Physician/Supervisory Physician Accreditation System Rules/Bylaws

Japanese Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Therapy: Physician/Supervisory Physician Accreditation System Rules

Chapter 1: General Provisions

Article 1: The Japanese Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Therapy (hereinafter referred to as “the Society”) will implement a physician/supervisory physician accreditation system based on Chapter 2, Article 4 (10) of the Articles of Incorporation.

Article 2: Under the accreditation and qualification system, a physician who has met the prescribed conditions established by the Society will be regarded as having superior knowledge and abilities in clinical nutrition that primarily utilizes parenteral nutrition and enteral nutrition, and will be recognized as a Society-accredited physician. The period of accreditation will be five (5) years. Conditions for accreditation renewal will be set out separately.

Article 3: Under the accreditation and qualification system, a physician who not only meets the conditions set out in Article 2 but has sufficient experience and record of performance in supervising clinical nutrition training will be recognized as a supervisory physician by the Society. A supervisory physician shall have accredited physician qualifications. The period of accreditation will be five (5) years. Conditions for accreditation renewal will be set out separately.

Chapter 2: Accreditation and Qualification System Committee

Article 4: The Society will install an official Accreditation and Qualification System Committee (hereinafter “the Committee”) to examine how to implement and improve the physician/supervisory physician accreditation system and also examine programs to nurture outstanding physicians who can keep pace with progress in clinical nutrition.

Article 5: The Committee will perform duties necessary for physician and supervisory physician accreditation and examine programs for introducing more advanced nutrition therapy.

Article 6: The Committee will consist of a chairperson appointed in accordance with Chapter 6, Article 35, Paragraph 2, of the Articles of Incorporation, and members recommended by the chairperson. Members will serve for two (2) years and may be reappointed.

Article 7: For physician accreditation, a physician accreditation examination will be given once a year. Specific details about the physician accreditation examination will be set out separately.

Chapter 3: Physician Accreditation

Article 8: Conditions and Qualifications of Persons Applying to Become an Accredited Physician

Accredited Physician Qualifications

Physicians who are members of the Society can apply to become an accredited physician if they meet all of the following qualifications:

1. They obtained their Japanese physician’s license at least five (5) years ago and have been a member for at least three (3) years.
2. They have attended at least four (4) total nutritional therapy (TNT) seminars, nutrition support team (NST) educational seminars for physicians, or life long learning (LLL) live courses hosted or co-hosted by the Society.
3. They have been the lead presenter at a Society academic meeting or branch academic meeting. In addition, they have had at least two (2) experiences as presenter (whether lead or joint presenter), moderator, facilitator, or commentator at a society meeting or workshop on clinical nutrition deemed appropriate by the Committee. If, however, a physician has instructor experience in Society-hosted or co-hosted TNT, NST physician educational seminars, LLL live courses, JCNT educational seminars, required seminars for NST therapist examination, required seminars for NST therapist renewal, or skill improvement seminars (which ended in 2018), he/she will be deemed to have met the qualifications above.
4. They have written as lead author at least one (1) academic paper (original paper, review article, case report, or book) on clinical nutrition that was deemed appropriate by the Committee, or at least three (3) as coauthor.
5. They have participated in at least two (2) Society academic meetings.
6. After meeting the conditions in 1 to 5 above, they have passed a test for accreditation.

Note: Society meetings and workshops deemed appropriate by the Committee refer to national and regional academic meetings similar in size to the Society’s academic meetings and branch academic meetings, but will not include accredited regional meetings (prefectural) mentioned in the Therapist Accreditation Regulations.

Article 9: Physician Accreditation Examination

Persons apply for the physician accreditation examination of certified physicians must complete the required information from the prescribed section and submit it to the Accreditation and Qualification System Committee along with supporting documents.

１. Documents to submit with physician accreditation examination application
-Physician’s license – 1 photocopy
-TNT, physician educational seminars, LLL live course certificates – photocopies
-For society meeting presentations, moderating, etc.: verifiable programs, abstracts – photocopies
-For academic papers: separate print or complete copy
-Japanese Society for Parenreral and Enteral Nutrition Therapy meeting participation certificates – originals (formerly: Japanese Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism academic meeting participation certificates)
Submit each of the above as examination application documents.

