Objectives: Since 2006, Japan has admitted foreign nurses as nurse trainees as a part of the country’s Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the Philippines. However, as the government has no regulations regarding how agencies should conduct training, it is mostly conducted through trial and error. In order to find a more effective system, an investigation was conducted into the system in place in the UK, another advanced nation admits foreign nurses.
Method: Interviews were carried out with people in charge of the Overseas Nurses Programme (ONP) at two UK universities, and information was gathered regarding the foreign nurse admission system.
Results: Through the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), which manages training of foreign nurses, the UK has a system that assesses and guarantees the quality of foreign nurses. The NMC determines the acceptability of foreign nurses by testing English ability, nursing experience, and formal education. UK nurse certification applicants also must join an ONP. The ONP consists of 20 days protected learning and supervised practice. Supervised training is normally six months long but the NMC determines how long an applicant nurse must spend in the programme based upon the content of the nursing education the applicant received. Supervised training must be carried out at an NHS-approved independent facility, and an NMC-qualified mentor must supervise the applicant. The ONP’s final assessment is sent to the NMC to certify the registration with the NMC.
Discussion: The UK’s system assesses and confirms the quality of nursing applicants individually in several ways whereas Japan does so only through the national nursing examination. Clinical training content is left up to the agencies employing the nurse trainees. Existing training course at college and nurses association may be a good resource to develop foreign nurses and to guarantee the quality of foreign nurses.

  One of the characteristics of nursing in Southeast Asia is the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangements on Nursing Services, which strengthens professional capabilities through four objectives include facilitating mobility of nursing professionals within ASEAN.  The Japanese government supports human resources for health in the ASEAN region, as a member country of ASEAN+3. A meeting was held at the Annual Meeting of the Japan Association for International Health 2017. The meeting objectives were as follows: (1) to share three nursing research findings regarding nursing migration, regulatory framework, and in-service training that may affect quality of nursing and (2) to discuss Japan’s role in improving the quality of nursing in the ASEAN region. This report aims to summarize the presentations and points of that meeting.   The academic level of nursing education and nursing regulations have improved in ASEAN member countries. All member countries have university nursing education, and some have master’s and doctoral degree nursing programs. In lower middle income ASEAN countries, such as Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, the nursing education system is in the process of transition, from the technical to professional level of nursing. The next step for these countries is to strengthen the capabilities of nursing teachers who are responsible for professional nursing education at universities. The ASEAN University Network and universities in neighboring Thailand could also contribute to this end. In-service training is also needed because the guidance of more experienced nurses is crucial in nursing service as well as nursing practicums. Japan’s experience of developing an in-service training system could be useful for some ASEAN countries.   The objective of mobility among nursing professionals within the ASEAN has yet to be accomplished. However, there are pull and push factors of nurse migration due to economic conditions within the ASEAN. It is predicted that nurse migration will occur with mixed-skill caregivers to high income countries out of the ASEAN countries, because of the lack of caregivers for the aging population. In order to ensure quality nursing in the ASEAN region, it is not only necessary to share country-level experiences to improve nursing education and regulations but also crucial to develop systems that promote the circulation of nursing professionals through wide regional cooperation.