Maddalena Bozさん

I spent four weeks at Hyogo Medical University as part of the exchange program with the University of Rijeka. The first two weeks I was in the Department of Dermatology, and the last two weeks in the Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Clinical Immunology. Before leaving I was excited but also a bit nervous, because I did not really know what to expect. Japan was a completely new country for me, and so was its healthcare system.

In Dermatology I spent most of my time in the outpatient clinic and on the ward. There were a lot of patients every day, and I saw many interesting cases and diseases that I had never had the chance to see before. Until then I knew many of them only from books, so seeing them in real patients helped me a lot. On the ward I could follow some patients for several days and see how their treatment changed over time. I was also able to attend two surgeries. The one I remember most was a surgery for hidradenitis suppurativa in a very young patient. It was very interesting to follow the whole procedure, and it made me think about how much a disease like this can affect the life of someone so young. I think it was the moment when I realized that dermatology is much more than an outpatient specialty. The surgical part requires a lot of precision, and I enjoyed watching it. The biggest difficulty in this first department was the language. Almost everything was in Japanese, the conversations with patients and also the discussions between doctors, and at the beginning I often felt a bit lost. Still, the doctors and the staff always tried to translate for me or to explain things in some way, even with gestures or short explanations after the visits. I really appreciated their effort, because I know it was not always easy for them either.

The second part of my internship, in the Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Clinical Immunology, was the part I enjoyed the most. Here I mainly worked with inpatients on the ward. From the first day I felt welcome. Everyone was very kind and available, and the doctors took the time to explain the procedures they were doing and to go through the clinical cases with me, one by one. I never felt like I was in the way or like I was just an observer. I felt like part of the team, and honestly, by the end it felt a bit like being with family. It made a big difference in how much I learned, because I felt free to ask questions and was never afraid to say when I did not understand something. One evening the whole department invited me to dinner. It was a very special night for me. We talked, laughed, and I got to know the doctors outside the hospital, not only as teachers but as people. It is one of the memories from Japan I will keep closest. When I left the department at the end of my two weeks, it was really hard to say goodbye.

In both departments I noticed how much care and respect there is for the patient. Doctors bow when they greet patients, they speak to them calmly, and they take great care of their comfort and privacy. This kind of respect was present everywhere, also between colleagues and with all the hospital staff. At first these small gestures surprised me, but after a few days I started to understand how important they are. They make the patient feel seen and respected, and I would like to bring some of this into my own way of working.

These four weeks were one of the best experiences of my medical studies. I saw diseases I had never seen before, I learned a lot about a healthcare system very different from the one I know, and I also learned a lot about myself.

I want to thank Hyogo Medical University for organizing everything and helping me during my stay. Thank you to the doctors and staff of the Department of Dermatology for their patience and for always trying to include me. And a special thank you to the doctors and staff of the Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Clinical Immunology, who welcomed me from the first day and made me feel at home. I would also like to thank the University of Rijeka for giving me this opportunity. I hope many other students will have the chance to live this experience. I left Japan with beautiful memories, and I really hope to come back one day.

Arigatō gozaimasu!