Clinical Exchange in Japan

Japan has always been one of my favourite holiday destinations. The rich culture, tradition, language and local delicacies are some of the many things that attract me to the country. Hence, when the opportunity came about for us to apply to Nagoya University for my overseas elective, I jumped on it and was ecstatic when I received the offer.

Application process to Nagoya was straight forward. The documents needed were clearly stated on the school’s website. In addition, Nagoya University Hospital has an International Office, which is a department that is specifically catered for international students who wish to do an elective in the hospital. The staff from the International Office were extremely helpful and patient, answering all my queries and walked me through the entire application process.

During my cardiology rotation, I was attached to Dr Morimoto, who facilitated me through different departments in cardiology and ensured that I get the best experience in the 4 weeks. The cardiology department is subdivided into different teams. The advanced heart failure team, ischaemic heart disease team, electrophysiology team and pulmonary hypertension team.

As Nagoya University Hospital is one of the 10 hospitals in Japan that provide services for cardiac transplantation, we do see a lot of severe heart failure patients who are on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) and intra-aortic balloon pump to maintain their cardiac output. I was fortunate and privileged to witness the introduction of Impella, which is a ventricular support device used in patients with severe heart failure, to the hospital as Impella is a system and technology that has not been used much around the world.

In terms of research, the Cardiology department in Nagoya University Hospital is one of the leading research institutions and forefront of cardiology research. One of the most fascinating research that I came across during the 4 weeks is the use of adipose-derived regenerative cells for angiogenesis in myocardial infarction.

The Japanese people are known to be very hospitable and welcoming. Throughout my weeks here, different doctors have brought me out for lunch almost every day of the week. Also, I was pleasantly surprised when the doctors invited me out for a welcome dinner at the start of my rotation and a farewell dinner at the end of it. In the hospital, many doctors will take the initiative to approach me and have casual conversations with me throughout the day. Although many of them have trouble speaking English, they will still try their best to converse with me in English and never shy away from me because of that. I really appreciate all the doctors’ efforts to make me feel like I am part of the team.

Academics aside, I was fortunate enough to have 2 other colleagues from Adelaide University with me in the 4 weeks. Although we were all in different departments, we spent time over the weekends travelling around and experiencing Japan as a tourist. Whilst in Nagoya, we visited the Nagoya Castle, Port Nagoya Aquarium, various shrines and famous restaurants. On my last weekend, we took a trip down to Kyoto, which was only 40 mins away via the Shinkansen, and visited the famous tourist attraction in the area. Despite the busy schedule in the hospital, I was given ample time off during each week to explore Nagoya and visit its sights.

Overall, I enjoyed my rotation in Nagoya very much. From the people to the food, everything was great and I have nothing bad to say about it. I am truly grateful to all the doctors in the Cardiology department in Nagoya University Hospital for making me feel incredibly welcomed. I would also like to sincerely thank all nurses, researchers and staff members I have crossed path with throughout this period for accommodating to me. This is a once in a lifetime experience that I will always remember and cherish.

I would highly recommend Nagoya University as a clinical elective location to any perspective students who are considering it.

Left: Farewell dinner from the cardiology department
Center: Visited one of the Kyoto Shrines during the weekends
Right: Sushi train with the other 2 medical students