Clinical Exchange in Japan

Hello!

My name is Adam, and I was a medical student at Lund University in Sweden. During the last course of my education, I got the fantastic opportunity to do a clinical clerkship at Nagoya University Hospital where I spent four weeks at two different departments, cardiac surgery and plastic- and reconstructive surgery.

At the two departments I got to meet kind and caring doctors that made this experience very enjoyable. They always made me feel comfortable and because of them I was able to learn a lot during my time in Japan. Since I do not speak the Japanese language, my main objective was to see as many surgeries as possible, which the doctors helped me with. I was able to participate in a load of different types of surgeries that each used a specific technique, everything from laparoscopic and microsurgeries to robotic and open-heart surgeries. Most of the times I was allowed scrub in, mainly so it was easier for me to see and for the doctors to explain to me what they were doing. I did not do too much practically, except for assisting in some instances and sometimes close the wounds, but I am grateful for the trust they had for me to do even the simplest tasks.

In addition to learn about the two specialties where I had my practice, I was able to learn a lot about the Japanese health care system and its priorities. What I admired the most during my practice was the dedication the personnel had towards their jobs. They could spend countless of hours each week, which is something unusual for me as a swede since we have our regular 8 hours of work each day. This I believe stems from Japanese culture to always strive for excellence which of course carries both pros and cons. However, I will for sure take with me these experiences in a positive way and implement the mindset in my future career as a doctor.

During my time in Japan, I was able to travel around the country and experience different places in addition to Nagoya. As the three pictures above shows, I was able to visit Kyoto, Tokyo and Osaka. All three cities had their own style, all of which I enjoyed very much. It was really remarkable to experience both the old Japanese history and the new, modern technology. However, since I did not have an infinite amount of time, I was not able to experience everything. I still missed out on a lot of cities and places to visit and the time I had in the places I did visit was not enough to explore everything I wanted to. However, this just gives me a reason to come back in the future, which I will gladly do since I really enjoyed my time in Japan. The food, the people, the culture and the life I experienced made me feel like Japan was like a second home.

So, to summarize it all, this opportunity has given me experiences and knowledge that I will implement in my future career as a doctor. But more importantly it has given me memories and friendships to cherish for a lifetime. This was not the only time I will be visiting Japan, so instead of a goodbye, I say that I will see you later!

Thank You/Arigato Gozaimasu
 Adam