2022年9月26日

Kurokawa Award (Medical Student Category) Recipient’s Remarks

Junna Iwata, Keio University, School of Medicine

I am honored to receive the Kurokawa Award at the ACP Japan Chapter Annual Meeting 2022.

I presented “Japanese medical student perceptions of working abroad: a national, online survey”. The results of a survey conducted by the ACP Japan Chapter Student Committee during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 were so interesting that I wanted to share them with the audience.

There is arising importance of internationalization in medical education in Japan. However, there are very limited data in Japan regarding medical student perceptions of international careers. This study aims to assess the perceptions toward working abroad among medical students in Japan and characterize the support they require. A total of 548 medical students from 59 medical schools in Japan participated in this study. Nearly 70% of participants were interested in working abroad while only 40% seriously considered it. A lot of students showed interest in clinical training abroad programs in the short term or while they are in medical school. Also, the need for language support and providing career options by role models were identified.

We hope that the results of this study will be useful for the further development of medical education in Japan. We are currently working on our next step, which is to publish our findings in an academic paper.

It was the first time for me to experience conducting research from scratch and presenting the results by myself, and I felt nervous before my presentation. However, I was encouraged by the many comments and questions I received during my presentation. I was so glad to conduct research from the viewpoint of medical students at the end of my medical school life.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Harumi Yano, the advisor of the ACP Japan Chapter Student Committee, Dr. Nishizono and Dr. Hashimoto of Oita University, Mr. Cyrus of WashU, the Student Committee members who have worked together, and everyone involved in the ACP Japan Chapter Annual Meeting 2022.

2022年8月29日

Kurokawa Award (Resident/Fellow Category) Recipient’s Remarks

Shun Nakahara, United States Naval Hospital Okinawa, Japan

I am honored to receive this prestigious Kurokawa Award. The case was “Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis potentially provoked by previous COVID-19,” which I experienced during my rotation in Internal Medicine at U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa, Japan. The patient was diagnosed with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis 35 days after mild COVID-19. Although it was difficult to prove the causal relationship, the increased risk of venous thromboembolism after COVID-19 had been reported and CVST, in this case, might relate to his recent COVID-19. This case taught us that a careful history, including red flags of headache, must be obtained to maintain a low threshold to suspect CVST.

I could not receive this award without Dr. Early and Dr. Balter, who helped take care of this case and checked the abstract. I would like express my gratitude to Dr. Tsutsumi at Takatsuki Hospital, who helped improve my case presentation.

Lastly, I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone involved in the ACP Japan Chapter Meeting. Thank you all so much for offering us this precious opportunity.

2022年8月29日

Kurokawa Award (Early Career Physicians Category) Recipient’s Remarks

Ko  Harada, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

I am extremely honored to receive the Kurokawa Award at the 2022 ACP Japan Chapter Annual Meeting. I presented the study titled “Increase in sarcoidosis mortality rate among the older population in Japan: A population-based study from 2001 to 2020.” in which we reported on trends in sarcoidosis-associated crude and age-adjusted mortality in Japan over the past 20 years using national death certificate data. Joinpoint analysis was used to analyze the trends. Our study revealed that sarcoidosis-associated deaths in Japan have significantly increased over the past two decades, especially among the older population with a female predominance. Since sarcoidosis is a relatively rare but increasingly recognized disease, I believe that many participants found this presentation interesting.

I attended and presented at several ACP Japan Chapter meetings when I was a junior and senior resident in Japan. I moved to the U.S. in 2021 and am currently working as an internal medicine resident at a community hospital in New York City. This year, due to the COVID pandemic, the conference was held online, allowing me to participate from overseas. I would like to continue my research and contribute to the development of medicine in Japan and ACP Japan Chapter in any way I can. I would also like to submit an abstract for the 2023 ACP Annual Meeting in the U.S. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude again to the people involved in the ACP Japan Chapter meeting for providing such a wonderful opportunity for me to present my research.