The aim of this study is to collect the suggestions and recommendations of health care professionals involved in the regional palliative care program (OPTIM-study). A total of 101 multidisciplinary health care professionals who participated in the intervention program were interviewed, and 107 meaningful units were obtained from 89 valid interviews. The responses were categorized into “suggestions regardless of profession” (n=59), including “Participate in a multi-disciplinary conference to expand the network of people”, “Try to understand the situation of others”, “Seek support from others when you cannot solve the problem by yourself”, “Pursue all possibilities before giving up”, and “Do not try too hard”. As suggestions to those engaged in each profession, “Suggestions to community pharmacies” and “Suggestions to care managers” are frequently described. An examination of suggestions by the participants in the regional palliative care program could provide some insights to improve community palliative care.

The purpose of this study was to identify the greatest impact of the regional palliative care program on community health care professionals. Interviews were conducted involving 101 people who became involved in the intervention program implemented in 4 areas across Japan, and 96 valid responses were collected. The following were cited as the greatest impact: [I developed a network of people, and realized the importance of collaboration] (n＝61; “I was able to develop an interpersonal relationship” and “Now I understand the significance of collaboration”), [My knowledge and skills regarding palliative care were improved] (n＝18; “Knowledge and support helped me respond to patients with confidence” and “I have come to think that there is more to palliative care than terminal care”), [I rediscovered my role through a wide variety of experiences] (n＝10), [Both collaboration and palliative knowledge/skills meant a lot to me] (n＝4), [What I experienced in this program will help me play my role] (n＝2), and [Patients and their families became satisfied] (n＝1). The community palliative care program was most effective in facilitating collaboration, and helped participants develop knowledge and skills concerning palliative care.

Objective: Nurse executives (NEs) working at rural medical facilities encounter challenges, including nursing quality and management, due to a shortage of nurses; this requires them to develop their competencies. A previous study reported that managers working in rural medical institutions gather nearby to learn about management. However, no research has focused on NEs working in rural areas or clarified their experiences in developing competency through learning networks. This study focused on the learning networks of NEs working in rural medical facilities and aimed to clarify their experiences with competency development.Patients/Materials and Methods: In this study, we conducted competency development for NEs through the learning networks in Japan. An ethnographic qualitative study design was used. Twenty NEs participated in the study. Data were collected through participant observation and ethnographic interviews, and analyzed using thematic analysis.Results: This study revealed the following three themes: (1) aiming to provide medical care that contributes to the rural community; (2) work efficiency by a small number of staff; and (3) development as NEs. The NEs in this study improved as NEs by promoting efficiency in their work with a small group, while aiming to provide medical care that contributes to the rural community through participation in a learning network.Conclusion: A learning network of NEs develops their competencies by helping them improve their practice through dialogue and reflection on their nursing management. Therefore, even in an environment with limited resources, NEs might be able to improve the services of their organization through the learning network.