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PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE
Plans being finalized
for BCMS trip to Japan
By James L. Humphreys, MD
2015 BCMS President
This is the time of year when we begin to prepare for our to have a bad time there. It is always fascinating to meet these
annual cultural exchange with our fellow physicians from our physicians and see how it is to practice in a medical system
sister city of Kumamoto, Japan. I always look forward to see- with a very different funding scheme than our own.
ing my friends from Kumamoto and catching up with them.
This year it is our turn to visit Japan, and we are planning a If you have never gone on this trip, it is an excellent way to
spectacular visit for our delegation. see a fair swath of Japan in a short time and really have some
meaningful and personal cultural exchanges that would be dif-
This will be my eighth or ninth trip there with the medical ficult to replicate on an individual basis. For veterans of the
society — I have honestly lost track at this point. I never get trip, you know what a great time it always is, and I invite you
tired of this trip (other than the flight over, which is long!) to join us again as we have been able to refine this voyage and
Every time I see so many new things and appreciate other as- add some improvements to the experience over the years. I
pects of being in Japan that have become familiar to me after went the first time just because I had always wanted to see
all these trips and yet are so different from things at home in Japan, and this seemed like a good way to get an introduction
San Antonio. to the country. I was totally hooked from the get-go, as you
can probably tell by now. With the invaluable help of Hiroko
This year’s trip currently is planned for Sept. 26 to Oct. 3. Fay, my Japanese “mom” and fellow guide on these trips, we
For veterans of this trip, I am cutting the itinerary down by can assure you an experience you will not forget.
one city and allowing more time in the places we visit so that
the trip doesn’t seem so rushed from the time we arrive to the We need to solidify the list of people going on the trip by
time we leave. We will be spending extra time in Tokyo and mid-July at latest, so please contact either myself or Melody
maintaining a long stayover in Kyoto before moving south- Newsom at the medical society (210-301-4391), and we can
ward into Kumamoto for the final phase of the visit. Tokyo get you further trip details and anticipated cost information.
and Kyoto are both wonderful places to visit, with many ex- I look forward to travelling with you soon.
otic and interesting sites, but for me the best part of the trip
is when we arrive in Kumamoto. It is a nice place to visit in James L. Humphreys, MD, is the 2015 president of the Bexar
and of itself but the doctors from the Kumamoto City Med- County Medical Society. He is a pathologist with Precision
ical Association are such excellent hosts that it is impossible Pathology in San Antonio.
8 San Antonio Medicine • July 2015
