I am honored to report that Dr. Takano and I won first prize in the American College of Physicians (ACP) Doctor’s Dilemma competition in Japan.
At first, my goal in joining the competition was simply to assess my skills as an internist. Since distinguished young doctors from all over Japan would be in the contest, I wanted to compare my abilities to theirs. However, with the support of my partner, Dr. Takano, I ended up winning the championship.
Several factors contributed to our victory. First, we prepared for the competition by working up many MKSAP questions to enhance our medical knowledge. Second, our teamwork might have been superior to that of other teams because Dr. Takano and I have been colleagues since we were junior residents. Above all, I believe that our success resulted from our day-to-day sincere attitude and strong passion for helping every patient we see in our hospital. Our success was cultivated in the excellent environment that the attending doctors in our hospital promote. The victory led me to conclude that our hospital is the ideal place to practice medicine and improve my skills as a physician.
I am quite excited about the chance to participate in the ACP Doctor’s Dilemma Final that will be held in Philadelphia in 2019. Since Japanese teams typically struggle in the tournament, our biggest goal is to win the first game. I have no doubt that we can do it. I look forward to it and will continue to brush up on my medical knowledge until then.
Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the attending doctors who gave us the chance to join the competition, the friends who congratulated us, and my family who support me unconditionally.
Shuhei Uchiyama
Tokyo Bay Urayasu Ichikawa Medical Center