Writing for Someone I Cannot See

What does it mean to have a dream?

For a pathologist, work often means writing for someone we may never meet. In that sense, a pathology report and a personal blog may have more in common than they first appear.

 

I have been watching an NHK morning drama with deep feeling, as one member of the medical profession.

It is a coming-of-age story about the first women in Japan to receive formal nursing education—women who were called kangofu at the time, and who would now be called nurses.

Nurses are the people who stay closest to the patient.

They are among the most reliable and reassuring members of any medical team.

And each of them, I imagine, becomes a nurse while carrying their own image of what an ideal nurse should be.

The drama has now passed its halfway point.

As the nursing school part of the story comes to an end, each character begins to speak about their dream for the future.

The instructor who came all the way from Scotland to Japan also speaks about her next dream.

What is a dream?

That question was also raised in the drama, and last night I found myself thinking about what a dream means to me.

When I was young, I dreamed of becoming a diplomat, a trading company employee, or a novelist.

None of those dreams came true.

In the end, I became a doctor, just as my father had hoped.

It may not have been an act of rebellion, but I did not become an internist like my father.

I became a pathologist.

I am glad that I became one.

I do not know whether this was truly my dream.

Still, perhaps the vague image I had of the kind of person I wanted to become has somehow taken shape in this life.

I write this blog every day.

But I cannot see the people who are reading these words.

Even so, I am fortunate that someone opens this page every day and reads what I have written.

This article, too, is written toward that unseen “someone.”

There are times when I explain pathological diagnoses directly to patients.

This is sometimes called a pathology consultation.

But in general, pathologists rarely speak with patients face to face.

Every day, I struggle to complete pathology reports.

And those reports are, in essence, written for the patients.

Of course, clinicians stand between the pathologist and the patient.

Even so, the diagnosis belongs to the patient.

In that sense, a pathology report delivered to a patient feels somehow similar to this blog, which I write for readers I cannot see.

I do not know whether writing for someone unseen was ever my dream.

But perhaps a dream does not always have to be concrete.

If that dream has taken shape in the work of being a pathologist, then I am grateful.

Some dreams may be realized not as a title or a destination, but as the quiet work we continue to do each day.

・・・・

coming-of-age story
A story about young people growing, learning, and finding their place in the world.
成長物語。若者が経験を通じて成長していく物語。

formal education
Education provided through an official school or institution.
正式な教育。学校や制度に基づいて行われる教育。

medical profession
The field of work related to medicine, including doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers.
医療職。医師、看護師、その他の医療従事者を含む職業分野。

reassuring
Making someone feel less worried or afraid.
安心させる。人の不安をやわらげる。

halfway point
The middle point of something.
折り返し地点。物事の中間点。

diplomat
A person who represents their country in another country.
外交官。自国を代表して外国と交渉する人。

trading company
A company that buys and sells goods internationally.
商社。国際的に商品を売買する会社。

act of rebellion
An action taken to resist or oppose someone’s expectations or authority.
反抗の行為。誰かの期待や権威に逆らう行動。

internist
A doctor who specializes in internal medicine.
内科医。内科を専門とする医師。

pathologist
A doctor who diagnoses diseases by examining tissues, cells, and organs.
病理医。組織、細胞、臓器を調べて病気を診断する医師。

take shape
To gradually become clear, real, or concrete.
形になる。だんだん具体的になったり実現したりする。

pathology report
A written medical report made by a pathologist, describing a diagnosis based on examined tissue or cells.
病理診断書。病理医が組織や細胞を調べて診断内容を記した報告書。

face to face
Directly meeting and speaking with someone in person.
直接会って。対面で。

in essence
Basically; in the most important meaning.
本質的には。要するに。

clinician
A doctor or healthcare professional who directly cares for patients.
臨床医。患者を直接診療する医療者。

unseen
Not seen or not visible.
見えない。目に見えない。

concrete
Clear, specific, and definite.
具体的な。はっきりした形のある。

destination
A place or goal that someone is trying to reach.
目的地、到達点。目指している場所や目標。