Department of Infectious Medicine

'The fresh, pleasing hunch.'
It was the first thing I could feel when I arrived at the Narita international airport. Since I entered university, going abroad to study medicine and foreign cultures is one of my desired dreams. Actually I have met many exchange students from various countries and I learned from them a lot about their cultural values and the ways they think. But this time I wanted to know more about their ways of thinking and living much more directly. It was really certain for me that it will be a priceless experience to get wider view to see my future and mature attitude to embrace the others in a warm way. So I applied for the exchange clerkship program - without any hesitation, but with a confident expectation. Among a variety of specialties, I chose the 'Department of infectious medicine' because I am really interested in internal medicine things, and I heard the infection control system in Japan is really well established so I thought that I could learn a lot not only about academic knowledge but also about practical issues.

In the first morning of clerkship, I introduced myself to all of the staffs and members in the department, trying to show my passion to them. They listened to my speech carefully, gave me a big hand, and greeted me a lot with warm words. Although there was no other student except me in our department, all of the members of our department were really nice and they tried to help me a lot about my hospital life and taught medical knowledge about infectious medicine. Especially, Dr. Taniguchi, Dr. Sakurai, and Dr. Ichimura (Staffs of the department) and Dr. Seki (Junior resident of the department) helped me in various ways. They explained the patients' conditions and every comment by English so I could feel that I am also the member of the department of infectious medicine.

 Chiba University Hospital is the only university hospital in the Chiba prefecture, which has a population of about 6 million people, so there were a plenty of interesting and difficult cases which were consulted from local clinics and hospitals. And because the infectious diseases can occur in any situation to any patient, I could learn a lot about practical knowledge of almost all of the divisions in the hospital as well as infectious medicine. The 4-week clerkship was a valuable program for me because I had only one-week clerkship in the department of infectious medicine, a short period to know the 'charms' of infectious medicine. One of the most interesting things was the 'Infection Control Team (ICT)' activities. It is not that necessary thing for me as a student, but I really enjoyed participating in some conferences and ICT rounds that I've never tried in Korea. It was a really meaningful opportunity to experience applying theoretical knowledge in more practical way, making me think about to be an infection control specialist in the future.

One of the biggest advantages for the medical clerkship in Chiba University Hospital is that it is near Tokyo, the capital city of Japan. I could travel around Chiba, Tokyo, and other near cities with my Korean classmates, Chiba medical school students, and doctors of Chiba University Hospital for every free weekend. I always had nice time with Japanese colleagues, experiencing cultural differences of Japanese people in a various aspects: the lifestyle that always yields to each other, a great courtesy to everyone they meet, and the enthusiastic attitude of their life.

 And now I came back to my daily life in Korea again, recalling and reflecting the meaningful experiences in Chiba University Hospital. I learned a lot about not only medical knowledge but also about Japanese language and cultural things. I think the impression from the department and this exchange clerkship helped me to grow one more step and make my blueprint to be a good doctor. I strongly recommend this program to the students who are interested in foreign medical environment, or who want to get meaningful relationships with foreign friends. (Please don't hesitate!) Finally, I really appreciate to the faculty of Inje University and Chiba University for giving me this priceless opportunity. Thank you.