The purpose of this study was to clarify the characteristics of nurses’ communication skills in terms of the relationship between verbal and nonverbal skills by analysis of nurse-patient interaction scenes. We video-recorded 81 scenes of clinical practice by 27 nurses, observed nonverbal communication（patient-directed eyegaze, head nodding, smiling, forward lean, affective touch, and instrumental touch ） and verbal communication based on Roter’s Interaction Analysis System（25 items consisting of relationship skills, partnering skills, data gathering skills, and patient educational counseling skills）, and performed analysis using the Behavior Coding System. As a result, the nurses mainly used patient-directed eyegaze and head nodding as nonverbal communication, and accepting/general leads and the provision of information on treatment as verbal communication skills. Concerning the relationship between verbal and nonverbal communication, there was a significant correlation between head nodding or smiling and relationship skills. Data gathering skills and patient educational counseling skills were significantly frequently used before and after patient-directed eyegaze, and relationship skills were significantly frequently used before and after smiling.

　Thus, communication skills of nurses in nursing practice were characterized by the mutual supplementation and promotion of verbal and nonverbal communication skills. These findings suggest the necessity for educational methods for communication skills with considerations for not only verbal but also nonverbal communication skills.

　The objective of the study is to clarify how clinical nurses understand nursing advocacy and patients’ rights and how they advocate for patients. Based on results obtained, I redefined the meaning of the word “advocacy”and discuss elements that compose the concept of advocacy. The study was conducted in the form of a questionnaire in 365 nurses with five or more years of clinical experience at hospitals having 300 or more beds with a palliative care unit within the Kinki region. A form, partially revised from the one developed by Davis et al. for a pilot study in 24 nurses, was used in this study, with some additional questions.

　In the questionnaire, 70% of the respondents had advocated for their patients, for example, when a patient and his/her family were not provided with a satisfactory explanation for the patient’s condition, these nurses requested the doctor to provide additional explanation to the patient as well as to clarify their own doubts and questions. Their responses revealed that their workplace did not provide an environment that encouraged them to practice advocacy for patients : some workplaces with too tight working schedule and others with doctors not treating nurses as peers. Despite the respondents’ high awareness of patients’ rights, their ideas were not always fulfilled. Nurses seem to be engaged in advocacy activities while experiencing conflicts in their relationships with patients and physicians. They understand that advocacy is part of daily nursing activities.

　The purpose of this study is to research into the educational implementation level of training administered by the trainers of the training course and the resulting achievement level of education that the students acquired with the view to establish the relationship between the two levels.

　The research was conducted based on the questionnaire survey method and the subjects of the survey were 21 trainers and 86 students of the practice training courses. The questions were all answered on a scale of 1 to 5. The trainers were provided with a self-evaluation questionnaire sheet pertaining to the educational implementation level of their instruction while the students were provided with a correlating self-evaluation sheet pertaining to their achievement level. Home Visiting Nursing Stations contained 16 questions, Daycare Centers for the Elderly 7 questions, and Home Care Support Centers 6 questions. The results were analyzed by employing statistical techniques such as descriptive statistics, correlation co-efficiency and the t-test.

　Evaluation scores for the educational implementation level were M=3.82（±.95）, indicating that in general they implemented instructions more often than “instructed at one time or another”. There was a statistically significant difference of the medium values depending on surveyed Daycare Centers. It is thought that the trainers’ implementation levels vary reflecting characteristics of the centers of the training and individualities of the trainers.

　Evaluation scores for the achievement level were M=3.33（±0.72）, and most responses were centered around“Average”. It is thought that students deepen their understanding through accompanying lectures and related information learned and recursively used at the institutions of their practice training.

　No correlation was observed between the level of educational implementation and the level of achievement at any of the three kinds of training facilities. In other words, the frequency of instructions by the trainers does not change the achievement levels of the students.

The purpose of this study is to define judgments and acts provided by nurses as ethical consideration in the situation of daily cleanliness support for patients. A qualitative, inductive approach was used for the research design, and a method of participating observation and half-composition-interview was employed to conduct the research with six nurses and 12 patient who work for the“A”University Hospital. As a result of analyzing 12 situations obtained through the research process, 4 core categories, 14 categories, and 161 sub-categories were extracted. The 4 core categories extracted in this research were as follows：respecting patients and encouraging their independence ; ensuring the safety of patients and providing smooth support ; making patients feel pleasant through support and eliminating discomfort or hazards to them ; and showing consideration for patients’feelings and building a trust relationship. These are relevant to the attitudes required for nurses regulated as the“Code of Ethics for Nurses”and it is considered that the observance and conduct of ethical practices by nurses in patient care activities will lead to high-quality nursing care.

　The purpose of the present study is to analyze the beginner nurses’processes of becoming expert nurses in terms of the relational approach. Subjects were 12 beginner nurses whose clinical experiences with preceptors in an emergency hospital had been observed through field works, continued for 11 months. The approaches were done by the Socio-Cultural Activity Theory, originating with L. S. Vygotsky, being further extended by James Wertsch. Wertsch distinguished“appropriation”from “mastering”; the former implies the learning processes by learners’ use of variety of tools and symbols situated in their environments, while “mastering” implies the leaning by simply copying the expert behavior without noticing the situational factors which make the behavior appropriate.

　We found that beginner nurses were gradually “appropriating” the expert behaviors by making their own tools and symbols for themselves from their environments so that they could predict what would happen next, what would be needed in the present patient, what the preceptor were going to do next, and so on. We also found that the most crucial point for the appropriation was the joint attention to the patient, vital signs, and necessary tools, with the preceptor from the same vantage point, standing side by side with the preceptor; who would be distinguished for the clinical training, not being practiced in the schooling.

The purpose of this study is to explore an affective process and motivation for disaster-relief volunteering by nursing students who had experienced an earthquake. Date was obtained from group-interview with 15 nursing students, each group consisting of 5 members. By analyzing the interview dates, we found there were various processes followed before nursing students made a decision to take part in disaster-relief volunteering. Despite the nursing students’great deal of compassion for victims’ feelings, they had both a combination of positive and negative feelings as volunteers, because they not only felt very heavy responsibly as nursing students but also they were apprehensive about their status as inexperienced nurses. In order to cast aside their hesitation, and decide to participate as volunteers, they needed significant motivation, such as “acceptance of a selfish purpose for volunteering”, “goal replacement”, “passion sharing with companions” and “vicarious experience”. Thus, we have found that nursing students also repeat the process of affective response to earthquake disaster. And during this process, they realized the significance of being a nursing assistant, and eventually accepted their selfishness.

The purpose of this study was to reveal the student’s cognition and the learning effect of clinical practicum on “Nursing Intervention to Enhance Initiative in Elderly”. Samples were 25 students of the third- year class in the Nursing College. This data was gotten from the analysis of reports written by students at clinical practicum. The results showed four categories and eleven sub-categories of the student’s cognition and the learning effect. The student felt something worries or stopped to think in this intervention process. She had questions on the whereabouts of the patient’s mind and essence of human being. She got the key to enhance the patient’s initiative through her positive involvement or findings of his/her interest. The direct involvement by this intervention was connected with the grasp of the holistic picture of the patient. These results lead to a conclusion that for real understanding of the patients “Nursing Intervention to Enhance Initiative in Elderly”in clinical practicum is an effective method.