The process of developing nursing education in Japan was investigated in comparison to the United States. This study points out that baccalaureate nursing programs rapidly increased during the 1990s in Japan and graduate programs ware expanded hereafter. The impact that the expansion of baccalaureate nursing programs had on the quality of nursing care is also discussed, Collen J. Goode, et al, points out the differences between nurses with bachelor education and other nurses as follows on their article.
1) Greater Critical Thinking Skills; 2) Less Task Oriented; 3) Greater Professionalism; 4) Stronger Leadership Skills; 5) More Focused on Continuity of Care and its Outcome; 6) Greater Focus on Psychosocial Components; 7) Better Communication Skills, and 8) Greater Focus on Patient Teaching. They also suggested that bachelor educated nurses would be needed more in clinical setting showing their findings that head nurses want more bachelor educated nurses into their ward.
Finally, clinical experience was emphasized along with the baccalaureate degree. To maintain the quality of nursing care, quoting the findings of Mary A, Blegen, et al. a relationship was observed between the quality of care (Medication Error & Patient Fall) and the length of nursing experience.

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Progress in the treatment of cancer has been outstanding, and a nationwide strategic effort has succeeded dramatically, contributing to the early detection of cancer and improving survival rates. However, cancer is still the number one cause of death and is feared as a fatal disease. Problems exist with telling people they have cancer and with providing psychological care.
Since cancer treatment itself is so destructive, the role of nursing plays a big part in improving the patient's quality of life. Rapid progress has been made recently in the ability of nurses to take a specialized role in cancer treatment. We can mention, in particular, the role the Japan Oncology Nurses Association has played in bridging the span between clinical work and education, the preference shown to cancer research contributing to progress in nursing research, and the establishment of oncology nursing as a certified specialty and as a specialized field within nursing.
Taking this wide view into account, we would like to define future tasks for oncology nursing.

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PURPOSE: This study was undertaken to investigate a change of the degree of anxiety and psychological acceptance of candidates of cardiovascular surgery. SUBJECT: 15 patients who were candidates of cardiovascular surgery (10 males and 5 females) were selected for this study. METHODS: An interview was carried out with a patient in preoperative period. The degree of anxiety and psychological acceptance were measured with a 5-point scale and investigated retrospectively. The times when they were measured were as follows: (1) SPO (suggestion of possibility of operation), (2) Pre-NDO (notice of decision of operation), (3) NDO, (4) Pre-NOD (notice of operation day), (5) NOD, and (6) TBO (two days before operation). RESULTS: The number of patients who had anxiety increased during SPO and NDO, and decreased during NDO and TBO. On the other hand, the number of patients who accepted an operation psychologically increased through preoperative period. The relation of the degree of anxiety and the measured time, the degree of psychological acceptance and the measured time were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis test. The measured time was the factor which influenced the degree of psychological acceptance (p<0.01).

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the current condition of “child birth accompanied by the husband” and obstetric nurse's views and awareness toward these practices in a hospital setting. Questionnaires were sent to the general hospitals with the bed capacity of more than 200 and obstetric hospital with more than 100 beds, Totaling the 30 hospitals of two prefectures in Tohoku Region. Of the 30 hospitals, 22 responded to questionnaires. 12 facilities (54.5%) have been implementing “child birth accompanied by the husband”, with the mean of 9.2 years. An average of 18.3% of all childbirth during these years took place with “child birth accompanied by the husband”. Obstetric nurse's wiews and awareness on “child birth accompanied by the husband” varied from there of experience in midwifery practice and assisting during the childbirth. Staff with the considerable experience in showed affirmative views and expressed concerns that “child birth accompanied by the husband” might complicate the every day practices. About 45% obstetric nursing staff predicted that this practice of “child birth accompanied by the husband” would prevalent among the hospital setting in the future, and, as for about 38% staff which predicted that it couldn't be said.

