06Dr. Fujiwara (right, back row) with his soft tennis club teammates; the team won the Western Japan Med-ical Studentsʼ General Athletic Meet.Fujiwara: Yes. From the time I was allowed to take part in carcinogenesis experiments at the First Department of Pathology as a student, I thought I wanted to be a pathologist, accurate-ly identifying the causes of diseases. In those days, there was a Hiroshima-trained physician who was a section chief within the Pathology Department at the National Cancer Center Research Institute. So I contacted him, and he agreed to take me in for about a month, almost like an intern. The Head of the Pathol-ogy Department at the National Cancer Center at that time had just returned from the United States. I was a big admirer of this doctor, and this was another reason I wanted to go into Pathology. I told him that I wanted to work at the National Cancer Center as a pathologist upon graduation, but he advised me to first work on my clinical skills so that Iʼd be able to find part-time work in clinical practice because it would be impossible for a young physician to make a living as a pathologist. So I asked Prof. Nishimoto of HUʼs Internal Medicine II, which I joined after graduation, to introduce me to Kure Kyosai Hospital, think-ing that working in a designated emergency hospital would provide me with lots of useful experience. After two years of working there, I moved to Pulmonary Medicine. I experienced the joy of working as a clinician there.Ochi: I understand that even after you became a resident at the National Cancer Center Hospital in 1986, you continued working in Pulmonary Medicine until around 2002. After that, the Director requested you to focus on medical oncology, especially breast cancer.Fujiwara: Thatʼs correct, and that paved the way to my medical career prior to my current post.Ochi: I hear you spent a lot of time training in the United States as well. When was that?Fujiwara: The first time was when I had worked at Hiroshima University for about five years as an assistant professor, after working at the National Cancer Center for six years. I answered an open call from the Japan Society for the Promotion Science and obtained a “Gakushin” scholarship. I went to study at Ochi: Iʼve been looking forward to this talk with you, Dr. Fujiwara, to hear you share with us some insights from the standpoint of the PMDA Chief Executive. First of all, let us begin with your childhood. What were you like as a young child?Fujiwara: I was not a very exemplary child. In elementary school, I was a typical bossy and that the homeroom teacher told the other kids not to hang out with me. I wasnʼt attending after-school tuition and wasnʼt very serious about schoolwork. But I began learning oil painting in my childhood and once completed a relatively big picture, over one and a half about football in elementary school.Ochi: You covered quite a wide range, from football to oil painting! I gather you had a relatively unconstrained childhood.Fujiwara: Thatʼs true. I was quite carefree. I even decided to go to Hiroshima Gakuin Junior and Senior High School simply because they had cool uniforms.Ochi: What school subjects interested you the most in secondary school?Fujiwara: I liked Geography, Geology, and Chemistry. In senior high school, I took a liking to Japanese and Chinese Classics, too.Ochi: What about Physics? Your grandfather and your father were both professors of Phys-ics at Hiroshima University, right? And, did you continue football in university?Fujiwara: No, unfortunately, I didnʼt like Phys-ics. I wasnʼt great at Math, either. As for my club activity at HU, I initially joined the football club, but some older students asked me to join the soft tennis club because they didnʼt have enough members. So I switched clubs.Ochi: I thought about joining the tennis club myself when I entered HU but, just like you, I ended up joining the soft tennis club at the invitation of older students. You chose the School of Medicine, while your grandfather mischievous boy, a bit of a bully. So much so meters by one meter or so. I was also crazy and father were professors at the School of Science. Why did you choose Medicine?Fujiwara: My father and his father were both what you would consider as typical scholars, and they appeared like oddballs to me. On my maternal side, they were all physicians. My maternal grandfather was a professor in Internal Medicine at Okayama University Medical School. I compared the two sides, and I identified more with the maternal side, and so I chose Medicine.Ochi: Did you have any concrete ideas and wishes about your future specialization?Fujiwara: At that time, no. As a college student, I was totally into soft tennis. The best memory from those days was winning in tennis. At the Western Japan Medical Studentsʼ General Athletic Meet, which was held in Kumamoto, we were in the team finals against Kumamoto University, and it remained a draw until the end. Then, our doubles pair had a decisive win. I was over the moon.Ochi: That must have been an unforgettable event. Now, how did your preparation for the State Medical Licensing Exam go? I think I read somewhere that you didnʼt have a very serious attitude toward your medical training.Fujiwara: I was very close to failure. In my sixth year, my team won the championships at the All-Japan Medical Studentsʼ General Athletic Meet in Sapporo. After that, my teammates and I traveled around Hokkaido. When I returned to Hiroshima, I found all my classmates studying for the State Exam as if their life depended on it. I panicked and said to myself, “I screwed up!” But in those days, you could take the State Exam twice a year. So I got into studying from that point and somehow managed to pass.Ochi: By the time you took the State Exam, you had already decided on your specialization?As a bossy boy (age six)Childhood ‒A bully and a painterNational victory in tennis,at the risk of failing the State Medical Licensing ExamInterested in Pathology and experiencing the joy of clinical practice
元のページ ../index.html#7