Clinical Exchange in Japan

During my stay in Nagoya I was fortunate to be offered a 1 month rotation in the Department of Anaesthesia at Nagoya University Hospital. Although I had previously been to Japan for holidays before, I was a bit anxious starting the rotation without being fluent in Japanese and wasn’t sure how interaction with staff and patients would work. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the hospitality of the staff at the office of international affairs and theatre staff, all of whom took great care of me during the rotation, assisting me whenever I had questions.

I was given the opportunity to experience anaesthesia in theatre and consultations with patients in pain clinic. Nagoya University Hospital is well known for regional anaesthesia, and hence I was able to observe and assist in wide variety of peripheral nerve blocks. I was also given the opportunity to assist in induction of theatre patients. Furthermore, I was exposed to a broad range of surgical cases including complex neurosurgery and transplant cases.

During pain clinic, I was exposed to many methods of controlling chronic pain, some of which I had never seen performed before. I am extremely grateful the doctors and medical students who took their time to teach me concepts about anaesthesia such as single lung intubations and physiological responses to anaesthesia. Many doctors also took the time to explain the Japanese healthcare system to me with discussions of the differences compared to Australian healthcare.

Study abroad would not be complete without tourism. On weekends I took the opportunity to visit other cities such as Kyoto, Osaka and Kyoto which are all readily accessible from Nagoya. The doctors and medical students gave me excellent advice on places to visit and food to eat outside of hospital hours. They also gave advice on transportation to other cities. Furthermore, I learnt a lot about Japanese culture from people at the department, and expanded my Japanese vocabulary.

My time at Nagoya University Hospital is without a doubt a major highlight of the year. Being able to learn about the field of medicine I’m most interested in a kind and extremely hospitable environment made for an excellent month in Japan. I would absolutely encourage any medical students considering international placements to pursue a clerkship at Nagoya University.