in demonstrating their own abilities. For this reason, a leader’s attitude toward followers is important and rooted in EI. There are five elements of EI: “Self-awareness,” “Self-regulation,” “Motivation,” “Empathy,” and “Social skills.” Being able to recognize “Self-awareness” leads to “Self-regulation” and “Motivation.” At the same time, “Self-awareness” also moves from “Empathy” to “Social skills.” In this paper, the cultivation of EI is also discussed.

　Introduction: This study analyzed the reproducibility of residency training evaluation forms revised in FY 2020 using EPOC2.

　Methods: Reproducibility was assessed by calculating the concordance rate and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) between evaluations from two clinical educators during the same clinical department rotation. Additionally, Bland-Altman plots were created to visualize the data.

　Results: Out of 13,184 residents at facilities using EPOC2, approximately 3,800 who were evaluated more than twice by clinical educators during the same training period were analyzed. The average concordance rates for items A, B, and C were 68.6%, 43.8%, and 57.6%, respectively, indicating variability in evaluations among clinical educators. ICC values were also low.

　Discussion: Our findings suggest that the reproducibility of evaluations was low and discrepancies among clinical educators’ assessments were evident. To improve reproducibility, we recommend increasing the number of evaluations by different clinical educators and strengthening clinical educator workshops.