“Content Analysis in Nursing Education, which is based on Berelson, B.’s methodology,” was developed to analyze responses to open-ended questions as data. This methodology has been utilized by many researchers. Now, the pros and cons of its application to interview data are being debated. Three researches have already successfully applied this methodology to interview data. This paper discusses the following five issues for applying “Content Analysis in Nursing Education” to researches that require data collected through semi-structured interviews. First, the characteristics of “Content Analysis in Nursing Education, which is based on Berelson, B.’s methodology,” were discussed. The second discussed the requirements for applying “Content Analysis in Nursing Education” to interview data. The third discussed how the three researches met the four requirements. The fourth discussed the procedures required for the analysis of interview data. The fifth contrasted the procedures for using responses to open-ended questions as data with those for using responses to interviews as data.

The purpose of the study was to identify the measures by ICU nurses for prevent medical accidents for patient safety and to discuss the characteristics of these measures. Questionnaires were mailed to 428 ICU nurses in 54 participating hospitals which were chosen from hospitals nationwide. The questionnaires consisted of open-ended questions about measures by ICU nurses which guarantee patient safety and multiple-choice questions about their attributes. Out of 226(52.8%) responses returned, 164 valid responses and 36 by the pilot study, for a total of 200 statements were evaluated by qualitative analysis in nursing education based on Berelson’s content analysis method. As a result, 42 categories of measures by ICU nurses which guarantee patient safety were clarified; including “using pointing, calling, checklists, double and triple checks as a means of confirmation for accurate treatment progression according to the doctor’s instructions”. The agreement rates calculated by the Scott, W. A. formula were over 80%, therefore the reliability of these 42 categories was confirmed. It was suggested that seven characteristics of ICU nurses’ measures to prevent medical accidents. The results of this study can be used by ICU nurses to objectively understand their own medical accident prevention measures.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the comprehensive view of the orientations that students perceives as effective in nursing clinical practicum, and to obtain suggestions orientations that facilitate students’ adaptation to the practicum environment. A survey was conducted on 1,908 students enrolled in basic nursing educational institutions in Japan with hospital practicum experience and nurses who had graduated within the past three years. The survey included open-ended questions about effective orientations. A total of 549 surveys were returned (response rate 29%). Of the 323 respondents who indicated they had participated in effective orientations, the responses of 316 subjects to the open-ended questions were analyzed according to content analysis in nursing education according to the methodology of Berelson, B.. The results revealed 30 categories of orientations perceived as effective by students, such as explaining where supplies are stored and how they are used and identifying supplies students are permitted to use. The agreement rate for the classification into categories calculated based on the formula of Scott,W.A. was 80% or more, which indicated the reliability of these categories was assured. The 30 categories also suggested the need to implement eight items for achieving orientations that will help facilitate students’ adaptation to the practicum environment, such as selecting the content of the orientation carefully, taking into consideration the student’s position.

The purpose of this study is to clarify the difficulties faced by nurses who work in hospitals and conduct in-service education courses and strategies used to overcome them and to consider the implications regarding in-service education. A total of 449 nurses from 60 hospitals were surveyed using a questionnaire that included open-ended questions asking about the difficulties they face with their responsibilities as instructors and how they overcome these. Of the 293 responses collected (65.3% response rate) and 44 responses from the pilot study with the same questions about difficulties (for a total of 337 responses), 290 valid responses were analyzed via the content analysis method for nursing education based on the Berelson’s method. The results revealed 22 types of difficulties faced by the aforementioned nurses and 34 methods for overcoming difficulties. The concordance rate with the categorical classification using Scott’s formula was more than 70% in both cases, indicating that the categories were highly reliable. We also analyzed the correspondence between difficulties and methods of overcoming them. As a result of considering the difficulties by focusing on the cause, seven characteristics were clarified. Additionally, we investigated the difficulties associated with each characteristic and the methods for overcoming them, and obtained suggestions for improving the quality of in-service education. The results of this study will assist nurses who serve as instructors in objectively understanding the challenges they face, identifying ways to overcome them, and effectively executing their roles as instructors.