On the Acceptance of Filipino Nurses

Japanese Nursing Association
News Release
September 12, 2006

Translated by Shinji Yamada

I. Our Position on Accepting Nurses under the EPA

Accepting foreign nurses under the EPA was agreed upon as a solution to the trade imbalance between Japan and the Philippines. In signing the agreement, we understand that the bilateral negotiation is being conducted based on the four conditions* we have proposed.

*Four conditions to ensure quality healthcare and nursing services:

1. Filipino nurses should obtain a nursing license in Japan;
2. They should acquire enough Japanese language ability to provide safe nursing services;
3. They should be hired with terms of employment which are equal to or above Japanese nurses; and
4. The nursing licenses of the countries should not be mutually recognized.

Unless these four conditions are observed, we are against the acceptance of foreign nurses in the health care sector for the following reasons:

1. Foreign nurses should not be carelessly accepted in order to solve the shortage of nurses in Japan. Accepting foreign nurses, not only Filipino nurses, which may have a negative impact on the labor market, should be carefully dealt with.
2. Securing nurses for health and medical care, which is the very foundation of the social security, should not depend on foreign workers but on nursing workers in Japan. (It is estimated by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare that there are 550,000 non-practicing nursing workers.)
3. When it comes to the international movement of nurses, there are ethical problems such as the exhaustion of health care and nursing services in sending countries. Experienced and excellent nurses go abroad to earn more or develop their careers. Or they are sent abroad as a national policy. As a result, sending countries fall short of experienced nurses and nursing services deteriorate. Also there are problems like shortage of nursing education and trainers in clinical settings.

II. Our Opinions on Accepting Filipino Nurses

In accepting Filipino nurses, it is important to maintain the quality of nursing which people in Japan need, that is, to ensure the safety of health care, to maintain the quality of nursing care, and to improve the working environment and working conditions of nurses.

1). Ensuring high nursing ability and quality services through the board exam in Japan

• Filipino nurses are receiving a certain level of nursing education in college in their country. However, the Japanese healthcare institutions and system for the provision of services are different from those in the Philippines. Thus it is necessary to study the Japanese way of nursing, which includes understanding of laws and regulations.
• When Filipinos work as nurses in Japan, it is very important that like Japanese, Filipinos also take the board exam in Japanese and only those who passed will be allowed to practice, in order to ensure the quality of services.
• It is concerned that Filipino nurses with no Japanese nursing license might be engaged in medical services in Japan. In terms of medical safety, it is a problem for those Filipinos who have not passed the Japanese board exam to provide medial services, even if they are licensed nurses in the Philippines.

2). The importance of communication (Japanese language ability)

• It is important to provide nursing services at the same time understand the recipients of the services (patients, etc.). To help patients decide how to live their lives with diseases, it is essential to understand the life and culture of the country where the services are provided.
• Nurses are the key players in medical teams and are coordinators in addressing complex problems which occur among other professionals. As in-patients are aging and are in more serious condition recently, high communication ability is required for quality nursing services.
• Nursing records in most of the hospitals in Japan are written in Japanese. Nurses write various information in nursing records and create a nursing plan to properly continue services. Nurses immediately understand what other nurses or doctors wrote and make various judgements. And nurses orally exchange information with stakeholders. Thus it is essential to have the ability to read, write and speak Japanese for quality nursing services.

3). Establish and support safe, stable working environment

• It is necessary to ensure that Filipino nurses enjoy decent working conditions like compensations which are above or equal to Japanese nurses. In the United States, it has already been reported that foreign nurses are paid lower wages. The precautionary measures against such possibilities should be also taken in Japan.
• If Filipino nurses does not enjoy decent working conditions, the working conditions of Japanese nurses will deteriorate, which could make more difficult to secure Japanese nursing workers.
• It is necessary to have the only one Japanese language training institution and one sending and receiving agency of Filipino nurses, to establish a system whereby good working conditions and environment are established, and to provide consultation services and support for the Filipino nurses. It is also necessary to provide training assistance such as language training that will facilitate their integration to the different culture, in order for them to be able to overcome the difference in medical system and not to be isolated in the society.

Contact:
Public Relations, Japanese Nursing Association
5-8-2, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-0001 Japan
TEL: 03－5778－8547 FAX: 03-5778-8478
E-mail: koho@nurse.or.jp
Website: http://www.nurse.or.jp/jna/english