トーマスジェファーソン大学（Thomas Jefferson University）Report

Thomas Jefferson University Study Report

 

Country

Japan

School

Osaka City University

Elective period

28th July to 4th August 2023

 

First of all, I would like to thank once again everyone who was involved in my study abroad experience. The week or so I spent at Thomas Jefferson University was a series of beautiful experiences and many discoveries for me. I will try to share what I saw during each day.

On Friday, my first day in Philadelphia, I was introduced to a series of facilities by the local coordinator. The first thing that surprised me was that people walking around in scrubs all over town, and I felt a cultural difference when I heard that this is common in the U.S. I had lunch with two local university students. It was helpful to hear about their efficient study methods for completing medical school in four years. In the afternoon, we visited Pennsylvania Hospital, where the history of the founding of the United States and the role the hospital has played in that history was explained to us.

On the second and third days of the weekend, we went sightseeing in Philadelphia and New York, respectively. Actually, on the third day, I had a minor accident and unexpectedly visited the emergency room of Thomas Jefferson University as a patient, but I felt the freedom of the American culture when I saw that the medical staff was cheerful even though it was late at night.

On the fourth day, I attended only the afternoon program. Thomas Jefferson University has a volunteer program called "Jeff HOPE," in which students take the initiative in running a clinic free of charge. The students were in charge of reception, preliminary examinations, and reporting to the senior doctors, all of whom were excellent. I was impressed by the amount of knowledge and confidence with which they presented their reports, which was hard to believe that they had only been studying medicine for three years.

On the morning of the fifth day, I participated in the rounds of inpatients in the internal medicine department. The content was generally the same as that of the clerkship at the university, but I was surprised at the wide range of diseases covered by the internal medicine department. In the afternoon, I participated in cardiovascular training using a mannequin. Although auscultation of the heart sound using a simulator had been done at the university, I learned that there were not four places to listen in the first place, but that it was much more detailed.

On the morning of the 6th day, I first attended a conference in the emergency department, where I received a lecture on burns and other injuries, and learned some things I had learned in Japan, such as Parkland's formula. After that, we visited the basic research lab, and in the afternoon we had a lecture on medical interviewing. The importance of humanity was repeatedly explained, and during the final Q&A session, I asked Dr. Joseph Majadan, who was in charge of the interview, how I could acquire humanity. His answer was, "Don't just focus on your studies, but value communication with others.

On the morning of the seventh day, we visited the outpatient clinic of the gastroenterology department. It was interesting to see the opposite of Japan, where patients wait and doctors enter their rooms, and the outpatient clinic proceeded surprisingly similarly to the one in Japan. After that, we visited the Mutter Museum, which handles anatomical specimens. It was the first time for me to see many pathological specimens in person, and it was very impressive.

On the morning of the last day, we visited the pediatric outpatient clinic. The main focus of the visit was the examination of newborns, and I was able to see many similarities with Japan in terms of the work performed and how patients are treated. Through this practical training, I was able to more vividly imagine the American medical field, which I had only a vague image of before.

My thinking about my future has changed greatly through this experience, and I am very grateful that I was able to spend such valuable time there.