Nursing in Japan

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

please look before you leap:

[color=#0000cc]japanese nursing association

• employment status of nursing professionals in japan
  
• working in japan http://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/org/policy/dl/p43a.pdf

jna news no 40: march, 2008. (pdf 650kb)

nurses from philippines,

indonesia set to practice in japan

in accordance with economic partnership

agreements concluded with the

philippines in 2006 and indonesia in

2007, the japanese government has

decided to recognize the hiring of

nurses from those countries in japan.

domestic opposition in the philippines

has halted implementation of the agreement

from that country, but the prospects

are that a limited number of

indonesian nurses will be entering japan

before long. therefore, let us once

again make clear our views on the issue

and explain the conditions that apply to

implementation of the agreement.

the japanese nursing association

has a two part strategy for righting the

imbalance between the demand for

nurses and the present supply. one part

involves filling nursing positions with

qualified nurses who are not currently

working as nurses. at the same time,

working conditions need to be improved

to the level where worker retention

is not a problem. we do not regard

bringing in nurses from abroad as the

right solution to the problem.

the jna has set out four conditions

for employing foreign nurses that are

designed to ensure quality of care and

better working conditions for all. they

are: (1) foreign nurses must obtain a

japanese nursing license, (2) they must

have enough japanese language proficiency

to be able to provide safe

nursing care, (3) employers must insure

that conditions of employment for foreign

nurses are at least on the same

level as for japanese nurses, (4) nursing

licenses in japan and other countries

will not be mutually recognized.

japan's agreements with the two

countries are compatible with these

conditions. that means their nurses will

have to pass our national nursing examination

in japanese. an agency

called the japan international corporation

of welfare services has been

designated to mediate the process by

which foreign nurses obtain a japanese

nursing license and work in hospitals or

clinics. it will arrange for them to

obtain a visa for up to three years

residence in japan. for the first six

months they must take classes in japanese

and nursing. then the agency will

mediate with the contracting medical

facilities to put them to work as nursing

assistants (for the same wages a japanese

would receive) while they study

for the national exam. if they don't pass

the exam within three years, they must

leave japan. once licensed, they can

work as nurses in japan, renewing their

visas at three-year intervals without

limit.

the jna will cooperate with all

parties involved in this programme to

insure sound working conditions for the

nurses it employs.

[suzanne4, RN]

My question to all of this is: If the Japanese government in the past has not even permitted a Japanese national that has trained in another country to get licensed in Japan, why are they going to permit a foreigner to do so?

You would think that a Japanese nurse that holds a Japanese passport and is fluent in Japanese would be able to get licensed in Japan and they have never been permitted to do so.

[gemini_star, BSN, RN]

Hi Suzanne,

What do you mean by these Japanese nurses not permitted to be licensed in Japan? It's their own country so they have the right to be licensed nurse in their home country.

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Hi Suzanne,

What do you mean by these Japanese nurses not permitted to be licensed in Japan? It's their own country so they have the right to be licensed nurse in their home country.

We have had members write that they trained outside Japan although citizens and would not be allowed to nurse in Japan and even sit the Japanese exams despite being citizens and speaking the language fluently .

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

employment status of nursing professionals in japan

...however, demands for nursing workers have outpaced the supplies, due to the development of advanced medicine, increase in the number of hospital beds and the aging of patients. japan is now in the state of chronic nurse shortages in terms of both quality and quantity.

around 60%(*2) of all nursing workers are employed at hospitals, but the ratio is declining year after year, indicating diversifi cation in workplaces for nurses.

the long-term care insurance law, enacted in 2000, shifted the place for treating and rehabilitating patients in chronic illnesses from hospitals to facilities for long-term care, in-home medical care and visiting nursing. the number of nursing workers required in various areas continues to increase steadily....

strategies for retention of nurses

nurse shortage in japan is estimated to be 37,100 in 2008 and 15,900 in 2010 by 6th nursing personnel supply and demand projection, ministry of health, labour and welfare. however, the number of inactive nurses is estimated to be 550,000 to 650,000. in addition, the turnover rate of full-time nurses in hospitals was 12.4% (jna survey in 2007).

jna has focused on the high turnover rate of full-time nurses in hospitals (12.3% jna survey in 2007), especially for newly graduated nurses (9.2% in their first year, survey in 2007), and has started the project called "recruitment and retention" this project including the improvement of working conditions of nurses.

jna developed a guide booklet for nursing students seeking jobs and a booklet for hospital administrators to develop the positive work environments. jna is also implementing a model project for diversified patterns of work.

http://www.nurse.or.jp/jna/english/activities/recruitment.html

[suzanne4, RN]

There are actually quite a few nurses here on this site that are Japanese nationals and they attended nursing school either in your country, the US, Thailand, just to name a few and then when they wished to return to Japan, they would not permit them to get licensed there since they did not train there. And personal students of mine that had over 10 years of work experience in the US and then wished to return home, they could not get a license there or even qualify to sit for their boards.

There is no requirement by any country that they must issue a license to their own national when they have attended school in another country.

This is why I keep making this point that Japan has not been even permitting their own national to sit for the their exam, why in the world are they going to permit a foreigner to sit for it?