Type Of Media：全国紙
Publication/Magazine/Media：日本経済新聞
Developing nursing and caregiver human resources in Kawasaki City: Establishment of a graduate school and training for high school students
Summary:
Kawasaki City is focusing on the development of nursing and caregiving personnel to address the future increase in the elderly population. To this end, a new nursing graduate school will be established in April 2025, and the city’s high school is introducing practical training with the elderly and classes on caregiving. The graduate school will offer advanced practice nursing courses that allow students to obtain specialist nurse certification, aiming to cultivate highly capable nurses who can manage home healthcare.
Currently, the number of nurses and assistant nurses in Kawasaki City is only about 70% of the national average, and there are similarly low numbers of caregiving service workers. Therefore, training experts to provide high-quality medical and caregiving services at home is urgently needed. The mayor has high hopes for the graduate school to supply personnel that can meet local needs.
At the high school level, the "Ichi-Cafe" program facilitates interaction between students and local elderly residents, where welfare students perform hand bathing for the elderly, promoting practical learning. Students deepen their understanding of engaging with the elderly and propose ideas for improving the efficiency of nursing and caregiving.
In the welfare program, classes have been conducted with the participation of the Kawasaki Institute of Industrial Promotion Foundation and the Kawasaki Nursing Association, focusing on research into the efficiency and labor-saving in nursing and caregiving. With advice from engineering researchers involved in the CHANGE project, students discuss future challenges and solutions. Suggestions from students include using communication technology to monitor night-shift nurses and caregivers from overseas, as well as integrating caregiving education into compulsory education. The development of nursing and caregiving personnel in Kawasaki City is quietly and steadily beginning to take shape.
http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOCC265MX0W4A121C2000000/
