Message from the professor and chairman of the Orthopedic Surgery Department

Orthopedic Surgery deals with a wide range of medical conditions including fractures, trauma, sports injuries, joint disorders, spinal cord and spine conditions, bone and soft tissue tumors, and peripheral nerve disorders. It also encompasses pediatric orthopedics, hand and foot surgery, and rehabilitation. With patients ranging from children to the elderly, there is an increasing focus on musculoskeletal healthcare. The most common complaints among patients visiting medical facilities include lower back pain, shoulder stiffness, and respiratory symptoms such as coughing and phlegm in males, while females commonly report shoulder stiffness, lower back pain, and joint pain, making orthopedic surgery one of the highest patient volume departments after internal medicine. The demand for orthopedic surgeons is expected to rise further in the future.

In orthopedics, patients recover in good spirits, and many of the doctors and other medical personnel involved in orthopedic care are cheerful and positive. The motto of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Kanazawa University is “cheerful, fun, and energetic”. In recent years, we have taken this a step further and have been operating in an open and open manner, allowing for the exchange of information in a variety of fields, including university hospital physicians, working physicians, practicing physicians, various departments, basic research laboratories, other university departments, and medical students.

In terms of education, first and foremost, we consider the training of young orthopedic surgeons who will support the future of our department to be of the utmost importance. The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery of Kanazawa University is one of the largest orthopaedic departments in Japan, with more than 60 affiliated hospitals, mainly in the three Hokuriku prefectures. The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery has 14 teaching staff, approximately 20 graduate students, medical staff, and trainee physicians who are engaged in education, medical treatment, and research.Therefore, we have a rich teaching system through cooperation with the university hospital and affiliated hospitals, and our strength is the environment in which students can receive enthusiastic guidance from senior and junior faculty members. Another feature of human resource development at Kanazawa University Orthopedics is the environment of cooperation and friendly competition among doctors who have joined the department in the same year.The Kanazawa University Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and its affiliated facilities offer a relatively high degree of freedom, making it easy to pursue a specialty that suits one’s own wishes and personality after obtaining a medical specialty or degree. Moving forward, we will continue to respect the autonomy of each individual and give the utmost consideration in the classroom so that each individual can demonstrate his or her abilities.

Lastly, We aim to be a universal department that is accessible to all, and consider our greatest mission to be the training of promising young doctors, the creation of world-class research, and the provision of highly advanced medical care to be referred from Hokuriku and all over Japan.If you are a doctor who is considering orthopedics and has a desire to be active in your field, we invite you to join the Department of Orthopedics at Kanazawa University and let’s work together to make the Department more active.

Satoru Demura , Professor and Chairman of Orthopedic Surgery, Kanazawa University