Abstract
Though the academic study of nursing has only about a 100-year-long history thus far, nursing has been exhaustively discussed in order to clarify specialties such as 'care' or 'advocacy." These two concepts have in common the way in which they are both difficult to define because they both are polysemic. Even though these discussions have given new depth to the specialties in nursing, the discourse has not yet come to an end. Recently, it has been suggested that the roles of caring and advocacy in medical practice are not exclusive to nurses. What then, are the specialties of nursing? This question has been raised again.
In this article, I introduce 'nurses' ethics' from “Medical Philosophy" written by Hisayuki Omodaka, the father of Japanese medical philosophy, 70 years ago. He gave validity to the special roles of nurses, and also perceived the importance and expertise of nurses' roles which advance patients' natural healing power. This must have been quite a novel argument at that doctor-centered time.
Mr. Omodaka mentions that when nurses perform their two roles concurrently, their specialties are truly implemented. The two roles are: 1. To assist doctors with medical treatment. 2. To attend to patients by observing them carefully, knowing them properly, and watching over them with gentle tenderness. Through these special roles, if the essence of nursing exists in respecting an individual's dignity and inducing patients' natural healing power, I believe that the core meaning of nursing advocacy exists in nurses' daily diligent care to their patients.
