2024 Resident from TU Dresden:Clinical training at the Dept of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Name: Gero Schuchardt
Home Institution/ Country: TU Dresden/Germany
Year of university: Graduated Nov. 2024
Designated department at Shinshu University: Plastic and reconstructive surgery
Training Period: 24/11/18 to 25/01/10
Training: Clinical training

1. What made you come train at Shinshu University School of Medicine and how did you find the School through your stay?
Our university had a clinical exchange program that my wife Nadja and I were very interested in. We heard from last year's students that they had a great time in Japan and received an excellent education at Shinshu University Hospital. That was the reason why she applied and I was lucky enough to be able to do a guest internship as well.
I found Shinshu University Hospital to be a modern, well-structured hospital with a very wide range of treatments. The doctors work very responsibly and tried to explain as much as possible to the Japanese students and also to us German students.

2. Please describe your training at host department/lab.
In plastic surgery, our week consisted of three days of surgery and two days of ward rounds. On the ward round days, we saw patients who had recently undergone surgery or patients who were due to have their dressings changed. We also had the opportunity to rotate to the outpatient clinic on these days and accompany the consultation hours there. On the surgery days, we were able to see the interesting operations in plastic surgery, which are often very complex and complicated. We saw some rare cases that we had previously only seen in textbooks, which was really interesting.

3. Please list what you have gained from your experiences through the training at Shinshu University and the stay in Matsumoto, Japan.
- First contact with the healthcare system of another country - it was good to get a new perspective and see how problems are tackled in Japan.
- The intensive contact with the doctors taught me a lot about the way people work here.
- Knowledge about major plastic surgery procedures on different organs (mouth and jaw area, breast, ear, extremities)

4. How do you think you can apply those experiences to your future career?
The experience will always be valuable to me because we had the opportunity to learn how to approach certain issues from a new perspective. For example, the interaction with each other and with the patients was very pleasant and has remained a positive memory for me. I always want to remain open to new experiences in the medical field.

5. Advice to those who are interested in studying at Shinshu University.
Try to learn some Japanese beforehand. This will help you a lot in everyday life and in the clinic.