これまでの経歴と、現在担当している仕事について教えてください。

2007年に新卒で当院に入職し、一般病棟で看護師として約6年勤務しました。出産後に感染管理室へ異動し、第一種感染症指定医療機関の指定に伴う体制整備や、新型コロナウイルス感染症の流行初期の対応など、貴重な経験を積みました。
夫の留学に伴い2020年度末に退職し、2023年3月までアメリカで生活しました。帰国後、再び東北大学病院に入職し、2025年からバイオデザイン部門のアカデミック・サイエンス・ユニット（ASU）に所属しています。現在は、産学連携活動において、企業と医療者をつなぐクリニカルスペシャリストとして活動しています。

Tell us about your work experience so far, and the job that you are currently in charge of.

I joined Tohoku University Hospital as a newly graduated nurse in 2007 and worked as a nurse in a mixed general ward for approximately six years. After having my first child I transferred to the Infection Control Office, where I had the valuable opportunity to help establish systems associated with the hospital’s designation as a designated medical institution for Class I infectious diseases. I was also involved in the hospital’s response during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the end of fiscal year 2020 I left the hospital to accompany my husband while he studied in the United States, where we stayed until March 2023. After returning to Japan, I was given the opportunity to rejoin Tohoku University Hospital. Since 2025, I have been a member of the Academic Science Unit (ASU) within the Department of Biodesign. I currently work as a Clinical Specialist, facilitating collaboration between companies and healthcare professionals through industry-academia collaboration.

看護師を目指すきっかけとなった出来事は。

中学生の時、祖母が地元の大学病院で終末期を過ごしていました。身内を看取るのは初めての経験で、終末期の状態の変化に動揺し、泣いてしまうこともありました。そんな中、病棟の看護師さんがそっと背中をさすってくれたのを覚えています。
その経験から、漠然と「病気の人の役に立つ仕事がしたい」と思うようになり、高校では医学系の大学への進学を希望しました。さまざまな医療職に魅力を感じていましたが、やっぱりこの時の出来事が忘れられず、最終的には看護・保健学の道に進むことを決めました。

What was it that made you aim to become a nurse?

When I was in junior high school, my grandmother spent the end of her life at a local university hospital. It was my first experience of losing a close family member, and the changes in her condition were difficult for me to process, and I sometimes cried. During that time, I still remember one of the nurses gently rubbing my back to comfort me.
That experience led me to want to pursue a career in which I could help people who were ill. In high school, I began to set my sights on pursuing a university degree in medicine or a related healthcare field. Although I found many healthcare professions appealing, I ultimately decided to pursue nursing and health sciences because I could not forget that experience during my junior high school days.

東北大学病院を入職先に選んだ理由は何でしょう。

当時、現在の病棟ができてまだ2年ほどだったこともあり、「新しい」「大きい」「先進医療」という3点に魅力を感じ、都会的な仙台の街にもひかれて、割と単純な理由で入職を決めました。
ちょうど7対1入院基本料¹が導入された年で、新卒看護師が約200名も採用された年でもありました。部署の4人に1人が新人という、今振り返ると非常に大変な状況の中、部署の先輩方が一生懸命指導してくださったことを今でもよく覚えています。

What made you choose Tohoku University Hospital as your place to work?

At the time, the current ward had only been established about two years earlier. I was attracted by three things: it was new, large, and offered advanced medical care. I was also drawn to Sendai as a vibrant, sophisticated city. In all honesty, my reasons for joining were fairly straightforward.
It was also the year that Japan introduced a new reimbursement incentive for hospitals meeting a nurse-to-inpatient staffing ratio of 1:7². Around 200 newly graduated nurses were hired that year. With one in every four nurses being newly qualified in each department, on reflection it was a very challenging time. Even so, I still remember how dedicated the senior nurses were in teaching and supporting us.

