Alea Frieda Rita Stenglさん（ビュルツブルグ大学 第3学年次）

My name is Alea Stengl and I am a 3rd year medical student at the Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg, Germany. I started my clinical internship with a fellow student at the Hyogo College of Medicine in Nishinomiya, Japan, as a part of an international exchange program between the Hyogo College of Medicine and the Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg. It was an unforgettable stay for me and will always be a unique part of my clinical career and life. Living and working in Japan left a very strong and lasting impression on me and from now on, the Japanese way of life will remain being part of mine.

The first 2 weeks of my clinical internship, I spent at the Department of Hematology. I was very lucky that 6 other Japanese medical students in 4th grade also joined the Hematology at the same time with me. They were very open-minded and interested in me and Germany. Now, I am highly grateful to call all of them my friends. Prof. Ogawa and Dr. Ikegame took great care of me and made my stay at the Department of Hematology an incomparable experience for me.
Fumika Tachibana - she was one of the medical students at the Department of Hematology and I am most grateful to have met her - and I followed Dr. Ikegame for the clinical rounds every day and were able to see rare cases of Acute Myeloid Leukemia, the POEMS syndrome, stem cell transplanted patients and their individual treatments. We experienced bone marrow aspiration, stem cell collection and saw the outpatient clinic. After every patient Dr. Ikegame translated the most important facts about the disease and acute problems in English for me. Furthermore, we discussed laboratory parameters and peripheral blood or bone marrow smears in the laboratory of the Hyogo College of Medicine.
For Lunch, students took me to several traditional Japanese dining Izakayas and I really enjoyed spending time with them, exchanged views and just felt to belong somewhere without having a feeling of being different or distant. From that point on, I truly felt home in Japan.
Every Wednesday afternoon all Hematologists met and discussed their patients during the weekly colloquium. I was invited to attend the colloquium and surprisingly nearly every doctor presented his or her patients in English, so I was very thankful for the translation, enabling me to understand their discussions. One Friday evening, they invited me to a presentation of a newly developed drug at a grand hotel. Afterwards I was allowed to join them for dinner and I truly enjoyed their company. It was very special for me to experience being part of the team of the Hematology of the Hyogo College of Medicine and I highly appreciated their exceptional kindness and hospitality.

After 2 weeks at the Department of Hematology, I went to the Department of Neurosurgery along with the two other exchange students, Clara Fuchs and Dayana Pramatarova. I was a little worried that three exchange students at one Department at the same time might be too crowded, however the 3 of us were treated very exclusively and sincere. Since my desired objective is to become a Neurosurgeon or Neurologist, I was very eager to experience the everyday work of a Neurosurgeon at the Hyogo College of Medicine in more detail. Every morning, we joined the doctors’ conference where the surgical treatments of the last day and ongoing cases were presented in English from remote video recordings and impressive drawings to the audience, consisting of all of the neurosurgeons and additionally neurologists and neuroradiologists. This daily colloquium made a lasting impression on me and I hope to experience this kind of interdisciplinary professional cooperation at the University Hospital of Würzburg, too.
At the Department of Neurosurgery, we had the unique opportunity to meet Prof. Yoshimura who is internationally famous for combining both professions of performing open brain surgery and microvascular treatment as a Neurosurgeon. We were able to experience clipping of internal carotid aneurysms, the excision of Glioblastomas as well as coiling of vertebral aneurysms and microvascular decompressions. Furthermore, we experienced cerebral angiography and mechanical recanalization in cases of an emergency. I was evidently impressed by the broad spectrum of knowledge and medical skills they exhibited. And yet, open brain surgeries remained to be most fascinating for me every day. During every surgery, one of the doctors explained the surgical procedure to us individually, and Prof. Yoshimura himself answered our questions and encouraged us to spark a great interest in Neurosurgery and Neurology, which remains influencing my ambitions for my future career.
We were all generously invited for both a Welcome dinner at an Italian restaurant and a Farewell dinner at a Chinese restaurant, which were both very special and welcoming evenings for us. I am very thankful for the sincere hospitality and kindness we received at the Department of Neurosurgery and I will remain fascinated about their everyday work and personally strive for a comparable theoretical and practical knowledge in the field of Neurosciences.

Apart from the everyday life at the hospital, we highly benefited from the extraordinary convenient location both of the International Guest House and the Hyogo College of Medicine itself. Over the weekends, we enjoyed traveling to Osaka, Kobe or Nara and Kyoto and during the week we met with members of the English Club or the new friends we made at the Departments and celebrated a Takoyaki Party together or went to Karaoke. For me, these get-togethers with fellow students and friends were an essential part of my Japanese experience and will maintain a formative time.
Therefore, the greatest influence I received from the caring and fond people of the Hyogo College of Medicine whom I truly would like to thank, starting with the coordinator Miss Kyoko Torii, President Noguchi and the Director of the Center for International Programs, Prof. Miwa, all of the doctors at the Department of Hematology and the Department of Neurosurgery and followed by the students, who took great care of us as exchange students. Furthermore, I would like to emphasize the effort and contribution of the medical students, especially Miss Fumika Tachibana and her friends, who made my stay outstandingly memorable. I will always be thankful for this exceptional opportunity of an intercultural exchange of knowledge I received. One day, I hope to welcome the new friends I made in Germany in return. Arigato gozaimashita!