Message from the Director of our Department
Recently, the hollowing out of specialties has accelerated in light of the current sophistication and specialization prevailing in medical fields.
Although Japan’s population is shrinking, emergency calls in remote areas are increasing. We, emergency doctors, must use our skills and knowledge to treat critically afflicted patients; those skills and knowledge are increasingly demanded these days. We have the best capabilities to satisfy the needs by making full use of our “Professionalism”.
Director,
Department of Emergency and Critical Care MedicineAtsunori Nakao
Scope of Target Diseases
We treat critically afflicted patients who require advanced and professional treatment (e.g., children, ECMO support, severe burns, traffic injury, toxic, hemorrhage shock, sepsis, myocardial infarction, and strokes…).
Therefore, we do not treat the patients on our own: we treat them in cooperation with cardiologists, anesthesiologists,
pediatricians, surgeons, and all specialties.
Features and Description of Medical Care
Physicians attending the Advanced Emergency and Critical Care Medical Center (AECCMC) outpatient department diagnose and provide resuscitation of first-aid treatment for critically ill patients taken to the hospital by ambulance.
Physicians of the Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine provide advanced Triage and advanced intensive care for severely ill patients daily in the unit of AECCMC. They also provide emergency medical treatment when any outpatient or inpatient has a suddenly deteriorated condition (see the AECCMC website).
Physicians of the Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine are qualified as medical specialists in more than one licensed practice including emergency medicine. We provide the highest level of emergency medical services and critical care in the Chugoku and Shikoku districts. Our team comprises more than 20 physicians working exclusively for emergency medicine, and working together with other specialists for 24 hours/365 days based on the shift system. We maintain close contact with other diagnostic and treatment services in the hospital. We also maintain the highest level of critical care medical service by systemic care approach. During the Great East Japan Earthquake, we dispatched ambulances and performed medical support activities in distant coastal areas of Iwate Prefecture.
Our department treats diverse patients in critical condition with acute illness, poisoning, or severe burn/trauma. The emergency physicians are trained to judge their patient’s severity and urgency grades immediately and are also specialized in advanced life support and life-saving techniques. We are responsible for the operation of Advanced Emergency and Critical Care Medical Center to save the lives of severely sickened patients. We will have no chance to see you unless you are in a severe condition requiring urgent attention. However, we indirectly support you for securing safety and security for everyone, such as improvement of emergency systems in Okayama city and prefectures with educational projects for pre-hospital relief and instructions for life emergency rescue. We will continue to work hard for everyone from familiar places and as "the last fortress".
