1年目、終了。希望と、不安と。

無事、9ヶ月の課程を乗り切り、1年目が終了しました。

1年プログラムの学生は、もう卒業です。

「アメリカの卒業式はCommencement（始まり）といって

　日本よりもっと前向きだよ」なんて話も聞きます。

でも、やっぱり卒業は卒業で、

みんな希望と不安と、友達との別れの寂しさが

複雑に入り混じった感情を抱いているようです。

この経済下で卒業後の行き先が確保できていない学生も多く、

何の所属もなく、急に社会の荒波にポンと放り込まれる不安は

痛いほど分かります。留学生であれば、なおさら。

みな、それぞれの場所に散って、しばらくは孤独な戦いを

強いられることになるのでしょう。

かくいう自分も、知り合いが一人もいない中西部に昨日来て、

来週からはアメリカに来て初めての就業体験。

「楽しみにしてる？」と聞かれたら「I'm so excited」とか

応えてきましたが、本音は不安が五分です。

自分を守らんがために不安が生じているのは分かっていても、

なかなかバカにはなり切るのは難しく、、、

まだまだ修行が足りません。

まぁうつうつと考えていても仕方ないので

気分転換までに自転車を手に入れて街を探検してきます！

オバマの人選が学生に与える影響

学校で身近な存在の先生が、政策立案における重職を担う。

このことが学生に与える影響は多大なものではないでしょうか。

先月のHoward Koh先生に引き続き、

Paul Farmer先生がオバマ政権のヘルスケアにおける

重要なポジションに抜擢されるようです。

二人とも学生にすごい人気のある先生ですし、

アカデミックと実務を見事にこなしつつ、

常に大局観と志を忘れないような方。

こういう人選がある限り、アメリカの高等教育は強い、

そんな気がします。

学生は希望を持ってアカデミック(特に、PhD)に進めるでしょうし、

進んだ先のキャリア展望も日本よりはるかに

見通しが良さそうな気がします。

豚インフルで休校

隣のデンタルスクールで豚インフルの疑い例が1件発生したようで、

明日は休校になりました。

補講楽しみにしてたのに、、、というか補講出ないとついていけない。。

さて、そんなこんなで、学校から予防策が送られてきました。

パブリックヘルスの大学院なので、

ある程度エビデンスに基づいていると思われます。

というか、そうであって欲しい。

• Practice good hygiene. Wash your hands often with soap and water. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
  
• Cover your nose and mouth when you cough. Use and dispose of tissues or cough/sneeze into the crook in your elbow.
  
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.
  
• Avoid close contact with sick people.
  
• Use complimentary alcohol wipes on all computer kiosks, keyboards and mouse. 
  

面白いのは、2番。

「セキやくしゃみはひじの曲がった所めがけてしなさい」って、初耳です。

おそらく、手で受け止めるより感染を広める可能性が少ないのでしょうね。

なるほど！！！です

やはりこういうガイドラインは、誰でも、いつでも、

何か特別なものがなくても実践できるべきであって、

そういう意味で「ひじ」に着目した点はすごいですね。

誰が考えたのかしら。

p.s.そう言えばデンタルスクールの学生達と同じ寮に住んでます、私。

　　一昨日までは対岸の出来事だったのに、

　　昨日にはボストン市内で発生、

　　今日は同じ敷地内とは。まだ疑い例ですが、うむむ。　　

Quality Improvementにおける自分の立ち位置

春学期から、Quality Improvementの授業が始まりました。

簡単に言えば、医療の質をあげよう、という内容で、

授業の方向性自体はそもそもの留学の目的に非常に沿っています。

教授陣もゲストスピーカーも私にはもったいないくらい充実しています、、

が、強いて（私にとっての）問題を挙げるとすれば

内容がかなり医師向け、ということでしょうか。

臨床の知識がないとフルには楽しめません。

将来的にこの分野で食べていくことを考えると、

いったいどこでどういう役割を果たすのがベストなのか、

真剣に考えさせられます。

さて、どこでどういう、を考えるにあたっては、

授業で示された下記の医療の質に関係するプレーヤー群が

頭の整理には役立ちそうです。

• プロフェッショナルサイド
• 規制者サイド
• 患者/消費者サイド
• 認定機関サイド
• 保険者サイド
• 雇用者サイド
• 病院サイド
• その他の連携組織

