Clinical Exchange in Japan

The four weeks I spent at Nagoya University Hospital have been an unforgettable experience! I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to learn and be a part of the Paediatric Department, and to have met the amazing team of doctors and staff at Nagoya University Hospital.

The Paediatric Department of Nagoya University Hospital is a specialised centre for haematology and oncology patients. Often the patients had severe and complex conditions requiring long inpatient stays. The conditions I encountered varied from leukaemia, to solid tumours like neuroblastoma and hepatoblastoma, to rare immunodeficiency syndromes like WHIM syndrome and IL2Rα mutation, which I had never heard of before.

The doctors and staff at Nagoya University Hospital were kind and welcoming, and put in amazing efforts to teach and support me throughout the rotation. Although knowing some Japanese is helpful, it is not essential for this rotation. Most of the doctors can speak very good English and were keen to teach and translate for me during ward rounds, meetings and case conferences. During my time there, I had the opportunity to observe an autologous peripheral stem cell transplant and a cord blood transplant being given, which was very exciting. I also saw many bone marrow aspirations being performed, and was able to view the pathology under the microscope with the doctors.

I was also lucky to receive lectures from the doctors about their cutting-edge research in cord blood transplantation for neuroblastoma, and CAR-T cells for leukaemia. It is especially nice to see that these trials are producing incredible results for many children in Japan. I found the theories behind the research really interesting, and it was great to see the hope it brings to patients and their families.

The environment of the paediatric department was very warm. Even though the doctors and nurses were working incredibly long hours, they were always cheerful, professional and continued to do their best for the children. There was also a schedule of fun activities for the children to participate in every week, which was organised by the child therapist. This included things like cooking class, games and clown visits where the children, their family and the staff could participate in. During my stay, I was able to participate in the Tanabata summer festival, which is a nationwide festival in Japan. Because the children couldn’t leave hospital, a small festival was organised within the hospital where the children could come and play and win prizes. Along with the children, we also wrote our wishes onto the wishing tree in the ward.

In my free time, my friend and I were able to explore Nagoya and its attractions including Nagoya Castle, Nagoya Science Museum and Nagoya Dome. On the weekends we were also able to travel to nearby cities such as Osaka and Kyoto, and we had a great time!!

The four weeks I spent in Nagoya have been exciting, warm and memorable. I have learned many new things, experienced new things and met some truly inspirational people. I would like to thank all the doctors for welcoming me into their department, and for the constant effort they made to teach me throughout the rotation. Their teamwork and care when looking after the children and their families is one of the best that I’ve seen and something I found very admirable.

I would also like to extend a big thank you to all the staff of the Office of International Affairs for their hard work since one year ago, from the application process to supporting me during my time in Nagoya. Thank you for always being so friendly and helpful, and for making all of this possible.

Photo with the Paediatric Department

Tanabata Festival