午夜剧场

In April 2017, I left the university I had attended since my student days and took up a position at this university. While I was initially bewildered by the differences between national and private institutions, the number of students, and the curriculum, I managed to get through the first year with the support of those around me. By the second year, I was finally able to manage the workload, and now in my third year, I feel I have finally gained a sense of my surroundings. While some confusion due to environmental changes is inevitable, I might have adjusted to the work a bit sooner if I had taken an interest in the education of other universities earlier, imagined the workload more concretely, and scheduled accordingly before coming here. It is a troublesome trait of mine that I "don't move until the very last minute."

The "discharge support" that I have researched for 20 years is exactly the support for "transitioning to a new situation." Nowadays, as hospital stays are shortened, chronic diseases increase, and home care is promoted, many patients return home in physical conditions different from before their hospitalization—namely, with remaining paralysis or having been told there is no prospect of a cure. Even when they wish for home recuperation, discharging while facing a body that does not move as desired and worrying about the progression of their illness is no simple matter.

However, if one can imagine life at home and arrange room layouts or renovations, prepare supplies, arrange medical and welfare services available at home, concretely envision the 24-hour life of oneself and one's family, and reflect on how to spend a week, a month, or a year, it becomes possible to be discharged somewhat more calmly. In such cases, if there are discharge support specialists such as nurses with abundant medical knowledge and experience, they can provide professional advice on medical conditions and care, helping to ensure a soft landing into life after discharge.

Ideally, it is vital to reflect on what one desires and what one's family thinks while still healthy, in preparation for when one becomes disabled or develops an incurable illness. This was traditionally called "Advance Care Planning," but now the Japanese name "Jinsei Kaigi" (Life Meeting) has been proposed, and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is putting effort into promoting it. However, there are likely many people like me who are slow to act until faced with the situation. I intend to continue my research on "support for transitioning care locations" so that I can respond to both preparation while healthy and preparation when the time comes.