Payment of a 10,000 yen examination fee will be required in order to take the examination.

Article 10: A person who fails the examination will be regarded as having passed the document review and will be exempt from document reviews for five (5) years starting from the following fiscal year. When the aforementioned period of validity expires, the person will again be regarded as a new candidate for examination and subject to document review.

Article 11: Application for Physician Accreditation

Physicians who have passed the accreditation examination and wish to be accredited must submit the notification of passing along with the specified accreditation application that was sent with the notification. After confirming that the accreditation fee has been paid, the Committee will issue an accreditation certificate. The accreditation fee will be 20,000 yen.

Article 12: Physician accreditation process will take place once a year.

Chapter 4: Supervisory Physician Accreditation

Article 13: Conditions and Qualifications of Persons Applying to Become a Supervisory Physician

Supervisory Physician Qualifications

Physicians who have acquired accreditation can apply to become a supervisory physician if, during their period of accreditation, they meet all of the five (5) qualifications below:

1. They have been an accredited physician for at least three (3) years.
2. They have attended at least four (4) life long learning (LLL) live courses, and have passing certificates (diplomas) for at least two (2) courses.
3. They have had at least five (5) experiences as presenter (whether lead or joint presenter), moderator, facilitator, or commentator at a society academic meeting, branch academic meeting, or society meeting or workshop on clinical nutrition deemed appropriate by the Committee. If, however, a physician has instructor experience in Society-hosted or co-hosted TNT, NST physician educational seminars, JCNT educational seminars, LLL live courses, required seminars for NST therapist examination, required seminars for NST therapist renewal, or skill improvement seminars (which ended in 2018), he/she will be deemed to have met the qualifications above.
4. They have written as either lead author or coauthor at least three (3) academic papers (original papers, review articles, case reports, or books) on clinical nutrition that were deemed appropriate by the Committee. Preferably, one (1) of the papers will have been published in the Society’s journal.
5. They have participated in at least three (3) Society academic meetings.

Article 14: Application for Supervisory Physician Accreditation

For physicians who wish to be accredited as a supervisory physician, there will be a review of the specified application documents necessary for accreditation that have been submitted by the individual. After that, payment of the review fee and accreditation fee will be confirmed and a certificate of accreditation will be issued. The review fee will be 10,000 yen, and the supervisory physician accreditation fee will be 20,000 yen.

The following documents must be submitted for application

-Resume
-LLL live course passing certificates (diplomas), at least two (2) courses (photocopies)
-For society meeting presentations, moderating, etc.: verifiable programs, abstracts (photocopies)
-For academic papers: separate print or complete copy
-Japanese Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Therapy academic meeting participation certificates (originals) (formerly: Japanese Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism academic meeting participation certificates)
-When applying for supervisory physician accreditation, submit a copy of your certificate of accreditation for physician as proof of physician accreditation.

Article 15: Supervisory physician accreditation process will take place once a year.

Chapter 5: Certificates of Accreditation for Physicians and Supervisory Physicians

Article 16: Certificates of accreditation for Society-accredited physicians and supervisory physicians will be valid for five (5) years from the date of issue. If, however, a physician loses his/her qualification according to the provisions of Chapter 6, the period of validity will end as of the date of disqualification.

Article 17: The Committee chairperson must report the names of those recognized as accredited physicians and supervisory physicians to the Board of Directors and at General Meetings of Employees.

Chapter 6: Loss of Qualification as Accredited Physician or Supervisory Physician

Article 18: The Committee will discuss and then cancel the accreditation of a physician or supervisory physician for the following reasons:

1. The individual has declined the qualification as accredited physician or supervisory physician for justifiable reasons.
2. The qualification as accredited physician or supervisory physician has been revoked.
3. The physician’s Japanese license has been lost, forfeited, or taken away.
4. The qualification as accredited physician or supervisory physician has not been renewed.

Article 19: If an accredited physician or supervisory physician has engaged in an inappropriate act, the Committee and Board of Directors will discuss and may revoke the accreditation of the physician or supervisory physician.

