I am delighted to make your acquaintance.
I am Dr. Toru Kawamoto, the Director of the Minato Shiba Clinic.
I opened this clinic beside Mita Station in 2010, then moved to our present location near Shibakoen Station in 2014.
I have put in many long years of service at University of Tsukuba Hospital and other related hospitals.
In Ibaraki Prefecure where these hospitals are located, there were many medical institutions, but because of the wide area of the prefecture, it was not easy for patients to consult with these medical institutions.
Not only were there no clinics nearby, the out-patient sections of large general hospitals were often crowded.
As I observed this situation, I realized that nearby clinics that patients could visit with ease were necessary.
By chance I opened my clinic here, but my feelings are unchanged. Rather, because it is the center of a metropolis filled with specialized clinics, I am convinced that a clinic just like a small town doctor’s office that offers comprehensive medical treatment is necessary.
“Become a surgeon that is an internist who can wield a scalpel”.
After I completed graduate school at Tsukuba University, I studied gastroenterological surgery at University of Tsukuba Hospital.
That was when I was given this advice by a professor.
It means, “become a surgeon who knows more about internal medicine than an internist.”
At University of Tsukuba Hospital, the traditional hospital culture is still alive: surgeons take the lead and treat all patients including those in need of emergency first aid.
For about 10 years, my daily life was operating during the day and dealing with emergencies at night.
I diagnosed and treated patients with a variety of symptoms and had to independently give diagnoses to them all, enabling me to polish my primary care skills (initial treatment of illness) to a high level.
This experience lives on in the present diagnosis and treatment activities at this clinic.