[Authorized Qualifications of Staff Conducting Examinations in the Field of Clinical Microbiology].

Because of the increase in healthcare-associated infections, appearance of highly resistant bacteria, and that of emerging/re-emerging infectious diseases, it is necessary for the skills of clinical microbiological technologists and the associated technology to be improved. Technologist in Microbiology (4,717 certified) and Specialist in Microbiology (58 certified) are authorized qualifications in the field of examination for clinical microbiology, with a history of 60 years, and Clinical Microbiological Technologist (670 certified) and Infection Control Microbiological Technologist (ICMT) (528 certified) are necessary qualifications to become a member of an infection control team. As problems to be resolved, clarifying the relationships among the authorized qualifications, reconsidering the fairness of evaluating written examinations, and further consideration of the administration method for an increasing number of examinees need to be tackled.