Chapter 7: Renewal of Physician Accreditation

Article 20: Physicians who are members of the Society and have been accredited for five (5) years can apply for renewal of their physician accreditation if they meet all of the requirements in items 1 to 4 below.

1. They have been a member of the Society without interruption, and have paid their membership fee at the time of application.
2. They have been a presenter (lead or joint presenter) at a Society academic meeting or branch academic meeting. In addition, they have had at least two (2) experiences as presenter (whether lead or joint presenter), moderator, facilitator, or commentator at a society meeting or workshop on clinical nutrition deemed appropriate by the Committee. If, however, a physician has instructor experience in Society-hosted or co-hosted TNT, NST physician educational seminars, JCNT educational seminars, JSPEN nutrition master courses, LLL live courses, required seminars for NST therapist examination, required seminars for NST therapist renewal, skill improvement seminars (which ended in 2018), or NST basic courses, he/she will be deemed to have met the qualifications above.
3. They have written as either lead author or coauthor at least one (1) academic paper (original paper, review article, case report, or book) on clinical nutrition that was deemed appropriate by the Committee.
4. They have participated in at least three (3) Society academic meetings. One of these can be either a training program designated at a Society academic meeting^*1), participation in an NST forum, or JSPEN nutrition master course.
5. Periods of voluntarily suspension as specified in Article 4 of the Bylaws for the Articles of Incorporation will not be included in the period of accreditation. Units acquired and qualification renewal applications will not be approved during a voluntarily suspension of membership. The corresponding renewal time will be extended by an amount equivalent to the period of voluntarily suspension.

*1) Designated training programs
(1) Designated training programs other than NST forums refer to sessions for renewing the accreditations of supervisory physicians, accredited physicians, and accredited dentists.
(2) The designation of designated training programs will be checked each year by the chairpersons of academic meetings and Committee on Practical Support of Academic Meetings, Accreditation and Qualification System Committee, and Education Committee, and will, in principle, be determined with the approval of the Board of Directors.

Chapter 8: Renewal of Supervisory Physician Accreditation

Article 21: Supervisory physicians who are members of the Society and have been accredited for five (5) years can apply for renewal of their supervisory physician accreditation if they meet all of the requirements in items 1 to 4 below.

1. They have been a member of the Society without interruption, and have paid their membership fee at the time of application.
2. They have had at least five (5) experiences as presenter (whether lead or joint presenter), moderator, facilitator, or commentator at a Society academic meeting, branch academic meeting, or society meeting or workshop^*1) on clinical nutrition deemed appropriate by the Committee. If, however, a physician has instructor experience in Society-hosted or co-hosted TNT, NST physician educational seminars, JCNT educational seminars, JSPEN nutrition master courses, LLL live courses, required seminars for NST therapist examination, required seminars for NST therapist renewal, skill improvement seminars (which ended in 2018), or NST basic courses, he/she will be deemed to have met the qualifications above.
3. They have written as either lead author or coauthor at least one (1) academic paper (original paper, review article, case report, or book) on clinical nutrition that was deemed appropriate by the Committee.
4. They have participated in at least three (3) Society academic meetings. One of these can be either a training program designated at a Society academic meeting^*1), participation in an NST forum, or JSPEN nutrition master course.
5. Periods of voluntarily suspension as specified in Article 4 of the Bylaws for the Articles of Incorporation will not be included in the period of accreditation. Units acquired and qualification renewal applications will not be approved during a voluntarily suspension of membership. The corresponding renewal time will be extended by an amount equivalent to the period of voluntarily suspension.

Chapter 9: Certificate of Accreditation for Physicians and Supervisory Physicians (Renewal)

Article 22: For accredited physicians and supervisory physicians who wish to have their accreditation renewed, there will be a review of the specified application documents necessary for renewal that have been submitted by the individual. After that, payment of the accreditation renewal fee will be confirmed and a certificate of accreditation will be issued. The physician accreditation renewal fee will be 10,000 yen. The supervisory physician accreditation renewal fee will be 10,000 yen. Starting in 2016, physician and supervisory physician accreditation renewal process will take place once a year. If, during his or her period of accreditation, an accredited physician or supervisory physician is 66 years old on March 31, his/her qualification will expire and change to lifetime accreditation. In addition, a physician with lifetime accreditation can continue to have supervisor qualifications at an accredited educational institution. Download and use the application documents available at the website (https://www.jspen.or.jp).

