The purpose of the present study is to determine the variables that influence nursing teachers' self-efficacy for nursing practice education. Two hundreds forty-five nursing teachers in charge of nursing practice education participated in this study. Correlation analysis demonstrated significant positive correlation between self-efficacy in nursing practice education and the following demographic variables: the experience of completing a pedagogy course; the experience of finishing a training session on teaching practice; teaching experience before becoming teachers; and teaching experience after becoming teachers.

Multiple regression analysis indicated that the contribution rate of these demographic variables was 15.3%. Four principal sources of information that have proved to enhance self-efficacy were also analyzed, and three of them, i.e., enactive mastery experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological and affective states, indicated a significantly greater contribution rate of 43. 7% than the demographic variables. The results suggest that nursing teachers improve self-efficacy for teaching nursing practice education not only by completing a pedagogy course subsequent to participating in training session on nursing practice education, but also by making a positive evaluation of their own actual experience of teaching.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors that caused yearly change in the number of nursing staff (nurses and assistant nurses) from 1910 to 1996 in Japan. Public materials such as a sanitation administrative business report were used. The period from 1941 to 1953 was excluded from the study because reliable information could not be obtained. Okinawa prefecture was excluded from this study because the nursing system under occupation by the U.S.A. was different from other prefectures.

The results were as follows. Before the end of World War II, war was a significant factor which influenced the increase and decrease of the number of nursing staff. As the sanitary condition was improved, the number of nursing staff in urban areas decreased. From 1980, the number of nursing staff increased in the rural districts where the proportion of the aged was high. In these areas, the proportion of assistant nurse was high. As the demand for the visit nursing increased, from 1992 the number of nursing staff has not depended on the numbers of sickbeds and doctors. Though, the number of assistant nurses has been increasing from 1915, the proportion of assistant nurses to the nurses began to decrease from 1972.

The results suggested that the demand for the nursing staff will depend not only on the numbers of sickbeds and doctors, but also on the needs for the visiting care and the care for the aged.