Nobuko Kurosaki, Part 2

All types of knowledge can aid my medical work

Nobuko Kurosaki with handball teammates in high school. (Nobuko is in the front row, left.)

Nobuko Kurosaki

Born in Nagasaki Prefecture in 1957. She belonged to the handball team in high school and the "soft tennis" team in university. After graduating from the School of Medicine of Nagasaki University, she received medical training at Tokyo Women's Medical University. She then specialized in pediatric surgery at Nagasaki University. Ms. Kurosaki joined MSF in 2001. She has been dispatched as a surgeon to Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Liberia, and Nigeria and other locations nine times to date, engaging in medical aid activities. She became president of MSF Japan in March 2010.

I was born the first daughter of a doctor who was employed by a clinic in a small town in northern Nagasaki Prefecture. Before I turned a year old, my father was assigned to another workplace, a clinic in the town neighboring Nagasaki, where I still live, so my family moved there. The clinic was closed only on Sunday afternoons. I looked forward to going out for dinner once a month with my family, but sometimes there were patients with emergencies that day, so we had to cancel our dinner plans.

After we prepared dinner for the patients staying in the clinic, we could eat our own supper. I remember peeking into the operating room and seeing my father putting a patient under anesthesia and he secretly showed internal organs to me that were removed in an operation. I was an elementary school student at the time, but when the clinic was busy, I helped out by handing medical documents to patients or wrapping up medicine. I didn't find it a burden. In fact, seeing my parents and the nurses who felt satisfaction helping people suffering from illnesses made me think it was honorable work and I wanted to be like them in the future.

There was a lot of nature where we lived. Our house was surrounded by rice fields and mountains. One time I caught a frog and, with my younger brother's help, cut open its abdomen. I was surprised to find a lot of worms inside. My father scolded me, though, for playing with a surgical knife.

When I was in elementary school and junior high school, I liked reading books and I was good at writing poems and essays. I also enjoyed drawing pictures and painting and learning to play the piano. Due to my father's influence, I often listened to classical music. However, when I entered high school, I joined the handball team and that inspired me to play sports. I took part in training at handball practice each day, so I was able to become one of the top ten marathon runners at my school. I tried to take part in everything that interested me, including the student council, because I felt sexual discrimination and prejudice against women in various situations was unacceptable.

I wanted to be a doctor, but at the same time, I was also interested in becoming a simultaneous interpreter who was active on TV and radio programs. So I considered pursuing a career that used English and I seriously contemplated studying English literature or international relations at a well-known private university. But my mother's advice made me decide to study medicine. She said, "In society today, it's vital for women to have a special skill so they can find work and be independent. You can learn English in any course of study."

I spent six years at Nagasaki University and was active in playing "soft tennis" while I studied. When I graduated, I chose to become a surgeon, but the surgical program at Nagasaki University didn't welcome women doctors at the time, so I decided to seek training at Tokyo Women's Medical University.

Medicine is classified as a scientific discipline when we study for university entrance examinations, but doctors need more than medical knowledge to treat patients. The many books I read when I was a young bookworm, the friendships I developed with pessimistic schoolmates in my youth, the physical strength and teamwork that I acquired through playing sports, these have all been helpful in my work as a doctor. Winning the trust of patients and colleagues is essential in medicine.

Being a doctor is a meaningful job. But I can't do the work alone. My work depends on the support of many kinds of people in the hospital. I have learned this through my activities with MSF. When I took part in the mission to Iraq, I wasn't involved in medical work; I was dispatched to help with logistical support. I went to get newspapers to gather information and I visited banks and post offices. I think we should respect the fact that any sort of work can be valuable.