What inspired you to pursue respiratory medicine?

　I decided to pursue internal medicine because I wanted to become a physician capable of treating a wide range of diseases while building trusting relationships with each individual patient and helping guide them, even in small ways, toward a happier and healthier life.
　Among the various specialties, I chose respiratory medicine because of its breadth and diversity.
　This field encompasses a wide range of areas, including lung cancer, allergies, and infectious diseases, and it involves caring for patients across every stage of illness, from acute to chronic conditions. Although it has only been about a week since I started working at Oita Red Cross Hospital as I write this, I have already had the opportunity to care for patients from many different fields, ranging from long-term outpatients to critically ill patients requiring comprehensive systemic management.
　In addition, as many other physicians have mentioned, the large number of procedures involved was also very appealing to me, as I enjoy hands-on clinical practice. During my residency training, bronchoscopy procedures at my hospital were conducted with nearly all the physicians gathering together, discussing cases, and working collaboratively each time. I was deeply impressed by the strong sense of teamwork within the department.