キャリアを築く上で、どのようなことが大切だと考えていますか。

私は明確なキャリアプランを描いて進んできたタイプではなく、良くも悪くも、その時々のご縁や与えられた環境で楽しさを見つけていくタイプです。これまで経験した部署での仕事や渡米も、振り返れば一つ一つが偶然や巡り合わせによるものでした。現在、産学連携というこれまでとは違った仕事に携わっていますが、過去の経験や、そこで出会った仲間から学んだことが思いがけない形でつながり、今の仕事にも生かされていると実感しています。
看護師としてのキャリアは臨床に限らず、別の角度から医療に関わる部署でも、まずはやってみることで、新しい経験や出会いが生まれ、それが次のキャリアにつながる場合もあります。これまでの経験を無駄にせず、その蓄積を自分の強みに変えていくことが、キャリアを築く上で大切だと思います。

What sort of matters do you consider important in building up a career?

I have never been the type of person to follow a clearly defined career plan. For better or worse, I have tried to find something enjoyable and meaningful in each opportunity and environment that has come my way. Looking back, my experiences in different departments and my time living in the United States were all brought about by luck or coincidence. I am now involved in industry-academia collaboration, which is quite different from my previous work. However, I have come to realize that my past experiences and the lessons I learned from the people I met along the way are connecting with my current work in unexpected ways.
Nursing is not limited to clinical practice. Even when assigned to a role that allows you to contribute to healthcare from a different perspective, I believe it is important to be open-minded and give it a try. New experiences and connections can emerge from doing so, and they may unexpectedly lead to the next step in your career. Rather than viewing past experiences as wasted, I believe that turning what we have accumulated through those experiences into our own strengths is an important part of building a career.

現在力を入れて取り組んでいること、今後取り組みたいことを聞かせてください。

同じように産学連携を推進する医療機関が増える中、大手企業が大都市に集中しているため、交通の利便性では都心の医療機関にかないません。だからこそ、「東北大学病院ASUならではの強み」を磨き、その価値を企業の皆さまに伝えていくことに、部門長の中川敦寛先生をはじめ皆で力を入れています。
私自身、看護師が産学連携を担う一つのロールモデルとなれるよう、看護イノベーションを推進する海外の医療機関を訪れ、その仕組みを学びたいと思っています。外資系企業と英語でコミュニケーションする機会も増えているため、英語も改めて学び直したいと考えています。最近は子どもたちから発音を修正してもらっています。

What are you devoting your energy to now, and what do you wish to pursue in the future?

As more healthcare institutions become involved in industry-academia collaboration, we face the challenge that major companies tend to be concentrated in large cities, so the healthcare institutions in those cities have an advantage in terms of accessibility. That is why, together with Department Director Dr. Atsuhiro Nakagawa and the rest of the team, we are working to develop what only Tohoku University Hospital’s ASU can offer and to communicate that value to companies.
Personally, I hope to become a role model for nurses who wish to pursue industry-academia collaboration. I would like to visit healthcare institutions overseas that are advancing nursing innovation and learn how they have developed their systems and approaches. In addition, as I have more opportunities to communicate in English with international companies, I would like to improve my English skills again. These days, even my children help me correct my English pronunciation.

仕事を離れた時間はどのように過ごしていますか。

学生時代にバスケットボールを10年間、また高校野球のマネージャーをしていたこともあり、スポーツ観戦が好きです。特に野球観戦が好きで、よく家族で試合を見に行っています。旅行も好きで、長期休暇にはできるだけ家族で旅行をしています。ワークライフバランスを大切にし、仕事とプライベートにはメリハリをつけています。

How do you spend your time when you are away from work?

I have always enjoyed watching sports. I played basketball for 10 years and also served as a team manager for my high school baseball team. In particular, I enjoy watching baseball and often go to professional baseball games with my family. I also love traveling and try to take family trips whenever we have a long holiday. I value work-life balance and make a conscious effort to maintain a good balance between my work and personal life.

1. 7対1入院基本料：患者7人に対して看護師1人を配置するという、最も手厚い看護師配置を前提とする入院基本料
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2. Reimbursement incentive for hospitals meeting a nurse-to-inpatient staffing ratio of 1:7: the reimbursement incentive for hospitals predicated on the most intensive stationing of nurses, which is one nurse for every seven inpatients. ↩︎