幸にも、この夏に雇用者サイドの組織でのインターンが決まりました。

雇用者サイドは、従業員への医療費支払い高騰という問題を抱えており、

従業員が受ける医療サービスの質を高めながらコストを下げる、

というミッションを持っています。

これは例えば、GMの車のコストのうち、

結構な額が従業員の医療費に回ってることを考えれば、

いかに喫緊の課題であるかが分かると思います。

私のインターン先は、そうした雇用者（大企業）がお金を出し合って

作った組織で、全米1,300以上の病院からデータを集めて、

医療の質に関する各種指標を比較分析しています。

アメリカでも比較的ユニークな組織と言えるかも知れません。

日本に例えて言えば、

経団連が独自に医療の質を評価する団体を作った、

というような形になるでしょうか。

もちろん、アカデミックと密接に連携は取れているので、

評価項目の妥当性は、アカデミックと同等のレベルで

担保されていると言えそうです。

非医師でも活躍できる余地が大きく、

日本での発展の可能性も秘めている、

そんな面白い立ち位置かも知れません。

受け入れ担当のアドバイザーも、非医師で、

この分野の研究とプロジェクトマネジメントを同時にこなしているような方で、

将来のロールモデルになることを願っています。

ということで、6月よりボストンを抜け出して、中西部に行ってきます。

Obama's Inaugural Address

問題を再定義し、

ないがしろにされてきた価値観を呼び覚まし、

未来への希望を託させる。

聞けば聞くほどに、素晴らしい演説でした。

政策どうこうよりも、

アメリカ・アメリカ人のあり方（アイデンティティ）を描き切った、

その点が、すごいのだと思います。

－－－

更新が途絶えがちですが、元気にやっています。

今年もよろしくお願いいたします。

Let it snow!!

Here comes the first snow!!! Yay!!!

The best musical comedy

I went to see: "He's got curriculum".

I can't believe that the busiest grad students could make this 3 hour spectacular.

Just amazing!!!

My First Thanksgiving

To know that "there is a home for me" comforts my mind.

In this and my first Thanksgiving holiday, I went to Georgia to meet my friends. Since they are also international students, I was afraid that our thanksgiving would become something "unnatural." Because all of us came from countries where there is no traditional turkey dishes.

So, I was little bit excited when I heard that my friends were invited to a thanksgiving dinner by a "real" American family. Since the party was also opening for me, I followed them.

Even though I hadn't met with the hostess of the party, she welcomed and hugged me. And in the dining room, there were many fancy and delicious foods that international students would never cook nor imagine.  

We also played some games to get to know each other... And the best was saved for last. 

At the end of the party, the hostess said... "My priest is from Africa. And once he told that while he was a student, no one invited him for thanksgiving dinners. So he spent alone every year... I couldn't forget his story. Since then, I decided to hold dinners for holidays to let no one feel alone. Here is your home, and you can come here whenever you want."

 

So impressive... and I believe this is one of the best parts of Americans and American culture.

Though my "new" home is in Georgia, but the important thing is to know that there is a home, there is a place where I can run to.

23°F

My judgement of coming winter was solely based on if it snows or not. So, I've been thinking that winter is not coming here in Boston. 

Actually when I heard that there was snow in Hokkaido and Seoul, I was little bit disappointed by the Boston's unexpectedly poor performance.

So, today, as usual, I went out to jog with my dorm mate. Then I noticed something was wrong. Something was different. It was REALLY cold... My both ears were about to drop off at Charles river, and my face froze. I was really afraid that my expression would numb forever... And I also witnessed that mucus is running from my dorm mate's nose.

Soon after finishing the 1 hour jog, I checked the temperture. And I found it's 23°F. That means, -5°C (and the real feel temp is -15°C!!!). Oh, my Buddha!! I never knew that it's below zero °C. It's much colder than the coldest day of Tokyo. 

Till yesterday, I though the season was still fall. I wore autmun clothes and told friends outside the US that Boston was warm... Well, ignorance is bliss!!

So, I want to tell my friends officially that the winter came in Boston, and it's REALLY cold!!!        

学生が机に置いた

コーラのボトルを醤油と見間違えて、

ヘルシーな生活を維持していることに気付きました。

Fall 1 ended

無事、四半期が終わりました。

The first term ended. It was indeed busy, but it was not as busy as I imagined (I imagined a life like a hell). I could somehow follow up my classes, and fortunately, enjoyed other activities as well. Time flies. But I don't think I missed it. 

2 out of 4 classes were completed in the first term. 

Introductory Epidemiology was really a course about "Introductory of how Epidemiology is difficult." It seemed like everyone crashed at one time or another. Me? crashed at every class.The lecturer might speak English, but, for me, it didn't make sense at all.  Homework was so challenging. It took 2 days to just understand the meaning of the questions, and other 3 days to solve, 1 day to review. Anyway, thanks to the "training," I could deeply understand what the causal inference is. 

Introductory Social Epidemiology was an eye-opening. Through many survey results and humors, the lecturer pointed out that inequality itself undermines health of a society. Well, according to his theory, moving to the U.S. from Japan may affect my health in bad ways... In fact, I cannot relax when I walk outside and that can influence in very long-term. But, on the other hand, after I arrived here, my health status improved dramatically. Maybe that's because of the notorious New England climate (it's good for me), new life styles (keeping regular hours + eating organic dishes) and good friends. Though I wouldn't be the case of the theory, the theory seems to be a reality, and that makes me feel that I should contribute to alleviate disparities in health. 

Fall 2 term begins tomorrow, and I'm really looking forward to attending new classes.

ボストン、メンズの古着

ようやく購買意欲をそそる古着屋にたどり着きました。

It's getting colder and colder these days. Though I don't wear my down jacket yet, the day will be soon to come. I have to prepare for the winter.

After starting to live in Boston, the most disappointing thing was the quality of used clothes stores. I visited several shops, but all the stores were not satisfactory.

