What inspired you to pursue a career in respiratory medicine?

The reason I decided to pursue respiratory medicine was because I found the wide range of respiratory diseases and the interesting diagnostic procedures to be fascinating and enjoyable. While I didn’t have a particular interest in respiratory medicine during my student years, in April of my first year as a resident, I chose respiratory medicine as my first rotation. Once the rotation began, I was amazed by the breadth of respiratory diseases.
Respiratory diseases include not only infections but also malignancies, allergies, and interstitial lung diseases, among many others. At first, some aspects were difficult to grasp, but once I studied the treatment methods, I found them all very interesting. It may sound a bit strange, but with so many diseases in this field, I felt that I would never get bored. Also, when I initially thought about respiratory medicine, I imagined it to be a specialty with a heavy internal medicine focus and relatively few procedures. However, I soon discovered that there are actually quite a number of procedures involved, such as thoracentesis, chest drainage, and bronchoscopy. I find chest drainage particularly rewarding because it feels like you’re saving the patient’s life, and with bronchoscopy, I enjoy thinking about how to direct the camera to reach the target lesion. Captivated by the breadth of respiratory diseases and the enjoyment of the procedures, I decided to pursue a career in respiratory medicine.

What kind of doctor would you like to become in the future?

I want to become a doctor who can carefully take physical examinations and truly engage with my patients. I often find myself focusing too much on test results and imaging findings, sometimes neglecting the patient’s symptoms and physical examination. However, I’ve noticed that senior doctors are much better at performing thorough physical examinations and tend to listen attentively to the patients’ concerns. As a younger doctor, I have much to learn, and although I tend to focus on the medical records, I want to grow into a physician who can always provide patient-centered care, no matter the situation.

A word for students and resident doctors:

Respiratory medicine is a specialty where there are few diseases that can be completely cured. However, I believe that it is a very rewarding job to treat the patients you are responsible for until the end, to work on symptom relief, and to help maintain the patient’s quality of life as much as possible. It’s okay if you don’t have an interest in respiratory medicine from the beginning, like I did. I look forward to the day when I can work alongside all of you.