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VISA Q and A on FM COCOLO 76.5 MHz Status of Residence for Practicing Medicine On Aired Data: Oct. 03, 2000 |
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Summary of the Aired Program |
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Today we will talk about matters concerning foreigners who are in the medical field, like medical doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, public health nurse, midwife and others. They will be granted the residence status of Medical Services only if they can pass the state medical board exam in Japan, even if they are sworn doctors or nurses in their home country. This means that before they can practice medicine here in Japan, they need to secure the license issued by the Japanese government. Even after obtaining the Japanese license, activities allowed are very much restricted. For foreigners under the Medical services status of residence, they can work at the university hospitals or in hospitals accredited by the Ministry of Health and Welfare or by the Ministry of Justice. Doctors can practice medicine as intern in any university hospital and if they got their degree in any field of medical sciences here in Japan, they can only work here in Japan for a span not exceeding 6 years from the date of graduation. Other places where they can work as one of the medical personnels are the medical clinics run by the state, prefecture, city, town, municipality or other local governments, especially in remote areas where medical clinics nor doctors may not be available. Remote areas here refer to places where there’s no hospitals or any medical clinics within 4-killometer radius by distance or places which will need 30 minutes or more to reach the nearest clinic or hospital by any means. So, you can imagine how remote the area can be before a foreigner who possessed license in medical field obtained in Japan can engage in work they specialized. And for foreigners who are to practice as a nurse, although there’s no restriction in the type of medical institutions where they will work, they can only work as interns and only for a period not exceeding 4 years from the date of graduation at any university here in Japan. But they should receive no less salary than a Japanese nurse would receive for comparable work. The fact is that it is pretty hard for a foreigner to practice medicine in Japan. But because there’s no limitation for permanent resident or dependent of a Japanese national on their activities in Japan, they can practice medicine, just like any Japanese medical personnel do. The information we just told you sounds unfair, especially considering the effort made to secure a license in Japan, the status of being only an intern even you are sworn in as doctors and nurses in Japan, and the allowed time span of 4 or 6 years to work after meeting the requirements. As a result, instead of taking the state medical board exam, most of the foreign doctors prefer to stay in Japan as researchers or postdoctoral fellows and conduct medical research in the laboratories of a university. For sure, foreigners living in Japan will prefer to have medical advice in their native languages or to be attended by doctors whom they communicate in a language they are at ease to. |
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