The 6th Workshop on Multidisciplinary Team Care for Healthcare Professionals in Cambodia ～Co‐Creation Zoo: Artistic Approach to Team Building Workshop～

Despite the rapid economic growth, Cambodia's health and hygiene situation is still developing, and there are still many issues that need to be solved, such as the lack of medical and hygiene knowledge among the people, the inadequate insurance system, and the lack of medical equipment. In particular, the absolute shortage of medical personnel is a serious obstacle to the public's access to high-quality medical care. To solve this problem, Chugai Pharmaceutical, together with Japan Heart*¹, held the 6th Team Medical Workshop in Cambodia on March 20, 2026, at the Japan Heart Asia Children's Medical Center and the Japan Heart Medical Center on March 21, 2026, with a total of 31 staff members (27 Khmer and 11 Japanese) participating.

Chugai has been involved in the promotion of "team medicine" in Japan for many years, in which various medical stakeholders share objectives and information, and provide medical care in cooperation and complementarity with each other. Based on this experience, we have been holding team medicine workshops for local medical professionals since 2020 to support the collaboration of limited human resources and contribute to the realization of high-quality medical care in Cambodia.

In the first year, they drew their ideal hospital image as an individual as a zoo. In the second year, they evolved from individual work to group work. Regarding the grouping for each occupation, such as medical professionals and office workers, they took the flow of reflecting individual opinions and ultimately expressing one ideal workplace image for each group in a zoo format. This time, in the third year, they created a group across occupations and drew a picture of an ideal zoo (hospital image) based on the vision of Japan Heart and valuing it to achieve the vision.

In addition, by giving feedback to all participants on their opinions through a Khmer Japanese interpreter, they were able to better understand each thought and share communication issues that they were not usually aware of and their thoughts on the ideal image of Japan Heart.

Workshop on the day

◆Comments from participants

Dr. Maiko Kojiro, board member/medical doctor/hospital project director, Japan Heart　

This workshop was held for the first time in two locations. At the Asian Children's Medical Center, which opened in November last year, many staff members participated in the hospital that exceeded initial expectations, and there was a very high level of interest, with many people expressing their desire to participate in the event after seeing the progress of the day. There were expectations and concerns about how the differences would manifest in the two hospitals with different characteristics, but while there were great similarities in verbalizing the values they cherished, the expression of the final product, "zoo," strongly reflected their individuality, which was very interesting. In addition, while presentations tend to be centered on doctors, staff from various occupations actively spoke out, and it was an opportunity to feel the growth of leadership in multiple professions. At the milestone of five months since the opening of the new hospital, it was a valuable opportunity to share the vision of the organization once again and discuss the future of the hospital with the staff based on this. Through this workshop, I realized once again the importance of team building. We would like to express our sincere gratitude for providing such an opportunity every year.

Mr. Botr Chhunly/ Clinical Laboratory Technician / Japan Heart Asia Pediatric Medical Center

I had the opportunity to join the Co-Creation Zoo program twice—first last year at JHMC and again this year at AMC for team building. During my first participation, the program felt very new to me, as it was my first experience learning through this kind of approach. At that time, I did not clearly understand the purpose of the activities or why they were designed in that way. One year later, I had the chance to join the program again. At the beginning, I still had similar doubts. However, as the workshop progressed, my perspective gradually changed. I came to realize that this is one of the best teaching approaches I have ever experienced. It provided me with valuable insights and a meaningful learning experience, not only for myself but also for my team. This approach is powerful because it brings together people from different countries, cultures, professional backgrounds, and levels of knowledge. Through enjoyable and interactive activities, it allows participants to share diverse perspectives and better understand each other. Ultimately, it highlights the importance of teamwork and helps build stronger collaboration within the team.

We will continue our contribution to global health through continuous support activities that leverage the strengths of Chugai Pharmaceutical, aiming to provide advanced and sustainable patient-centric healthcare.

◆Please refer to the following link for past activities.
Activity in 2024     Activity in 2023   　  Activity in 2022 　　Activity in 2021 　　Activity in 2020

◆Reference
＊１　Japan Heart　　https://www.japanheart.org/
＊２　MSC　Management Service Center　　https://www.msc-net.co.jp/