The role of Parkinson's disease nurse and the current situation overseas

Abstract

Parkinson's disease nurse is a nurse who has expert knowledge and skills in the care of Parkinson's disease patients. The rapid increase in the number of patients with Parkinson's disease, comprehensive assessment of various motor and nonmotor symptoms and complicated therapeutic strategies including the development of the device aided therapy and the non–oral dopaminergic therapies have increased the need for Parkinson's disease nurses in recent years. Together with the physicians, Parkinson's disease nurses are expected to play important roles in the multidisciplinary team for the care of Parkinson's disease patients. In several foreign countries, the educational and training systems for developing Parkinson's disease nurses are well established and several guidelines for Parkinson's disease nurses are available for clinical practice. The educational courses for developing Parkinson's disease nurses are recently held also in Japan, however the training system remains to be well organized. In this article, the current situation in the foreign countries and a variety of role of Parkinson's disease nurses are discussed.