Message from the Professor
The brain is a mysterious organ. There is still a lot we don’t know about it. And the brain is a very beautiful organ. Only neurosurgeons can approach the living human brain directly and cure the affected area with their own hands. When I talk to medical students, many of them say, “I can’t be a neurosurgeon because I’m not very good with my hands. However, neurosurgery does not require special manual dexterity, although there are some surgeries that require precise hand movements. If you are interested in the brain and brain diseases, and want to cure brain diseases or take on a new challenge, you are a good candidate for a neurosurgeon. A neurosurgeon is a medical department that deals directly with life, so the responsibility is heavy, but it is very rewarding. People who care about people’s lives and seek a rewarding career as a physician may also be suited to become a neurosurgeon.
As Japanese population ages further and the frequency of brain diseases increases, the demand for neurosurgeons will be even greater. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has listed neurosurgeons as one of the doctors who will be increasingly needed in the future. I hope that many students and residents will become neurosurgeons.
We are doing our best to educate young neurosurgeons in our department. It is our first priority to train young neurosurgeons in the field of neurosurgery.
What is Neurosurgery?
Neurosurgery is a comprehensive science of the brain. Neurosurgery begins with a medical interview and neurological findings, followed by detailed reading of CT, MRI, and cerebral angiography images to determine how to treat the patient, and then systemic management before and after surgery to complete the treatment. Patients of all ages, from newborns to the elderly, can be treated. Many brain diseases require emergency treatment and can also play an active role in emergency situations. Residents will find neurosurgeons in emergency medicine very reliable. Therefore, in addition to surgical knowledge, neurosurgery is a very broad and comprehensive science, as it requires knowledge of medicine, emergency medicine, imaging and neuropathology.
Neurosurgery also deals with a wide range of diseases such as brain tumors, cerebrovascular disorders, head trauma, spinal cord and spinal cord diseases, congenital malformations, and functional diseases (trigeminal neuralgia, facial spasms, Parkinson’s disease, tremor). Neurosurgery, with such a wide range of defenses, teaches a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic techniques and the logical thinking that goes along with them.
The brain is a vital organ that plays an important role in the intellectual and mental functions of the human body, and therefore, in pathological conditions, it can present with a variety of visible symptoms. Patients with severe neurological conditions can be treated to completely resolve their symptoms, or patients on the verge of death can be rehabilitated and their condition can change dramatically with treatment. It is a challenging and rewarding department that is greatly appreciated by patients and their families.
Nowadays, the treatment method in neurosurgery is not only craniotomy using an operating microscope, but also endovascular surgery and neuroendoscopic surgery. Some neurosurgeons specialize in spinal and spinal cord diseases, some physicians are interested in emergency medicine and intensive care and are a force to be reckoned with in the emergency department/ICU, others have switched to work as rehabilitators, and some specialize in pediatric brain diseases such as congenital malformations. The sub-specialty options for neurosurgeons in the future will continue to expand. In addition, neurosurgeons are in high demand in society because of their in-depth knowledge of headaches, dizziness, dementia, epilepsy, and brain docs, even if they do not practice surgery, and they will be needed in society as doctors for a long time.
Even if you don’t know what you’re interested in at the moment, you will definitely find your own interests and areas of expertise after you join us. Our department is open to visitors and trainees from all over Japan. If you are interested, please contact the Department of Neurosurgery, Kanazawa University (kns◎med.kanazawa-u.ac.jp *Please convert ◎ to @) Please contact the Department of Neurosurgery at kns◎med.kanazawa-u.ac.jp (*◎ conversion to @).
The 21st century is the age of the brain. Why not try surgical treatment of this mysterious organ of the brain?
Features of the Department of Neurosurgery, Kanazawa University
In order to qualify as a neurosurgery specialist, two years of post-graduate clinical training followed by a minimum of four years of total prescribed training in the training program is required. At least three years of full-time neurosurgical clinical practice during this period and must meet the goals for experience in the management of neurosurgical diseases and surgery as determined by the Post Graduate and Curriculum Committee. The training program (group of hospitals) will consist of core facilities, collaborating facilities, and related facilities that have more than 500 surgical cases per year and meet the criteria for the number of physicians, facilities, and teaching system.
As Kanazawa University has many affiliated hospitals in Hokuriku, a wide range of clinical training in neurosurgery can be performed under the guidance of various supervisors with strong teaching abilities. There are 55 affiliated hospitals, including general practitioners. The university is well-stocked with instructors, so you can receive training from supervisors in various specialties. You will surely get extensive training to have your own sub-specialty. In addition, you will be able to experience a wide variety of cases, including neurosurgical diseases, which are rare in universities, so you will be able to improve your clinical skills in a short period of time. Clinical and basic research is also active and well-equipped for those with an interest in research. The results are always published in English. Not everyone can write a paper in English for the first time. We are well educated on how to write papers in English.
We also want to focus on training female doctors. I would like to be able to support women’s lifestyle while continuing my work as a doctor.
We accept many international students from all over the world for the purpose of international contribution. International students conduct basic research and obtain a degree by writing a thesis. We hope that after four years of study abroad, they will return to their home countries and make use of the knowledge they gained in Kanazawa and eventually blossom into a great success. At present (July 2020), one domestic student and six international students from abroad are engaged in research.
Our Motto
Our motto is “Let’s cherish the opportunity to work together and do a job that makes you shine even after 100 years”. Relationships are really mysterious things. I believe there is a meaning to every encounter with people. People cannot live alone. You will grow up by meeting many people. With the spirit of “once-in-a-lifetime meeting”, I hope that you will continue to grow and develop while remembering to be grateful to everyone around you.
A job that will still be brilliant 100 years from now means discovering new diagnostic and treatment methods and doing work that will contribute to the future of medicine. In order to do so, it is necessary to identify questions from daily clinical practice and think about ways to solve them and conduct research. I want to look not only at the immediate future, but also at the future.
Our goal is to make Hokuriku the most advanced region in neurosurgery, and to make it the world’s best medical region for neurosurgical diseases. And our goal is to make Hokuriku the most advanced region in neurosurgery and the world’s best medical region for neurosurgical diseases. We will do our best for today’s patients and do our best for tomorrow’s patients in education and research. I also want my work to be useful to my patients, but also to help me grow as a person.
I believe that people’s happiness is not about things or money. Our ultimate happiness comes from being loved, being praised by others, being useful to others, and being needed by others. The latter three types of happiness come from working. I tell the teachers in my classroom that there is a cycle of “Helping people, being appreciated by others, and being happy with yourself”. It’s a cycle that applies to practice, teaching, and research at universities. The only trick to turning this cycle around is “not to give up”. And to keep the cycle going, it’s important “not to push a good thing too far” and “not to neglect your efforts”. I want you to keep these three “not” in mind when working.
I would also like my classmates to have a dream in their medical care and research related to neurosurgery. My mission is to do my best to support them in making that dream a reality. I want to make the classroom a place where everyone can dream.
Classroom Policy
We are especially committed to education in our classroom. Unexpected questions will come up at conferences. You may be embarrassed when you can’t answer a question, but you will never forget what you learned. But you’ll never forget the knowledge you gain at that time. Of course, many medical students do not become neurosurgeons. However, I hope that they will become doctors who are well versed in suspecting neurosurgical diseases and will not miss any neurosurgical diseases.
Also, many aspiring neurosurgeons are interested in neurosurgery. We try to help them learn surgical techniques as early as possible without any harm to the patient. Your supervising physician will be there beside you to guide you through the process.
