The Japanese Nursing Association (JNA) ( 日本看護協会, ''Nihon Kango Kyoukai'') is the national

professional association A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that professio ...

for

midwives A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

and

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

s in Japan. It governs all subordinate nursing associations with jurisdiction in each of the 47

prefectures of Japan Japan is divided into 47 prefectures (, ''todōfuken'', ), which rank immediately below the national government and form the country's first level of jurisdiction and administrative division. They include 43 prefectures proper (, ''ken''), two ...

History

In 1929 the director of the Japan Red Cross nursing division, Take Hagiwara, founded the Nursing Association of the Japanese Empire (日本帝国看護婦協会, ''Nippon Teikoku Kangofu Kyokai''). In 1933, the organization became a part of the

International Council of Nurses The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a federation of more than 130 national nurses associations. It was founded in 1899 and was the first international organization for health care professionals. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerl ...

(ICN) and had a nationwide membership of 1500 nurses. Associations of midwives and public health nurses later developed. Historically, the members of the JNA were older, more educated nurses, and the organization was not seen as representing the needs of most nurses. As the organization grew into the largest nursing organization in the world, it became more representative of its members and serving their interests.

Current organization

The current organization was established in 1946 to improve the quality of nursing, create positive working environments for nurses, and to develop a platform for expanding the field of nursing to meet individual and community needs. The organization was created to merge the Japanese Midwife Society, Japanese Public Health Nurses Association and the Nursing Association of the Japanese Empire into one umbrella organization. The organization is not a trade union, but rather, a professional organization and as such does not engage in collective bargaining. The organization maintains a policy research group to develop nursing policies, has established a Nursing Code of Ethics, and implements standards for nursing practice, including certification protocols. The Association works with state and national organizations, lobbying for improvements in the nursing field and has provided testimony to assist policymakers and governmental organizations and offices in the development of standards and programs for nursing. The JNA maintains a library and research center, and operated a publishing company, which produces nursing journals, texts, and books. Publications include a biannual newsletter in the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

, as well as articles produced in the

Japanese language is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ...

on nursing developments. The JNA provides nursing certifications for specialist nurses in three categories: Certified Nurse, Certified Nurse Administrator and Certified Nurse Specialist. All three levels of certification require that the nurse pass the national nursing examination as well as a certification test administered by the JNA. Certifications must be renewed every five years. Certified Nurses are required to take six months training in cancer and chemotherapy nursing,

emergency care Emergency medicine is the medical speciality concerned with the care of illnesses or injuries requiring immediate medical attention. Emergency physicians (often called “ER doctors” in the United States) continuously learn to care for unsche ...

hospice care Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...

, intensive care nursing,

wound, ostomy, and continence nursing Wound, ostomy, and continence nursing is a nursing specialty involved with the treatment of patients with acute and chronic wounds, patients with an ostomy (those who have had some kind of bowel or bladder diversion), and patients with incontinence ...

, and pain management nursing. Certified Nurse Administrators are required to complete a master’s program in management at a graduate school or university or a certification from a nurses training education program. Certified Nurse Specialists are required to obtain a master's degree in specialty medical fields and have five years of clinical experience before they are eligible to take the certification examination.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

External links