-Proof of physician/supervisory physician accreditation: copy of certificate of accreditation
-For society meeting presentations, moderating, etc.: programs or abstracts (photocopies) that can prove participation
-For academic papers: separate print or complete copy
-Japanese Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Therapy academic meeting participation certificates: originals (formerly: Japanese Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism academic meeting participation certificates)
Submit each of the above.

Chapter 10: Suspension of Qualification as Accredited Physician or Supervisory Physician

Article 23: If sickness or other condition prevents renewal, the person’s accreditation/qualification will be suspended. The same will apply to the person’s supervisor qualifications at accredited educational institutions.

Article 24: Qualifications may be suspended for up to two (2) years in principle, and activities to qualify for renewal performed during that time will be valid. The period of accreditation will be five (5) years, including any periods of suspension.

Article 25: If an upcoming renewal is desired, the conditions for renewal must be met during the period, excluding periods of suspension mentioned in the preceding Article.

Article 26: If renewal is not applied for during a period of suspension, accreditations/qualifications will be forfeited when the period of suspension ends.

Chapter 11: Changes to Rules, Establishment of Bylaws

Article 27: These Rules can be changed following discussion and approval by the Committee and Board of Directors, and approved by vote of General Meeting of Employees. Bylaws will also be established according to the same procedures.

Supplementary Provisions:

1. Provisional measures: Until these Accreditation Rules come into effect, physicians and supervisory physicians will be accredited according to provisional measures implemented by the Committee pursuant to the conditions established in these Accreditation Rules.
2. Provisional accreditation methods are set out separately.
3. Physician accreditation examinations have been conducted since 2013.
4. These Accreditation Rules were amended on March 8, 2011.
5. These Accreditation Rules came into effect on May 1, 2011.
6. These Accreditation Rules were amended on February 20, 2013.
7. These Accreditation Rules came into effect on February 20, 2013.
8. These Accreditation Rules were amended on February 22, 2017.
9. These Accreditation Rules came into effect on February 22, 2017.
10. These Accreditation Rules came into effect on February 21, 2018.
11. These Accreditation Rules were revised on February 13, 2019, and came into effect on January 1, 2020.
12. Along with the Society’s name change on January 1, 2020, portions of these Rules containing the term “Japanese Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition” were changed to “Japanese Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism”. All certificates of accreditation and certificates of completion issued after the February 2020 Ordinary General Meeting of Employees will be issued under the Society’s new name. However, certificates of accreditation and certificates of completion issued in the past, whether before or after the name change, will be regarded as valid and belonging to the Society, and will not require special procedures to be taken for them.
13. These Accreditation Rules came into effect on February 26, 2020.
14. These Accreditation Rules came into effect on February 28, 2021.
15. These Accreditation Rules came into effect on February 12, 2023.
16. These Accreditation Rules came into effect on February 14, 2024.
17．Along with the Society’s name change on April 1, 2024, portions of these Rules containing the term “Japanese Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition ” were changed to “Japanese Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Therapy”. Certificates of accreditation and certificates of completion issued in the past, whether before or after the name change, will be regarded as valid and belonging to the Society, and will not require special procedures to be taken for them.

Japanese Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Therapy Accreditation and Qualification: Bylaws for the Physician/Supervisory Physician Accreditation System Rules

Chapter 1: General Provisions

Article 1: With the implementation of the Physician/Supervisory Physician Accreditation System Rules for the Japanese Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Therapy, matters that are not covered by the Rules will comply with the provisions of these Bylaws.

Chapter 2: Physician Accreditation Examination Working Group

Article 2: The Physician Accreditation Examination Working Group (hereinafter referred to as “Examination WG”) will consist of a chairperson appointed as specified in Chapter 6, Article 35, Paragraph 2 of the Articles of Incorporation, and members recommended by the chairperson (Society delegates). Members will serve for a term of one (1) year and be eligible for reappointment.