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This research is aimed at clarifying the structure of problems facing psychiatric nurses. We listened to the internal experiences of nurses who work at closed wards for chronics. We found the following five points from our interviews. 1. Most nurses were vague about their motives for going into psychiatric nursing and did not have a concrete idea of what to expect. 2. Most nurses told of how they couldn't do anything to help patients who later committed suicide or to help patients with severe symptoms. 3. Among the problems they face are a lack of confidence in their ability, lack of communication with other staff, and fear and anxiety regarding violent patients. 4. The nurses tend to forget the problems they experienced. 5. Positive aspects of their work are their interactions with patients and their own growth. These interviews showed that nurses are fearful of patient violence, feel powerless at times and work under several vicious cycles.

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The professional competency of nursing is increased through clinical experience, training and teaching after graduation. When such nurses leave their workplace, it means a great loss of time, resources and accumulated competency from the hospitals and wards.
In 1999, we studied the growth of professional competency in nursing and estimated the financial loss incurred when nurses leave the profession. Three national and general hospitals were examined. Questionnaires were disseminated to the directors of each nursing department and to fifty-eight head nurses. The return rate from the head nurses of each hospital was 85.7% (12/14 wards), 100% (16/16 wards) and 100% (28/28 wards), respectively.
The investment in training a newcomer and the loss suffered when a nurse leaves the profession was calculated according to the following categories.
1. Advertising/recruiting, 2. Hiring, 3, Orientation/training, 4. Decreased productivity, 5. Severance pay, 6. Unfilled positions.
The cost of the above expenses was totaled and calculated for each nurse. The results showed that the loss a single nurse cost the following amounts respectively; ¥1, 614, 000-¥1, 638, 000, ¥1, 332, 000-¥1, 346, 000, and ¥1, 385, 000-¥1, 396, 000.
The findings showed that ‘4. Decreased productivity’ accounts for the biggest loss, which wasbetween 83.9%-and 94.5% of the total cost.

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We examined third grade student nurses with a questionnaire about their thinking ability and self-education competences just before and after the case study, and after the completion of their academic paper before graduation. Thinking ability was significantly improved after they had completed the paper. self-education competences did not differ throughout this period, but in the subitems, they had better knowledge of ‘nursing devices’. It is suggested they have enough motivation for self-education competences, judging from their description of the subitem of ‘improvement and growing’. Because the students stated that they could search use references and learn various kind of thinking through the searched referenes. Sixty one percent of the students achieved standard marks (over 70%) in their parer evaluated by their teachers. These results suggest that it could be useful to carry out case study during the third grade. In the future, we would plan to improve their thinking ability in regard to searching and their power of expression, from the beginning of the first grade.

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Self-evaluation was carried out to 2.045 chief nurses who work in the whole country national hospitals and sanatoriums by using the chief nurse functional evaluation method. The result was analyzed to grasp their implementation ability and to clarify the need and necessary contents of education.
As the result, firstly clinical practice ability regarding the comprehensive management ability, the patient, labor and safety was evaluated highly. In contrast with this, education ability, nursing control ability, research ability and speciality were evaluated low. Specifically these low abilities are collection and processing ability of the information, systematization ability and writing ability. However, those are requested always in daily nursing business. This low ability is related to the actual condition that nursing director is not related purposefully and basic education. Secondary it was compared between the attended person with the unattended person of a nursing teacher-training curriculum about those lacking ability. Abilities of the attended person were low in the order of reform ability, research ability and nursing control ability. In comparison with this, abilities of the unattended person were low in the order of research ability, education ability and reform ability. Because the education ability is very important from a viewpoint of subordinate cultivation, the training of education ability is indispensable to the promoted chief nurse. Thirdly the self-evaluation of control ability was low in the chief nurse group whose experience years are less than 3 years and age are less than 39 years old. This period is the time to make an effort for cultivation. In the contrast, there are many high abilities in the chief nurse group who's experience years are between 3 to 10 years and age are between 40 to 49. It is optimal time to motivate as the manager.

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