Clinical Exchange in Japan

Departments: Obstetrics and Gynecology
Period: July-August 2012

I, together with Miss Huang, feel deeply honored to visit Japan and participate in the 10 weeks exchange program in Nagoya University. This visit has been a most meaningful and pleasant experience we ever had. I still remember the first day we arrived in Nagoya, I was so moved and felt so sorry that Dr.Kasuya waited for us in his office till midnight. Then the next Monday we were introduced to Dr.Sumigama and started our clerkship Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Nagoya University Hospital. We followed all the three teams in OBGY under the provision of Dr.Sumigama, Dr.Tsuda and Dr.Mori one week for each, during which we observed their treatment in outpatient as well as took part in operation like Caesarean section, L-ME, etc. We were also welcomed and had a lot of talks with the foreign staff members. They helped us to understand the process of introcytoplasmic sperm injection. Dr.Mori taught me basic laparoscopic techniques with great patience and at the time we finished our study in OBGY I had already mastered in making knot and stitch in the laparoscopic operation model.

After that we spent four weeks in the Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery. Both Dr.Imai and Dr.Kikumori have years of research experience in U.S that guaranteed a fluent and precise English communication with them. We joint plenty of operations from thyroid carcinoma resection to breast cancer modified radical mastectomy and were surprised by those amazing apparatus used like V-lock thread as well as how they close the incision. Dr Kikumori is always passionate, earnest like a bulldog and very talktive that we had a lot of chats over not only operation things but also culture and news, which gave me a insight of Japanese health system and people’s life in Japan. At the final week, I was assigned to give a report on a latest paper about standard chemotherapy for advanced adrenocortical carcinoma from NEMJ. In order to convey a perfect report, I learnt and prepared a lot about medical research and even found interest in it. Then, with the help of Dr.Kasuya, I managed to apply a Phd in the Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery under the provision of Dr.Kikumori. We really had a great time with all the staff both in operation and diner time.

Then we finally entered the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology , we were well received in the endoscope room and impressed by the hospitality of Prof.Goto. As I observed more and more upper GI endoscope examination, I gradually found out that it is the working ethic (doctors do not have lunch in fear of losing concentration) more than those splendid device that attributes to the high rate in early gastric tumor diagnosis which makes Japan the first field in this area. Dr. Matsushita utilized the model to teach us the very basic ways to perform a upper GI examination and Dr.Nagamura explained capsule endoscope working patterns to us with great enthusiasm.

In this exchange program, we also made acquaintance with many Japanese students and enjoyed ourselves with them. Hiroto, Konomi, Song Clinton I shall miss you all.

In addition, it was such a privilege that we had a meeting with minister Furukawa and I was given a chance to speak on behalf of Chinese students abroad.

This ten weeks exchange program experience has been my most valuable one in all my university life. It is beyond my description to express our visceral gratitude to doctors and friends we made in this short period of time. And especially to Dr. Kasuya who took care of us and guided us, thank you very much.