First Foreign Nurses Pass State Examination

[Greji]

Back in the days, german was mandatory... because you knowz... all them medical publication being in english it was totally a priority to be able to read Mercobenz user manuals in their untranslated form instead... (yeah, I make no sense on purpose... just a parallel to this practice).

Actually, all med students were formerly (I don't know about now) required to take German or English, while in school. Most took German because of the close relationship that existed between the medical community in Germany and Japan and that a large amount of their literature was in fact, in German. This also included down the line, Schools for pharmacists and some four year nursing schools.

[Mike Oxlong]

One huge reason why the USA leapt ahead in science research and technology was the huge influx of German & Austrian scientists when the Nazis took power and after the war. Pre-war Germany was definitely second-to-none in that regard. Japan simply began learning and importing from the best, and just hasn't had time to check who's numero uno now. By the time they figure it out, things will have gone full circle, and they can go back to importing tech from China.

[Mulboyne]

The Sankei paints a very flattering portrait of many of the nurses and caregivers over in Japan on the EPA programme. The article (Japanese) points out how they have stay in the country despite calls from friends and family (and sometimes enbassy staff) to leave. In particular, four Filipinos are working in an old people's care home in Shirakawa City, Fukushima. They say they can't imagine leaving their charges behind.

This kind of goodwill may go a little way to creating greater acceptance of the potential contribution of these overseas workers.

[Mulboyne]

[Coligny]

They will have to cut on the bullshit pretty soon because it's getting worse by the day. On the small local team here they lost 2 gynecologist to pregnancy /wedding and one of the new one is so bad that they would not even let her mop the floor... then there is also an old one... who at least can mop... that leave 3 doctors who are less dangerous than a pack of feral wolves to assist in a deliveries...

I didn't see me b... Julie too much these days... and when she's there you nearly have to let the car engine running to reach the hospital faster when she's called (being on reserve or not...)

From what I heard, it's the same mess with the nurses...

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Euthanize....

[Ganma]

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

These people have to finally realize that 'the bubble is over!'...

I know that, and I know that you know that, and I know that everybody on this board knows that, but the bureaucrats that really run this cuntry have no reason to know that because the bubble hasn't really finished for them. They still live in their ivory towers safe and secure in the knowledge that they will keep getting cushy, well-paid positions as long as they keep telling the erected politicians to issue treasury bonds to pay for them. Of course, the politicians will do what the bureaucrats tell them to, because that's what politicians always do and, besides, pork barrel means votes. And the whole thing goes around and around in circles until maybe one day someone will say, "Um, does anybody know how we're gonna pay for all this shit?"
That's probably when China comes in, buys everything and makes this cuntry its bitch...

[Mulboyne]

Asahi: Nurse trainees leave Japan despite 1-year extension

Many Indonesian nurse trainees who failed their exams have returned home amid confusion over who would be allowed to stay for another year to retake the test. The government decided to allow 68 of the 78 Indonesians who failed this year's nursing exam to stay and take another exam next year. But 25 of the 91 Indonesians who took the exam in March have already left. "I first heard about an extended stay some time ago, but I was not given any details," said a woman in her 30s who failed the exam and left in April. "After all, I think we are not needed." Another woman in her 30s, who also left in April after working at a hospital in the Kansai region, said, "I might have reconsidered if the government had decided (on an extended stay) earlier." The woman, who failed in the exam by a slight margin, knew she could be allowed to stay. But she said she has lost her enthusiasm to work in Japan because of a lack of support from the government.

The two are among 104 nurse trainees who came from Indonesia in August 2008 under a bilateral economic partnership agreement. The trainees were expected to pass the Japanese-language nursing exam in three years. But only 13 passed the exam this year, on top of the two who passed last year. The government decided in March to allow unsuccessful trainees to stay for one more year under certain conditions. In early June, the health ministry notified medical organizations that had accepted trainees that those who had scored at least 102 points out of a possible 300 can stay. "I will go at it because I want to work as a nurse in Japan," said a woman in her 20s. "But I am afraid I might not be able to get enough support." A trainee who scored 202, one less than the lowest successful score, said it is difficult to maintain his motivation because he cannot prepare for the exam during working hours.

Ten Indonesian trainees whose score was below 102 points will have to leave in August. "I was shocked because I wanted to take the exam next year," said a 34-year-old woman working at a hospital in the Kanto region. "I couldn't hold back my tears when I was told I could not stay. My heart is broken." She lost her mother to disease and became a nurse in Indonesia. She came to Japan because of the country's advanced medical technology. Her score was below 100.

The hospital introduced a new training program in April, devoting two hours during working hours to Japanese language studies. An official at the hospital acknowledged that there are problems with trainees who cannot score 102 after studying in Japan for three years. But the official criticized the government for rejecting "people who could be polished into diamonds" simply by their test scores.

A health ministry official said the minimum score of 102 was decided out of consideration for relations with Indonesia. "It was designed to prevent a diplomatic problem, by keeping a large number of trainees from going back to Indonesia," the official said. "The Foreign Ministry made the decision, considering the number of trainees that would not lead to a problem." The Foreign Ministry told the health ministry that trainees should be allowed to stay if their scores were among the 81 highest scores from the top, including those of successful applicants, and the health ministry decided on the minimum score of 102.

