Physician Exchange Program

The purpose of the Physician Exchange Program is to provide Japanese and American university medical students and resident physicians the opportunity to observe clinical and administrative practices in each others’ country. This program enables the future healthcare providers to adopt best practices based on their personal observations.

Additionally, visitors to each country will have the privilege of expanding their cultural horizons. The design of the program allows time and encourages social and cultural activities during the brief visit.

Cleveland Skyline

Adopting Best Practices Based on Personal Observations

In 2008, we coordinated a program for physicians and interns to visit the United States and observe physicians and other providers in various medical disciplines. A Japanese guest would be matched with a hospital and department aligned with his or her area of interest. Some areas of interest for the dozen or more participants thus far have been psychology, speech therapy, occupational therapy, general surgery, orthopedics, brain and spinal injury, rehabilitative therapy. This two week program has been an excellent opportunity for interns to learn about their areas of work as well as experience the culture of America.

Physicians work directly with each of the guests, and there are daily discussions/debriefings each morning to help better absorb and learn from what has been observed. Each guest will be allowed to participate in these meetings unless there happens to be confidential matters to be discussed.

Some of the learning experiences include:

  • Inpatient vs. Outpatient procedures
  • Heart Catheterization procedures
  • Review of Length of Stay decisions
  • Patient support systems
  • Healthcare finance
  • Medical Staff / Governance
  • Hospital Governance
  • What in the U.S. works well
  • What in the U.S. does not work well
  • What have we tried that does not work
  • How do hospitals interface with other hospitals
  • What are Patient rights
  • Discussion of Medical Ethics
  • Cultural issues
  • Current technologies in use
  • Role of physician in healthcare today

Some social and cultural activities which might be of interest include:

  • Golf
  • Cleveland Museum of Art
  • Cleveland Indians Baseball game
  • Restaurant dining
  • Cleveland Orchestra
  • Boat tour on Lake Erie
  • Shopping
  • Running, walking, biking in the Metro Park