But I finally found a very nice used clothes shop in Jamaica Plain. It's 40 SOUTH STREET (formerly known as GUMSHOE) http://www.fortysouthst.com/ . Though the space is tiny, their clothes are attentively selected. Each clothe has something special, and surprisingly, the prices are incredibly low. Ladies clothes also seem good. I bought pants, but have to visit again.

Men's Used Clothes in Boston

★★★★★---40 south street(well chosen, reasonable prices)

★★★-------oona's (good choices, moderate prices)

★★1/2-----second time around (many brands, but expensive)

★★1/2-----army barracks (good and cheap army, but less variety)

★★1/2-----boomerangs (occasionally nice ones at very low prices)

★★---------the garment district (too many clothes, hard to find good ones)

あ～、

めざしが食べたい！

じわじわと、

予習復習が大変になってきました、が。

3 weeks have passed since the classes begun. I usually attend 2-3 classes a day. When I was in a university in Japan, I never studied before and after classes. But here, it's a must... But that doesn't mean I hate it, rather, I enjoy it. 

These days I'm often seized by happiness, say, when I'm in a classroom, in a library, chatting, running along the riverside, or playing tennis with my friends. The fact that I'm doing what I've been longing for makes me feel blissful. I feel like I'm blessed by fortune. 

Sometimes fatigue or lonesome feeling come to my mind. Still, the baseline is very happy and it's firm.  

 ---

I changed my courses. I decided to lessen my burden from 22.5 credits to 20.0 credits and take more classes about research methods.

08 Fall Course

SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS

--Introduction to Statistical Methods
--Introduction to Epidemiology
--Society and Health

DEPARTMENTAL/COURSE REQUIREMENTS

--Economic Analysis
--Decision Analysis for Health and Medical Practice

ELECTIVES

--Elements of Epidemiologic Research: Methods II

Total Credits 20.0

Remaining Credits 60.0

"Spiced Up" Orientations

オリエンテーションの長期化・エンターテイメント化（？）はうちの大学だけでは無さそうで。

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/09/05/at_colleges_a_new_freshman_rush/

08 Fall Courses

とりあえず、ほぼ必修で固めることにします。

SCHOOL REQUIREMENTS

--Principles of Biostatistics or Introduction to Statistical Methods
--Intro to Environmental Health
--Principles of Epidemiology or  Introduction to Epidemiology
--Society and Health

DEPARTMENTAL/COURSE REQUIREMENTS

--Economic Analysis
--Decision Analysis for Health and Medical Practice

ELECTIVES

--Intro to the American Health Care System

Total Credits 22.5

Remaining Credits 57.5

授業初日の昼、

曜日を勘違いし、授業を2つ逃しました。。。

授業初日の朝、

久しぶりに心打つ記事を読みました。

http://www.cabrain.net/news/article/newsId/17966.html;jsessionid=591E8395FF0B6C18B7F018EBAFE5F088

New Students' Profile

2008年度の入学者はこんな感じです。

535 new enrollments.
199 international students form 43 countries.
336 US students from 32 states.

# of international students best 5 (by country)
1. Canada
2. China
3. India
4. Nigeria
5. Korea

# of Japanese students ... 12-13?
physicians...7?
others...6?

In a word, "diverse".

Orientation Begins

月曜から始まったオリエンテーション、結構圧巻です。

Japanese colleges can change, if they truly notice the importance of “beginning.”

In my university, the orientation programs started this week. And I am really surprised by the well-considered programs. I can feel that our university truly recognizes the significance of the start.

Expectations
Our school repeatedly express that they are really expecting for the students. As we hear their anticipations over and over again, whether true or not, we start to believe that we are carefully “chosen”, and every student has a “meaning” to attend the school. Our university effectively makes use of “The Pygmalion Effect.” Consequently, we are motivated from the beginning.

Networking
They are truly committed to connect each student or students and faculty. Through various group works, games or social events, they give us numerous chances of networking. We are forced to talk to each other. We cannot continue to flock together with particular someone through the events. Accordingly, each of us becomes a “hub”. From Monday to today, I got to know, at least, 20-30 students. Though my friends are just 30, my friends’ friends would cover all the new students.

Safety Nets
They offer an assortment of safety nets so that we can set off smoothly. We have introductory workshops in Case Method, Math, Accounting, Time Management, Writing, Group Work, Statistics and US Health Systems. I was astonished by a fact that a lecturer, in Math Review, started the review from “Rounding(四捨五入)!” Well, we Japanese don’t need to be pessimistic about the decline in the academic ability of college students: at least math review in Japan starts from “junior high” school level, not “elementary”.

Future Visions
Though we just started to attend the school, they provide opportunities to think about “after graduation.” We had a session to discuss and imagine future responsibilities of our study areas. In addition, today, 10 alumni came to the school to have round tables. To think about an end at the start would definitely contribute to enrich our school lives.


We have 2 days remaining. Although I occasionally feel unconfident about my school life, the orientation programs surly help me to be confident.

I feel like I witnessed some part of the secrets of my university’s cycle of success.