Abstract
Nursing is the oldest of the arts of caring, but the nursing as profession is relatively young compared to other professions. What expertise does nursing claim?. I believe that the essence of nursing is caring for persons. Caring involves more than just carrying out nursing procedures, nurse should care patients, respecting their individual dignity, values and rights. As technology flourishes, nurses and other medical staffs are inclined to measure their values by their technical skills to handle medical equipments. Consequently, the unique nursing contribution became less evaluated. The reason of this evaluation is probably related to the view on nurses as the assistants of physicians, the view which has been deeply ingrained and pervaded in Japanese society. On the other hand, with the development of nursing as a full profession, nurses increasingly describe themselves as directly accountable to their patients. The nursing accountability implies responsibility for the consequence of actions not only chosen but also not-chosen in particular nursing situations. Nurses act as advocates for patients when their health or safety is affected by the unethical or illegal practice of any person.
