Lazar Mitrovさん（ブルガリア・ソフィア医科大学 第6学年次）

I took part in the international clinical exchange program in Hyogo College of Medicine between 19-Nov-2019 and 19-Dec-2019. At the time I was in my last year of studies in the Medical University of Sofia, Bulgaria and was excited to experience how healthcare works in other countries. I was placed in the Intensive care unit with head Professor Nishi, and in the Department of Cardiology with head Professor Ishihara.

I arrived in Osaka on 17-Nov-2020 after a very long flight from Europe. I travelled with a classmate of mine and although we were jet lagged and exhausted, we both were extremely excited to be in Japan and spent the whole day sightseeing. For me being in Japan was a dream come true and it felt like I was in a completely different world.

On 19-Nov-2019 we met with Ms. Kyoko Torii from the Center for International Programs. She was our point of contact prior to and during the exchange and we spoke almost daily while we were in Japan. She was extremely helpful with anything that we might need and made us feel very welcome in the college.

For the first two weeks of my stay in Japan I was placed in the Intensive care unit (ICU). Most of the patients there had recently underwent surgery and it was very interesting for me to see such wide variety of pathology all at the same place. There were many patients after cancer surgery, cardiovascular surgery, neurosurgery, but also patients with hematologic malignancies. I was able to get familiar with the different modes of mechanical ventilation, haemodialysis and a wide array of imaging procedures.

I also had the opportunity to attend the daily infection control meetings with Professor Takesue. At these meetings, I got to see the differences in the antibacterial treatment of patients in Japan and Europe: different doses, different drugs and different monitoring approaches. Professor Takesue also shared with me articles on pharmacology and infection control, so that I had sources for further reading.

During my time at the ICU I had the task to prepare a presentation about pain management. Not only was I provided with the most up to date guidelines on the topic, I was also able to see them in practice every day with the patients. Everyone in the ICU was ready to answer all my questions and also show and explain to me in details how different procedures are performed. The whole team was extremely nice to me and during my stay there I learnt a lot not only about Intensive medicine but also about Japanese history, culture and traditions.

For the next two weeks, I was placed in the Department of Cardiology. My mentors there were Dr. Goda and Dr. Daimon. They had prepared a detailed schedule for my time in the department. Every day I was able to see a different side of cardiology. The schedule covered both conservative and interventional cardiology, along with emergency and critical care medicine. I attended heart catherization, coronary angiography and angioplasty, cryoablation, pacemaker implantation, TAVI, transoesophageal and transthoracic echocardiography, treadmill stress tests, myocardial scintigraphy, admission in the emergency department and EICU.

But my stay was also filled with opportunities to travel and explore Japan. In the evenings I would often take the train to Osaka. The main train station Umeda was about 15 minutes away from the guesthouse where we lived. I had the opportunity to experience the crowds and shopping centers at Umeda, the restaurants and souvenir shops at Dotombori, take a walk along Shinsaibashi. On the weekends we travelled to Kyoto, Kobe and Nara.

This exchange program was an amazing experience that I will never forget. It was a unique learning experience for me as I learned so much about medicine but also about the life in Japan. Everyone in the hospital and in the college was extremely friendly, nice and helpful. I will definitely come back to Japan again.