Article 3: The Examination WG will prepare the questions used in the physician accreditation examination.

Article 4: The Accreditation and Qualification System Committee (hereinafter referred to as “the Committee”) and Examination Committee will issue public notices about accreditation examinations in the Society journal and Society website (https://www.jspen.or.jp).

Article 5: The Committee will exercise general control over all activities involving physician and supervisory physician accreditation, and will report to the Board of Directors.

Chapter 3: Physician Accreditation Examination and Physician Accreditation

Article 6: Persons applying for the physician accreditation examination should download the below-mentioned application documents from the website (https://www.jspen.or.jp), fill in the required information, and submit the documents to the Committee.

Article 7: The physician accreditation examination will be given once a year.

Article 8: The Committee chairperson will report the names of those recognized as accredited physicians to the Board of Directors and General Meeting of Employees, and when approved, will publish the names in the Society journal and Society website (https://www.jspen.or.jp).

Article 9: Accreditation for Society-accredited physicians will be valid for five (5) years from the date of issue. If, however, a physician loses his/her qualification according to the provisions of Chapter 6 of the Physician/Supervisory Physician Accreditation System Rules, the period of validity will end as of the date of disqualification.

Article 10: If an accredited physician has engaged in an inappropriate act, the accreditation/qualification of the physician may be revoked by votes of both the Committee and Board of Directors.

Chapter 4: Supervisory Physician Accreditation

Article 11: The Committee chairperson will report the names of those accredited as supervisory physicians to the Board of Directors and General Meeting of Employees, and when approved, will publish the names in the Society journal and Society website (https://www.jspen.or.jp).

Article 12: Accreditation for Society-accredited supervisory physicians will be valid for five (5) years from the date of issue. If, however, a physician loses his/her qualification according to the provisions of Chapter 6 of the Physician/Supervisory Physician Accreditation System Rules, the period of validity will end as of the date of disqualification.

Article 13: If a supervisory physician has engaged in an inappropriate act, the accreditation/qualification of the supervisory physician may be revoked by votes of both the Committee and Board of Directors.

Chapter 5: Restoration of/Reapplication for Physician/Supervisory Physician Accreditation

Article 14: If Article 25 (System Rules) applies due to unavoidable circumstances, the Accreditation and Qualification System Committee will examine how to handle the situation.

Article 15: An accredited physician or supervisory physician whose qualifications have been lost as specified in Article 17, Paragraph 4 (System Rules) or Article 25 (System Rules) may have the qualifications restored under the conditions described in 1 to 3 below. A physician/supervisory physician should apply for accreditation restoration during the regular accreditation renewal application period. If, however, circumstances prevent one from applying for physician/supervisory physician accreditation renewal in the usual way, application for restoration should be done separately.

1. The person has continuously maintained his/her membership with the Japanese Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Therapy, and has paid his/her membership fee.
2. The person has submitted a request for restoration of physician/supervisory physician accreditation in the prescribed form.
3. The person has met the conditions for renewing physician/supervisory physician accreditation within the past 5 years, dating from the year in which restoration of accreditation was requested.

Article 16: After restoration, the period of accreditation will begin anew. Also, one’s accreditation history will include earlier periods of accreditation, excluding periods when accreditation was suspended or lost.

Chapter 6: Changes to Rules

Article 17: These Rules can be changed by resolutions of both the Committee and Board of Directors and approval at a General Meeting of Employees.

Supplementary Provisions:

These Accreditation Rule Bylaws came into effect on May 1, 2011.
These Accreditation Rule Bylaws came into effect on February 24, 2016.
These Accreditation Rule Bylaws came into effect on February 22, 2017.
These Accreditation Rule Bylaws came into effect on February 21, 2018.
These Accreditation Rule Bylaws was revised on February 13, 2019, and came into effect on January 1, 2020.
These Accreditation Rule Bylaws came into effect on February 28, 2021.
These Accreditation Rule Bylaws came into effect on February 14, 2024.
Along with the Society’s name change on April 1, 2024, portions of these Rules containing the term “Japanese Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition ” were changed to “Japanese Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition Therapy”