Cross-cultural communication （26）　

26）Shine in the Euro, Yossy!
Yossy is the son of a general practitioner who spent his childhood in Japan up to junior high school. His parents are, of course, Japanese. However, he moved to Ireland for high school, and after graduating from high school, he went on to medical school in Ireland, graduating from there. Currently, medical licenses are common among EU member countries (Ireland is one of them). Within the EU, you can work as a doctor in any country. Even though Europeans are strong in foreign languages, there are still risks involved in working as a doctor in a country other than your own. It seems that this is a matter of personal responsibility.

Yossy visited Kido Clinic because he wanted to hear about the situation at the American Hospital of Paris, where I was the first Japanese doctor. At the time, he had only recently returned to Japan, so his Japanese was a little strange, so we spoke in English. It was no surprise, as he had spent a total of nine years studying only in English - three years at high school and six years at medical school. He seemed interested in the story of Paris, and said he would start studying French straight away. However, his immediate goal was to study Japanese and prepare for the Japanese National Medical Practitioners Qualifying Examination. To this end, he was attending a cram school for the National Medical Practitioners Qualifying Examination.

Yossy passed the national exam the following year and was employed as a resident in Japan. After becoming a resident, he visited the clinic again, and this time he was able to speak in fluent Kansai dialect. It will be very interesting to see what kind of doctor's career he will have from now on.

As we have seen in the cases of Eddy from Indonesia and Yossy this time, in order to work as a doctor in Japan, you have to obtain a Japanese medical license. The opposite is true for Japanese doctors working abroad. This is the norm in developed countries. The EU countries are a slight exception. Recently, we often see in the media plans to set up special zones in Japan where foreign doctors will be invited to perform specialized advanced medical procedures and boost the medical industry. However, the key point of this plan - that foreign doctors will be able to practice medicine in Japan - is clearly a misunderstanding due to the ignorance of politicians. Of course, there are cases where developing countries invite specialists from developed countries to perform special operations or provide guidance. Therefore, allowing foreign doctors to practice medicine in Japan without Japanese qualifications would be a step backwards for Japan. At the very least, the world would see it that way. So, politicians with a strong sense of self, is that okay with you?

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