Clinical Exchange in Japan

During my last year of medical school, I had the honor and pleasure to spend eight unforgettable weeks at Nagoya University Hospital which turned out to be one of my most precious and valuable experiences not just medically but also personally.

Cardiac Surgery Department

Since I have already been in contact with Cardiac Surgery during my 8 months period of medical research at my home university, I was excited to gain further insights in this field in another country. Despite feeling nervous on my first day, I was impressed by the heartwarming welcome of the whole department. Throughout my internship, I was totally amazed by their sincere interest in my learning progress and the immense support provided by every surgeon to enhance both my practical skills and theoretical knowledge.
During my 4-week stay at the department, I was invited to participate in multiple surgeries, join the weekly Journal club, as well as the daily morning conferences. Since my Japanese language skills were (without being modest) very basic, they actively switched to English during most of their meetings to let me be part of their discussion. I especially want to thank Dr. Sachie Terazawa, who I had the pleasure to call my mentor during my time at the department, for her outstanding supervision and support. Special thanks also go out to Prof. Dr. Mutsuga and Dr. Tokuda for their excellent teaching and support.

Pediatric Surgery Department

Since Pediatric Surgery is not part of our rotation schedule in Munich, I was very excited to gain first-hand experience in this field. That being said, my expectations were exceeded. From day one, the department actively involved me in their daily routines, which included a morning conference (conducted in English), rounds on the PICU and the normal pediatric ward, and either 2-3 operations per day in the operating room or a visit to the pediatric outpatient clinic of the hospital. Once again, I cannot express my gratitude enough to all members of the Pediatric department for the wonderful time I spent there, and I can definitely recommend every international student to rotate there, even without any prior medical knowledge, as in my case.

Personal experience

That being said about the clinical experiences I had at Nagoya University, I would like to emphasize the following: What made my stay unique and unforgettable was, to a great extent, the social activities with the Japanese students I meet there. Their dedication to introducing me to traditional food, cultural customs, and places, along with their incomparable warm welcome and companionship, gave me the feeling of being at home, even though I was on the other side of the world.
On a personal note, I also want to extend my sincere gratitude to Prof. Dr. Bustos for her endless support during my application, stay, and beyond. I want to be like you when I grow up!

All in all, I had an amazing time at Nagoya and can´t even express enough my gratitude to the local students as well as all members at both departments.