Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Side Job

     I have a side job every Wednesday afternoon except on days when I have to stay in my hospital in case of an emergency. (See "Every 8 Days")
     I'm teaching general medicine in a technical college of social welfare. My students are studying for a licence as a caseworker or social welfare counselor. Japan has to respond to the declining birthrate and the aging society. Many caseworkers are needed now.
     I'm going to register this blog to some search engines or some communities of bloggers a few month later. If you are related to medicine, welfare, and public health, send me comments or e-mails. I wish I could have many foreign friends in the same field as me.

Every Eight Days

     I'd like to explain the emergency care system in my town. A certain level of hospitals are divided into eight groups. Each group is supposed to take turns to be ready for emergency cases no matter what day of the week it is. Consequently I've got to be on duty every eight days.

     Today is the due day for the emergency care and my hospital is open all night long tonight. I'm writing this in O.P.D. during a break in the flow of the patients. Despite it being a weekday, 2 cases of acute heavy alcoholism were transferred by ambulance. They were covered with their vomit and smelled bad, making me feel nauseous. Some people were extremely excited due to quarrelling with their buddies. Someone was being interviewed by some policemen because he had caused a serious accident by flagrantly violating the law.

     Many kinds of people get together here every eight days. Those people could be the subject matter of novels or inspiration for novels.

     Anyway, terrible black days come to me every eight days.

     I'm famished. Tonight's midnight meal is a rice curry. To be frank, the midnight meal is always a rice curry. This rice curry is rich in stuff, contains high calories and is delicious. Yes, hotchpotch style! It's called the "・・・・ (name of the head of my hospital) Special". It contains leftover cooking ingredients that were stocked for hospitalized patients and are close to their expiry date.

Tamiflu

    Today I attended a meeting at my hospital about Tamiflu, which is a specific remedy for influenza. All the doctors and pharmacists learned the effects and side-effects of Tamiflu from the medical representative. This year the Japanese government is concerned about a new type of influenza mutated from bird flu. It's going to prepare a stockpile of Tamiflu, but the preparation schedule has gone behind because of being short of Tamiflu. In Japan the outbreak of flu will be in January. I feel depressed to think of it. I'm a surgeon, but in the season of the outbreak I have got to be a physician, sitting among coughing patients to help my physician colleagues.

     The Chinese authority says, "the Avian flu has infected pigs in China." Pigs and humans are alike from the genetic point of view, though China is the kind of country that is hard to believe.

     When Spanish flu broke out in 1918, 40 million people died all over the world. Spanish flu mutated from bird flu in Southern China so the present situation is just the same as in 1918.

     Anyway this winter we have to take care not to catch a cold.

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     Tonight, a farewell party will be held. One of my nursery staff is going to quit, get married, and move to Tokyo. Let's have a beer!!!

Brushing up my skill of weblog

     Today was Saturday, and a half-day holiday. I saw patients in the O.P.D. until noon, giving some of them shots of the flu vaccination, doing changes on dressings,,,and so on. And I have got to stay in hospital until tomorrow morning for emergencies. But most patients in the ward are stable, so I feel relaxed in my room.

      I examined how to use a weblog system, and could have successfully attached the links to my home town. I felt it was interesting. It's easier than I expected and besides that I was able to post by my cellular phone. It's a wonderful function. I can post notes of a journey while traveling. My friends or colleagues will enjoy my reports. Traveling is one of my hobbies. I'm planning to go skiing at Whistler&Blackcomb in Canada. I hope I am able to post texts and photos from Canada.