SAVMA Scholarship Winner - Japan

International clinical experience in Japan

Submitted by Ema Yanazawa Ross University 

I completed a four-day internship (8/27-29 & 9/1) at Primo Animal Hospital, a local small

animal clinic in Japan, from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm, and the typical duties were chores, restraints,

assisting vet techs, and shadowing vets. Also, I observed canine dental procedures including

scaling and extractions, a canine castration, and pre- and post-operative management. Because

veterinary education and licensing systems in Japan differ from the ones in the States, I had

fewer opportunities of hands-on procedures, but this gave me more opportunities to speak with

veterinarians and learn from their experiences.

I was surprised by how interested the vets were in veterinary medicine in other countries.They

asked me a lot about my education, my experiences, and veterinary school is like in the US.

Since one of my long-term goals is to connect veterinary medicine of my home country and the

US, I felt that this experience was an important first step toward that goal. At the same time, my

background in large animal areas seemed to provide a different perspective for the small animal

veterinarians at the clinic as we had in-depth discussions about the differences between small and

large animal medicine. It was personally rewarding to realize the knowledge a I had accumulated

so far could already contribute to meaningful discussions with practicing veterinarians.

On the other hand, the clinical reasoning and decision-making processes were similar. Although

there were differences in the major etiologies due to differences in geography, culture, and local

conditions, the overall process from clinical reasoning to decision-making was very familiar to

me, including the use of the SOAP format.

The main reason I did an internship in Japan was to understand the similarities and differences

between veterinary medicine in the two countries. It also allowed me to share what I have

learned about American veterinary medicine with veterinarians and veterinary technicians in

Japan, which I felt was mutually beneficial and inspiring. Also, I was able to apply what I had

learned in school to an actual clinical setting. This gave me confidence that the knowledge and

skills I have been developing are relevant beyond the classroom and directly connected to my

future career as a veterinarian. It also motivated me to continue learning.

Although my primary career interest has been in equine surgery, experiencing small animal

practice gave me an opportunity to reconsider my future and broadened the future options. Until

this experience, I considered an equine surgeon as my clear and almost exclusive career goal.

However, seeing small animal practice made me realize that I should keep other possibilities in

mind, including small animal practice and general practice. I genuinely feel I made the most of

this opportunity and that participating was absolutely worthwhile. I hope to use another

opportunity through PDF in the future to gain a different type of clinical or research experience

and continue exploring the kind of veterinarian I want to become.

International clinical experience in JapanEma YanazawaI completed a four-day internship (8/27-29 & 9/1) at Primo Animal Hospital, a local smallanimal clinic in Japan, from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm, and the typical duties were chores, restraints,assisting vet techs, and shadowing vets. Also, I observed canine dental procedures includingscaling and extractions, a canine castration, and pre- and post-operative management. Becauseveterinary education and licensing systems in Japan differ from the ones in the States, I hadfewer opportunities of hands-on procedures, but this gave me more opportunities to speak withveterinarians and learn from their experiences.I was surprised by how interested the vets were in veterinary medicine in other countries.Theyasked me a lot about my education, my experiences, and veterinary school is like in the US.Since one of my long-term goals is to connect veterinary medicine of my home country and theUS, I felt that this experience was an important first step toward that goal. At the same time, mybackground in large animal areas seemed to provide a different perspective for the small animalveterinarians at the clinic as we had in-depth discussions about the differences between small andlarge animal medicine. It was personally rewarding to realize the knowledge a I had accumulatedso far could already contribute to meaningful discussions with practicing veterinarians.On the other hand, the clinical reasoning and decision-making processes were similar. Althoughthere were differences in the major etiologies due to differences in geography, culture, and localconditions, the overall process from clinical reasoning to decision-making was very familiar tome, including the use of the SOAP format.The main reason I did an internship in Japan was to understand the similarities and differencesbetween veterinary medicine in the two countries. It also allowed me to share what I havelearned about American veterinary medicine with veterinarians and veterinary technicians inJapan, which I felt was mutually beneficial and inspiring. Also, I was able to apply what I hadlearned in school to an actual clinical setting. This gave me confidence that the knowledge andskills I have been developing are relevant beyond the classroom and directly connected to myfuture career as a veterinarian. It also motivated me to continue learning.Although my primary career interest has been in equine surgery, experiencing small animalpractice gave me an opportunity to reconsider my future and broadened the future options. Untilthis experience, I considered an equine surgeon as my clear and almost exclusive career goal.However, seeing small animal practice made me realize that I should keep other possibilities inmind, including small animal practice and general practice. I genuinely feel I made the most ofthis opportunity and that participating was absolutely worthwhile. I hope to use anotheropportunity through PDF in the future to gain a different type of clinical or research experienceand continue exploring the kind of veterinarian I want to become.

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