Aina Ashida: Why Keio University’s School of Medicine Can Balance Both Entertainment Activities

Keio University School of Medicine, which is whispered to be the school that Aina Ashida is aiming to enter ……. It is the number one private medical school in Japan and has produced a Japanese female astronaut, Dr. Chiaki Mukai, among other prestigious names.

Because of this, classes and assignments are said to be extremely demanding. We cannot be sure at this point whether or not she will actually pursue medical school, but if Aina Ashida is admitted to Keio University School of Medicine, will she be able to balance her performing career? To begin with, what kind of school life do the medical students at the university enjoy?

We spoke with Dr. Tomoaki Takei, who graduated from Keio University School of Medicine in 2002 and currently serves as the director of the Takazashibuya Tsubasa Clinic, about the realities of the university’s medical school.

Unknown campus life

The first year of study at Keio University School of Medicine takes place on the same Hiyoshi Campus as many other undergraduate students. This first-year life differs from that of other single-department medical schools.

This allows students to fully enjoy the atmosphere and fun of campus life in the same way as other Keio University students. The unique feature of the Keio University School of Medicine is that students can learn true human skills, both public and private, even in the School of Medicine, in the spirit of Keio University President Yukichi Fukuzawa’s principles, such as “Han Gaku Han Kyo” and “Monbusho Ryodo” (the way of both the literary and military arts).

When you enter medical school, you will be recruited by the medical school’s own athletic club with a total of more than 20 members and some liberal arts clubs (by the way, I myself was a member of the Keio University School of Medicine Orchestra).

At that time, more than 80% of the medical students who entered the school belonged to some club. This is where they build the personal connections and learn social skills that they will need after becoming doctors. Of course, there are those who develop other clubs and their own activities outside of Keio University School of Medicine.

In my time, both classes and club activities were not that demanding in the first year. There were many students who did not attend most of their classes, but were enthusiastic about club activities, etc. (I was one of them).

For example, if it is a yacht club, they are not only at the Shinanomachi campus, but they are living in Enoshima where there is a yacht harbor, and if it is a golf club, they can play a round of golf on a weekday because it is not crowded, and they can play a round of golf cheaply and quickly. …… and “first-year privilege Many people were taking advantage of the “first-year privilege”.

Some of the valuable experiences and assets gained through the hierarchical and horizontal relationships at this university have been connected to me even after graduation.

During the first year, it seems that students can enjoy campus life just as much as non-medical college students. However, classes unique to medical school rapidly increase from the second year. Therefore, Dr. Takei says that “getting to the point” will be essential when entertainers think about continuing their performing arts careers.

We hear that attendance in medical school classes is now more rigorous than in the past. There are even some courses in which students are not allowed to earn credits after just a few absences.

The real difficulty begins in the second year of medical school.

From the second year of medical school, basic medicine such as anatomy and physiology begins. This means that the unique ordeal unique to medical school begins, and requires a sincere attitude toward medicine, a certain amount of time to study, and a good sense of procedure.

In my case, the preparation for the examinations required 20 hours for each subject to pass the basic medicine examinations in anatomy, embryology, and physiology. Therefore, with school life, clubs, and off-campus events, I think I had less than five hours of sleep each day.

Furthermore, from around the third year of medical school, clinical medicine became the main focus of my classroom studies, and I began to lead a “typical medical student life” of mainly classroom studies on various subjects, such as internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, ……. Sadly, by this time, contact with students from other faculties is almost nonexistent.

Then, from the fifth year of medical school, clinical training begins, and the hours are extremely long. It is during this period that students develop a professional view of doctors by interacting with actual patients and their families and observing surgeries and other procedures.

After that, students study to pass the national medical examination. Fortunately, about 95% of the students pass the exam on the first try. Many of the aforementioned extracurricular activities, such as club activities, were pursued vigorously until about the summer vacation of the 6th year.

The problem started in the 5th grade.

If I were to draw a conclusion in light of this situation, I would say that if a busy performing artist were to enter medical school, he or she would be able to perform at his or her current pace or even better until the 4th year.

I am a Keio insider myself, and it is a characteristic of insiders that many of them are relatively to the point when it comes to any genre. If you have been involved in performing arts since you were a child, you should be able to handle it well, and you will probably do well in your classes up to the 4th grade.

The problem, however, is when they enter the fifth year of medical school. As mentioned above, in addition to the academic work becoming terribly difficult, you will also have to decide on your future career path. You will have to make a “big decision” regarding your own outlook on life, whether to seriously pursue a career as a doctor or to pursue a career in entertainment. If you decide here that you want to be a doctor, it will be difficult to balance your entertainment activities, no matter how well you do your best.

At that time, you will have to study hard to become a doctor, and after becoming a doctor, you will be able to balance your activities again.

[Joon] Recently, more and more people are choosing career options other than being a clinician after graduating from medical school. If she went to medical school in the first place…. Of course, there is no doubt that she will have a wonderful life even if she chooses to pursue other options, but it will continue to be interesting to see what kind of decision the brilliant Aina Ashida will make.