Patient-Centered Healthcare Built Close to Medical
Professionals

CBEL Report Volume 5, Issue 2Voices

Patient-Centered Healthcare Built Close to Medical Professionals
Sakurako Ichinohe *From the age of 15, I moved my academic base to thehigh school and university, so during my high school

United States, and received a U.S.-version of the medi-years, I had the opportunity to take anatomy and physi-

cal education, which is pretty different from that of Ja-

ology classes, to experience the actual medical field,

pan, and this life experience broadened my academic

and to have lectures from medical professionals on daily

perspective and helped me grow my humanity. The big-basis. In this first stage, high school students - who stillgest difference between the Japanese medical education

have a high degree of flexibility - experience actual

system and the U.S. medical education system is that inmedical settings through shadowing to simulation expe-

Japan, at the young age of 18, you decide to pursue ariences, they themselves learn whether or not they havespecific occupation, such as a doctor or nurse, etc, al-the ability to study medicine and health care in the first

ready. While making a decision to live in a special med-place. Students who want to pursue medicine canical field - even with little experience in life, and withchoose classes such as Anatomy & Physiology (A+P),

very little medical knowledge - should be respected, it

AP Biology, AP Chemistry, and AP Physics in highalso is a major weakness of Japanese medical education

school to cover science subjects at the university level.

system.

At the same time, we will perform a series of dissections

There are three major differences and characteristics

from fish to humans. In the United States, medical sum-of the U.S. medical education system, compared to themer camps for high school students aiming to pursue aJapanese system: (1) medical experiences gained at ancareer in medicine are also common, where you canearly academic stage, (2) “screening off” culture whichlearn techniques of suturing and of some simple proce-is unique to the U.S., and (3) patient-centered medical

dures, such as intubation, blood drawing, etc.

systems that is built close to medical professionals. TheAlso, “screening off” culture is also unique to the U.S.

education system is based on the culture, history, andThis “screening off” is not just about teachers’ evalua-needs of each country and region, so I can't say that thistions on your grades, but it is a stage where students de-specific system is better than this system. However, incide their own lives；students will evaluate themselves

this paper, I would like to introduce the uniqueness ofto see if they are capable of facing the field of medicine.

the U.S. medical education system that I have experi-

Students are questioned what ethics they should have asenced, and which I thought my country should absorb.

health professionals in the process of learning various

In my case, I attended pre-medicine schools for both

medical cases through medical ethics classes and*

Department of Biomedical Ethics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo
E-mail: sakurako99ichinohe@gmail.com
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CBEL Report Volume 5, Issue 2

Sakurako Ichinohe

through medical programmes. Students aged 15-16 usu-to save the patients by holding hands and exchanging

ally do not have a solid reason on why they want to pur-words. Providing equal and better medical education tosue medicine. While strengthening their own potential,

every student all around the world, including Japan, will

students will grow to be able to set goals as medical pro-surely not come soon and it should take a while to bringfessionals, and what they want to change, what they

the level of the Japanese medical education - starting

want to achieve. During this process, many students

from high school - up to some point, but I wish my paper

leave pre-medicine, because they realize that they wantwould be able to tell each medical student who reads

to change medicine from a different angle. In fact, only

this that good medicine not only should be patient-cen-

1/100 student from my grade graduated the pre-medi-

tered, but also should be considerate of medical profes-

cine programme to take MCAT exam.

sions as well.

With this U.S. medical education system startingfrom high school, each student deeply faces themselves,and by the time they complete pre-medicine, only thestudents with ethics, self-awareness and responsibility,
and resolute determination will be left. During the premedicine period of approximately eight years, which isa system that allows students to learn in depth and detail
not only about the patient-centered medical care, butalso about the way to protect the medical professionals
themselves. The idea of patient-centered health care is agoal that has been set all over the world, but it has not
yet been achieved in the reality. In order to achieve thispatient-centered health care, I believe that the first thing
medical professionals should do is to thoroughly establish a system to support the mental health of ourselves.
Medical professionals in any country should keep inmind that our mission is to create patient-centeredhealth care that can only be built by standing close toand by medical professionals.
I think that Japanese medical students have overwhelmingly few opportunities to learn about the difficulties of health care, such as mental conflicts that arise
when we go through hardships with the patients, or even
about the euphoric joy you can experience when you try70