Medical Exchange Program at Osaka Medical College from 2012-10-29 to 2012-11-22 Ting-En Tai, Brian 7 th grade medical student in Taipei Medial University
1 st week : 2012-10-29~11-04 It s my first time to be exchange student abroad, so I was very nervous. I don t speak Japanese, and my English is not so good. However, when I arrived at Osaka Medical College, I felt relaxed. People in Osaka are so nice and passionate. The first day, Professor Hanafusa, Mr. Ogawa and Ms. Matsumoto introduced us the environment of campus and hospital of Osaka Medical College, which was beautiful and harmonious. We had a nice welcome party in a restaurant with かいせきりょうり. I love Japanese food, because it s not only delicious but also good-looking. The second day, Kyle, Cammy and I visited psychiatry department. Dr. Kanazawa taught us the concepts of psychiatry medication. In the afternoon, we observed the isolation room, and I saw a patient with catatonic behavior. This was my first time to see patient with catatonic state, and psychiatric doctor took a lot of time to treat the patient with good response. After visiting psychiatric department, we went to medical training support center, where many real equipment was for practice. We practiced anastomosis of artificial vessels by suture. It s really interesting to me, and I like this center very much! In the Blood Transfusion Center, Dr. Kohno gave us a lecture of progress of the Japanese law for blood transfusion. Japanese doctors treat patient carefully and safely, so they set the law for the safest blood transfusion. Dr. Kohno was a nice and responsible man, he was the only doctor in Blood Transfusion Center of OMC, with only one belief that patients in OMC should receive safe blood transfusion. I admired him very much. Gastroenterology is one of the famous part of Japanese medicine, and I 1
was looking forward to visiting gastroenterology department. We observed many upper gastrointestinal endoscope examinations. One resident doctor performed endoscopic submucosal dissection, he was familiar with it. I think I was lucky to observe it. In radiology department, professor Narumi taught Kyle and me how to read pictures of abdominal computed tomography. I learned the way to find abnormal lymph node and gastric cancer. It s a really useful skill for me, and I thank Professor Narumi so much. 2 nd week 2012-11-5~11-11 On Monday, we visited General and Gastroenterological Surgery Department. I was excited because I want to be a surgeon of general surgery, and I knew Japanese operative skill in gastric cancer was famous in the world. We observed an operation of proximal subtotal gastrectomy for proximal gastric tumor. This kind of operation is rare in Taiwan, because in Taiwan the management of proximal gastric tumor is total gastrectomy. After observing the operation, I thought Japanese doctors are good in laparoscopic surgery and all the surgeons are great, because they have to stand for a long time without any food intake. One of my impressive parts of Osaka was Mishima Emergency Critical Care Center. The center was small, but it was only for emergent and critical ill patients. Though the day we visited happened to be a routine electrical examination, meaning no new patient would come to Mishima center, we still learnt a lot there. Dr. Kobata, who was a neurosurgeon, showed a lot of brain computed tomographies. He also taught us about management and prognosis of brain hemorrhage. Mishima Emergent Critical Care Center was very cool, because I met many enthuthiasticl doctors there. Hope I will be a doctor like them one day. In Endocrine department, Kyle and I observde thyroid ultrasound examination. During the break time, we practiced scanning thyroid gland of each other. It was interesting. Kyle found an enlarged lymph node of my neck, and I got worried. However, the physician told us that was a normal reactive lymph node, and I was relieved. 2
We visited Japanese Archery Club, and we tried shooting some arrows. Indeed, it was really hard to hit the target. After practicing, we watched the demonstration by the Archery Club. This was a special experience for me that I would never have in Taiwan. I also liked the activity held by Ms. Matsumoto and Ms. Hasegawa: Japanese Night. We practiced Ikebana. Everyone should create and set the flowers using your own imagination. I tried to express an imaginary holiday, and I felt peaceful while practicing Ikebana. In addition, we tried a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, which was for treating important guests. Tea ceremony showed courtesy and hospitality, it made my heart comfortable to feel the taste of Matcha. On Sunday, some students of OMC took us to sightseeing in Kyoto. We visited Arashiyama, and we entered an famous temple named Tenryu-Ji. Though it rained, the view was very beautiful. Last week, we also visited Kiyomizu temple, the most famous temple in Kyoto. We ate a lot of Yatsuhashi, one of the special local sweet products of Kyoto. The temple was large and built by woods. Many tourists were visiting here. There were many maple trees, but it was so pity that the leaves were not in red color. We, however, we still had a good time in Kyoto. OMC students were very nice and hospitable. I enjoyed sightseeing with OMC students very much. 3
3 rd week 2012-11-12~11-18 In the third week, we visited Hokusetsu Hospital, which was delicate and beautiful. Kyle and I observed cardiac catheterization in the morning. In the afternoon, four of us observed an operation of uterine myoma. It was good for us to visit Hokusetsu Hospital, because we were able to know a lot about Japanese medical system. Not only college hospital but also a local hospital is important, and we learnt the division of work between each level of hospital. In the pharmacology department, we had an experiment about cardiac effect of drugs. We performed the experiment on a rat. When I injected KCl, the rat got a cardiac arrest, and I performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation for him. Eventually, the rat died, and I felt sorry for him. The experiment was interesting for me, and l learned the risk of drug effect to the cardiac rhythm. In the orthopedic surgery department, Dr. Fujiwara made me impressed. He majors in children s orthopedic abnormity. He draw some cute picture to children who visited him, and the children took the picture home happily. Dr. Fujiwara was very kind not only to us but also his patient, and he also carefully explain about patient s condition to family carefully. On Friday, we visited Maruho Company and Marudai Factory. It was a special experience to know the process of the invention of medication and the hygiene control of food manufacturing. We had a nice dinner with Professor Kohno and his staff. It s an unforgettable banquet for me, because we all drank a lot! 4 th week 2012-11-19~11-22 Time flies! It s the last week of exchange program in Osaka Medical College. In the cardiovascular surgery department, we observed a neonatal cardiac operation performed by Dr. Nemoto, who looked strict and confident but very kind. Dr. Nemoto was a skillful surgeon, and he spoke good English. He 4
encouraged us to study abroad. I think he was an admirable doctor. We visited the ICU the next day, and I was happy to see the baby who received operation yesterday was in a good status. In the rehabilitation department, Kyle and I followed Professor Saura to Kobe University Hospital, which was a large hospital. We saw many patients with xeroderma pigmentosum. It s a rare disease and I had never seen in Taiwan. We came back to Osaka Medical College and joined the grand round of swallowing training team. Dr. Nakano explained the mechanism and importance of swallowing, and how it played an important role in people s quality of life. On the last day of my exchange program, I visited the obstetric and gynecology department. I observed an operation of cesarean section. The moment of birth with loud crying of baby was very heart touched. Every Mother in the world is great. We had a farewell party in a nice Italian restaurant. I toasted to professor Hanafusa, Mr. Ogawa and Ms. Mastumoto, who helped us a lot during our days in Osaka Medical College. I said goodbye to every OMC students, and I looked forward to their visiting to Taiwan. I have a good memory of Osaka, and the whole time in OMC is unforgettable to me. I learned a lot and made many Japanese friends. Thank everyone in Osaka Medical College very much! I love you so much. If I had a chance I would like to visit Osaka Medical College again. 5