The purpose of this study was to clarify the realities of how nurse practitioners themselves feel about the advantages, disadvantages and problematic points of their jobs depending on the differences in the departments where they work or their work environment based on the different departments of the hospital. This was done by studying a group of nurse practitioners who are currently actively working at hospitals. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted via mail on nurse practitioners who have completed a master's course and who are working in a clinical setting. A questionnaire was distributed to 119 nurse practitioners, and 74 of them (a collection rate of 62.2%) sent the questionnaires back. The departments that the nurse practitioners were working in were the medical department (59.4%) and the nursing department (32.8%). There was a significant difference observed in the average weekly working hours of nurse practitioners working in the medical department and those working in the nursing department, and 12% of the nurse practitioners working in the medical department were working in excess of 80 hours per week. The nurse practitioners who were working in the medical department had more opportunities for training inside and outside of the hospital; they also had more opportunities to consult with other professionals about patients. Going forward, it is essential to continue conducting surveys that use fixed point observation to systematically improve the working environment for nurse practitioners.

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It is increasingly demanded that people with sickness are supported by the community where they live. Hospitals should be reformed to meet such social needs, and human resources who can play a central role in this development are necessary. This research reports on a facility where the turnover rate of nurses was lowered from 13% to 5.7% as a result of reforms that made the workplace more comfortable and encouraging for workers. In addition, the number of certified nurses was increased to 30 and the number of NPs (Nurse Practitioners) and CNSs (Certified Nurse Specialists) was increased to three and one respectively, at this facility, which indicates an increase in the self-realization of the nursing staff.

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[in Japanese]

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