Clinical Exchange in Japan

In April, 2015, I was able to have my medical elective in Nagoya University and I wholeheartedly enjoyed my clinical attachment.

Gastroenterology and Hepatology department:

In the first 2 weeks of my attachment, I started attaching the endoscopy team in the gastroenterology department. Prof. Goto and Prof. Kawashima gave me a brief introduction about the department and the daily routines.
During my clinical clerkship here, I have encountered a lot of endoscopic surgery including endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). Most gastric cancer occurrence are in Asia and that’s why it is common to perform ESD for some early stage cancer In Japan. In other parts of the gastrointestinal tract, ESD can also be safely performed for selected cases. It is regarded as the standard treatment for early gastric cancer with minimal risk of nodal metastasis. I learnt a lot about how this novel technique treats early GI cancers and reduces suffering of the patients.

Furthermore, Dr. Tanya from Thailand helped me a lot translating Japanese into English. I am also excited to have a chance doing esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) on a stomach model. The endoscope is really difficult to control for new beginners like me. Dr. Matsushita was very kind and taught me a lot regarding different lower gastrointestinal pathology.
Other than that, the opportunity to learn more about Japanese culture and history was fantastic. Doctors are very willing to share their knowledge on Japanese history and culture.

Endocrinology department:

My supervisor was Prof. Arima and my teacher was Prof. Goto, they both gave me a warm welcome to the department at the start of the attachment. From the professor’s ward round, I learnt the difference in management plan of type 2 diabetes and the medication used between Hong Kong and Japan. There are also rare endocrine cases like pseudohypoparathyroidism. These two weeks also provide me a lot of time to chat with local Japanese medical student to understand more on the difference between our curriculums. More than that, being able to visit the inpatient wards was also a unique experience. I would also like to thank Dr. Muraoka for introducing the clinical skill lab in the Hospital.

To conclude, this one month elective is undoubtedly the most rewarding experiences of my life. I would like to express my gratitude towards all the doctors in these two departments for their kindness and hospitality.