Fundamental research about the Japanese nursing policy in the occupation

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The current system of nursing education in Japan was the result of reform during the Occupation. This study analyzed the deliberative process by which a new professional nursing education system was started in postwar Japan.Col. Sams of the Public Health and Welfare Section of General Headquarters established the Nursing Education Council in 1946 to deliberate a new nursing education system. The council held discussions on curriculum, and the position and role of nursing in Japan.We searched GHQ/SCAP records pertaining to nursing reform, stored on microfiche at the Archives of Constitutional Government at the National Diet Library, using the keywords of nursing, nursing policy, and nursing education. We compared the documents we obtained from GHQ records and compared them with materials from the Japanese side to look into what happened in reality. We also studied and analyzed documents on nursing policy mentioned and written by the people actually involved in nursing reform.The deliberations resulted in a system in which the three types of nurses, clinical, public health and midwives, were unified under one general education system, with high school graduation a prerequisite for entrance. A 3-year basic course of nursing for all nurses, following specific guidelines set by the council, was designed. Specialists in midwifery or public health required post-graduate education. Nursing was recognized as a profession.This study clarified the deliberative process by which a new nursing education system, unique to Japan, was established in a national nursing policy initiative during the Occupation.