Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

What I Think Now

　　Almost two months have passed since I finished my career as a general surgeon and started my second life as an industrial physician. I've been on a steep learning curve during these two months. The differences in manners and customs generating from the different business world are very exciting. The injuries and illnesses incidents to jobs are strictly supervised by the government and workers are protected from those with great care. I knew about that after taking up this profession. I wonder if other countries are like this. I often see the pictures of workers in many developing countries in National Geographic, and I feel that Japanese workers are blessed.

(Vocabulary)
I've been on a steep learning curve 　短期間に多くのことを学びました。

３５年間の外科医生活にピリオド。そして産業医となってもうすぐ２ヶ月。この短期間に多くのことを学んだ。業界の違いによる風習の違い、興味深い。仕事が原因となり引き起こされる病気や怪我。それに対して、国が労働者にいかに手厚い保護をしているか、よくわかった。どの国も同じような感じなのだろうか？愛読しているナショジオで海外の労働者の写真を良く見るが、日本の労働者は恵まれている気がする。

 

Walking Encouraging Event

　　I switched my job from a general surgeon into an industrial physician this summer and now I'm surprised to know its variety of welfare service. The firm surely deserves to be called one of the representative companies in Japan. Now, a unique program to encourage workers to do exercise will start from October in partnership with the health-related firm, TANITA.
　　In this program, the participants try to walk round Hokkaido virtually within 2 months. If you walk 8300 steps per day, you'll finish the route. Every participant is given a pedometer and the walking data will be sent to the server computer. The program is a kind of contest and is competed between teams which consist of 5 workers, company branches and individually. The standard of award is not only the total steps but the rate or absolute value of the drop of body weight, BMI, body fat percentage, and so on. The orientation meeting was held today and a pedometer, which is shown below, was given to every entrant.
　　Everyday aerobic exercise is good for health as you know, but it's not easy to continue. In this program, however, walking steps will be recorded everyday as a sort of contest. Several workers seem to start health-conscious walking after lunchtime though the start of the program is Oct. 1st. The result will be announced in December and I'll write about my result here.

歩数イベント 

日本を代表する企業の一つに就職し、驚いているのがその福利厚生。健康を守るイベント一つのとして、これも有名な健康機器の企業、タニタとタイアップしての歩数イベントが開催されることになった。
  
これは仮想的に北海道を２ヶ月掛けて歩いて一周しようというもので、一日に８３００歩歩けば完走できるらしい。各人に万歩計が渡されて記録は公表される。５人でチームを作り、チーム対抗戦、６箇所の拠点対抗戦、そして個人戦。
 
毎日の有酸素運動が健康に良いのはわかっているが、なかなか継続できないことが問題であるが、努力が数字で記録され、競われるとなれば話は別。昼休みに工場内を歩き回る人の姿が明らかに増えた。１２月上旬に結果が出たら報告する。

Outfit 2 Safety Gaiters

　　The picture shows my safety gaiters, which are also given to me. The workers have to wear this outfit to fix the ends of their trousers at work. When I visit their workplaces, I'm supposed to use these gaiters. If the ends of the trousers are free, it might touch and turn something over or might become the cause of the workers' fall. Very often serious accidents can happen from trivial carelessness. Let's take care.

きゃはん（脚絆）

写真は脚絆。足首に巻いてズボンの裾がパタパタしないようにする道具。何かに引っかけたり、あるいは自身の転倒防止のためである。小さな不注意が原因で大事故が生じることもある。気をつけよう。

Outfit 1 Safety Belt

　　The safety belt, which workers are strictly required to wear when they work over 1.5 meters high, was given to me. I think that the height of 1.5 meters is not so dangerous, but a blow to the wrong spot can be fatal even if one fell down from 1.5 meter's height. Some workers are reluctant to wear the belt from laziness. Making them wear the safety belts properly is also my task. Anyway, considering the delivery of it to me, does it mean that I have to go up to such places?

(Vocabulary)
outfit （特別な場合･職業に用いる）道具類一式, 装備一式,七つ道具
a puncture repair outfit パンク修理工具一式.

安全帯

１．５メートル以上の高さで作業をするときに必ず付けることになっている安全帯。１．５メートルくらいなら問題ないと思うが、打ち所が悪ければ重大な結果になるだろうから当然か。作業員の中にはめんどくさがって付けない者がいる。彼らにしつこく忠告するのも僕の仕事。高いところは苦手だが、写真は先日僕に届いた安全帯。これをつけて行かなければならない箇所があると言うことだろう、、、、(^_^;)