Masako Matsuo (5th grade)

I had the opportunity to train in Seattle from August 3rd to 10th, 2019. I arrived on a Saturday, and spent the weekend sightseeing, and from Monday to Thursday I attended lectures and toured facilities. It was an experience that I would not have had on a solo trip.

The theme this time was Bioethics. On the first day, there were three lectures at the University of Washington, followed by a lecture and a tour of the Seattle Children's hospital. On the second day, there were two lectures and a tour of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. After that, we moved to a hospice and received a lecture. On the third day, there were two lectures and a tour of the Northwest Kidney Center, and two lectures and a tour of the Harborview Medical Center. On the fourth day, there were four lectures at the University of Washington. I would like to talk about the lectures that made the biggest impression on me.

First, Dr. McCormick's lecture on bioethics. The "Four Box Method" is a way of classifying cases from four perspectives: medical indications, patient preferences, quality of life, and contextual features. Contextual features also include religious and cultural differences. Using the "Four Box Method" helps organize the facts and makes it easier to think about future directions, such as what kind of treatment to use. It was taught to us in the first lecture and was often used in subsequent classes.

Next, I would like to talk about Seattle Children's hospital, which I visited on the first day. Since children always have their parents with them, most of the hospital rooms are private and parents can sleep there too. The hospital's wallpaper is designed to evoke images of forests and the sea, and even the elevators have animal names, so I think it's designed to make children feel happy walking around the hospital. This hospital not only receives patients from Washington state, where Seattle is located, but also from other states. Here, I heard the story of a girl with leukemia. The girl had two bone marrow transplants, but her disease recurred. I think that by using the "Four Box Method," they were able to provide palliative care that respected the girl's wishes. I realized that it is important for doctors to have thorough conversations with patients and their families and to be supportive of what the patient wants.

Next, about hospice care in the United States. In the United States, only patients who have been diagnosed by a doctor with less than six months to live are eligible to receive hospice care. Hospice care can be received not only in facilities, but also at home or anywhere you like. Not only doctors and nurses, but also various medical professionals such as pharmacists and medical social workers are involved. There are also people called chaplains who provide spiritual care (mental care) that are not available in Japan. There are also programs that provide bereavement care for families after the patient has passed away.

I felt that hospice care in America is quite different from that in Japan. In Japan, I had the image that entering a hospice means simply waiting for death. However, when I heard about hospice care in America, I felt that it was very fulfilling, using the time left to do what you left undone. I think this is possible because patients face death and communicate well with doctors and their families. Japanese people don't like to talk about death, but I think that by discussing it without fear, they can have a better final period.

Besides lectures, we also had time to go to Pike Place Market and shop at the shopping center on Sundays. One day we were invited to a home party at the home of Professor King, who also gave a lecture. The scenery we saw on a dinner cruise was amazing. One day we all got up early in the morning and went to the first Starbucks store. The University of Washington library has a Harry Potter-like worldview, and it was worth making an effort to go there during our lunch break.

I had the opportunity to demonstrate the tea ceremony at the Farewell-Thank you Dinner on the last day. I had previously studied tea ceremony, so I made tea on behalf of the students to express my gratitude to the teachers who had helped me during this training. I was very nervous, but everyone said it was delicious, and I'm glad I was able to learn about Japanese culture.

Lastly, I think that I will never be able to have such an experience again after experiencing different cultures and listening to various people's stories during this week. I would like to thank Yamanishi sensei, Seki sensei, Gamon sensei, Kondo sensei, and Nakamura sensei for their efforts in this training. I would also like to thank McCormick sensei, King sensei, all the other teachers who gave lectures, and the interpreters. I am also very grateful to the staff at Hirakata Rehabilitation Center for their support.
Thank you very much.