Program Overview

Participants on doctor rounds

Exploring Health Care is a two-week program open to 30 students from top Japanese medical universities including Tokyo Medical, Tokyo Women’s Medical, Tokyo, Nippon and Ehime Universities. The Exploring Health Care program is unique because it connects participants from Japanese medical schools with medical and pre-medical students from Stanford University and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).  Activities are organized around themes including medical ethics from a cross-cultural perspective, cost and accessibility of health care, women's health, biotechnology, doctor-patient relationships, and international health policy.   

The goal of the Exploring Health Care program is for participants to:

• Gain an understanding of the U.S. health care and of current issues
• Reflect upon and critically compare Japanese and U.S. medical education and health care systems
• Be exposed to various professional motivations of medical students and professionals in the United States and re-vist their own reasons for becoming a physician.

The next program will be held from March 19 to April 1, 2010.  

To learn more about the Exploring Health Care program, view the activity calendar from 2009 .

Week 1: Stanford University

Participants on Stanford Campus 

For the first week of the program, participants explore health care while based at Stanford University. Highlights from the week at Stanford include touring Stanford's campus and medical center, discussing medical ethics case studies, and meeting with a variety of faculty members from Stanford University to talk about their areas of expertise.

Take a virtual tour of Stanford's campus!

 Week 2: San Francisco

 Participants at SF General Hospital

Following the week at Stanford, the participant move to San Franciscso for the remainder of the program. During this week, the group  visits the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical School where they tour the hospital, go on rounds with physicians, and engage in discussions led by UCSF medical students.  While in San Francisco, the group also visits clinics specializing in areas such as HIV/AIDS treatment and health care services for the homeless.  Participants will also have an opportunity to explore the city's many attractions with their Stanford hosts.

Stanford and UCSF Coordinator Trip to Japan

Stanford Coordinator's visit to Japan 

The four Stanford and UCSF students will visit the Japanese students in Japan following the program in June 2010. Japanese students will have the chance to use their education and experience to show their U.S. peers about the Japan and the Japanese health care system. 

Cost

The cost for the 2010 program is tentatively $3,300 USD, which covers:

• Accommodation
• Half of your meals
• Activity fees
• Transportation fees
• VIA staff services

The program fee does NOT cover medical insurance or air travel. All participants are REQUIRED to purchase medical insurance before participating in the program. The estimated airfare for 2010 is 112,000 yen.

Informational Meetings for 2010 Program

Application

• Application information is available here .
• If you have any questions, please contact Amy Louise Azuma (Stanford Programs Director) by email at amylouise@viaprograms.org

Links to related pages

• Past Program Archives
• Stanford Programs Overview  
• EHC Staff
• EHC Calendar
• EHC Discussion Groups
• Applications
• Stanford University School of Medicine
• University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
• Life Science Japan: a network of Japanese professionals at Stanford
• UJMED (Japanese, English): a social network aimed at connecting American and Japanese students, faculty, researchers, and professionals in health care.