We have been holding a series of events called “Find-Your-Role-Model” Sessions to provide students with opportunities to interact with alumni and global leaders in healthcare sciences. Through these roundtable-style, informal events, we hope students will find role models to help facilitate their career development and become future global leaders.

      We are pleased to welcome Dr. Marie Kitano, a psychiatry registrar at Monash Health in Victoria, Australia, who has been simultaneously pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Melbourne since 2023. A graduate of the School of Medicine of Science Tokyo’s predecessor TMDU, Dr. Kitano was a member of the first cohort of the Health Science Leadership Program (HSLP).

      During her time in the HSLP, she represented Japan at the St. Gallen Symposium in Switzerland and the G20 Youth Summit in Argentina. After graduating in 2019, she completed her initial clinical training at the University of Tokyo Hospital. She moved to Australia in 2022, where she continues to build a successful career. Alongside her clinical work, Dr. Kitano also serves as an International Medical Graduate (IMG) Officer at Monash Health, engaging in medical education and advocacy on behalf of other IMGs.
 
【Topics】

Career vision and professional background
・Dr. Kitano’s activities and the lessons she learned during her time in the HSLP, the background and motivation behind her current career path, her role models, how she has overcome different challenges and setbacks; her experiences working overseas, and why she chose Australia in particular.

Current and upcoming activities
・Dr. Kitano’s current research and professional work, comparisons between the healthcare systems in Japan and other countries, challenges she currently faces, some moments when she has found working in Australia especially rewarding, and what she considers as her personal vision and mission.

Advice for students and healthcare professionals
・The skills and mindset required to work abroad, important factors to keep in mind when considering a career overseas, key considerations when making career choices, what students and young healthcare professionals should focus on now, and general advice for HSLP and healthcare students.