Clinical Exchange in Japan

I had an amazing experience at Nagoya University. Everyone in the hospital from physician to medical student welcome me with open arms and which helped the transition to work in a new cultural seamless and enjoyable. As a member of the Emergency Medicine team, each morning, I would come to the department for lectures on key Emergency medicine topics. After the lectures the physicians held discussions about treatment, diagnosis’s and care about interesting patients from previous days. Much of the rest of the day was spent taking care of patients in ICU. This was a formative experience and I was blown away how advanced the care was. The ICU physicians lead by Dr. Matusda at Nagoya hospital are brilliant in the management of very sick patients and are on the forefront of amazing research. I learned at great deal that I have applied in my practice in the states.

Even with the amazing work experience Dr. Matusda and the team made sure I had time to discover Japan and experience the amazing culture, food and hospitality. I was able to explore Nagoya with the other Japanese medical students, for example at most lunch breaks they would take me to a new local ramen shop. Each weekend was free from clinical duties and I traveled to Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo and Kobe. The team finished my four weeks work at Nagoya Hospital with an amazing meal, hosted by Dr. Matsuda.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to partake in this amazing exchange program. This experience helped foster deeper cultural understandings of healthcare which has made me a more complete physician. I learned a great deal while working in the ED and ICU that I will use in my future practice. I also fell in love with Japanese food and culture, and will return in the near future.