The government conducted a hearing on trainees' enthusiasm and their hopes to stay after the exam in March, but those who should leave were eventually determined by the scores. Japan has accepted nurse trainees from Indonesia and the Philippines under economic partnership agreements. Seventy-three have already returned to their home countries, with 43 during the three months through May. "If things are left as they are, nurse trainees will leave Japan one after another," an official at a hospital that accepted trainees said. "The government needs to fundamentally revise the system at an early date."

A health ministry official said the system is designed to accept those who pass the exam, and that it cannot be helped that those who have lost their confidence leave. Yuko Hirano, a professor of health and medical sociology at Nagasaki University's graduate school, said the Great East Japan Earthquake, which occurred immediately before exam results were announced, might be one factor. "Nurse trainees might have become worried because I don't think they were given sufficient information on the nuclear accident and other issues," she said. "I suspect those concerns, coupled with dissatisfaction with the support provided, have led to their departures."

[matsuki]

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

[matsuki]

[Ganma]

[kino]

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

[Mulboyne]

In the face of this high rate of attrition, the government has responded in the only way possible: they plan to expand the number of countries sending personnel to Japan. Thailand, India and Vietnam are on the menu.

On a more positive note, the government is hoping to arrange for candidates to receive language training before they go to Japan. Japan is also hoping to get the other countries to incorporate basic familiarity with the country's nursing and caregiving industries in local training programmes.

Source(Japanese)

[EDIT] NHK in English:

Japan will announce a plan to invite more foreign nurses and caregivers and provide preparatory language classes abroad. The government on Monday complied measures to expand an existing program. The plan follows a decision last November to strengthen economic partnerships with other countries. Nurses and caregivers from Indonesia and the Philippines are currently eligible to receive training to prepare for certification in Japan.

The government plans to begin accepting applications from Vietnam and is considering expanding the program to include India and Thailand. The government will step up Japanese language programs in the home countries of candidates before they leave for Japan. Many previous candidates failed certification examinations due to language issues.

[Greji]

In the face of this high rate of attrition, the government has responded in the only way possible: they plan to expand the number of countries sending personnel to Japan. Thailand, India and Vietnam are on the menu.

The actual translation for that announcement should have read: "We plan to invite more foreign nurses to Japan and work them for 18 hours a day for one to two years as indentured slaves. Should they successfully survive that test period and if they were productive, we will give them a written test in 18th Century Japanese, the translated version of which, even Albert Einstein would have failed. As soon as they also fail, we will ship their tired asses home and bring in some fresh new meat..."
(Translated by that renowned technical translator, Iraira)

[Mulboyne]

An Indonesian nurse in Japan under the EPA scheme has been underpaid by her hospital in Kumamoto. Her contracted salary was 180,000 yen a month but the hospital took to paying her only around 120,000 a month. After getting support from a local citizens group, she has now received compensation.

The hospital apparently claims that it was an administrative error which doesn't really explain why she had to go to a labour union and citizens group to get the problem sorted out.

They say she was entered in the system to get the base pay of a qualified Japanese nurse. It sounds to me that they are trying to suggest she is overpaid as well as drawing attention to the fact she has yet to pass the state exam.

It's a bit of a black eye for the scheme and seems to show a lack of oversight of this first wave of foreign nurses.

Source (Japanese)

[Iraira]

The actual translation for that announcement should have read: "We plan to invite more foreign nurses to Japan and work them for 18 hours a day for one to two years as indentured slaves. Should they successfully survive that test period and if they were productive, we will give them a written test in 18th Century Japanese, the translated version of which, even Albert Einstein would have failed. As soon as they also fail, we will ship their tired asses home and bring in some fresh new meat..."
(Translated by that renowned technical translator, Iraira)

I must have been tired that day, as I neglected to insert any references to cup size and the ability to handle hard objects in the face (probably not of adversity).

[Mulboyne]

Shizuoka prefecture has redrafted some of the textbooks used by Japanese nurses for the state examination to make them easier to understand for foreign candidates. This entails using furigana as well as explanations closer to spoken rather than written Japanese. The authors have been conscious of the need not to dumb down so far that the books lose any value so key terminology remains. One book has been completed and a further four will be available by the end of the year. Shizuoka appears to be the first to come up with such an initiative.

Source (Japanese)

[Mulboyne]

Ahead of this year's caregivers exam, the Nikkei has a piece (Japanese) suggesting the government rethinks the policy of sending home those who can't pass it. While nursing candidates get a chance to take their exam every year for three years, caregivers effectively get only one chance because they also have a work experience requirement. The caregivers taking this year's test are the 96 Indonesians who arrived in the first wave in 2008.

While Japanese candidates for the nursing exam have a 90% pass rate, Japanese caregivers have only a 50% pass rate for their exam which suggests it might be tougher. The Nikkei is concerned that few of the Indonesians will manage to pass it on their first attempt. The paper argues they should be allowed a chance to retake the exam (some nurses who failed after three attempts last year were given a grace period to retake it a fourth time).

The Nikkei also questions whether the caregiver exam is necessary. The article says that, since these canidates have already acquired professional qualifications, perhaps only their Japanese language ability should be tested. In short, the paper is calling for foreign candidates to be given a different exam from Japanese candidates.

[Sa_Race]

I wonder what kind of japanese uber prowess you need to wipe japanese dotards arses every other day. Those people are already qualified, give them their fuckin diploma ffs.

[IparryU]

I wonder what kind of japanese uber prowess you need to wipe japanese dotards arses every other day. Those people are already qualified, give them their fuckin diploma ffs.

really though... they could use more caregivers at my grandma-inlaws care home... utterly understaffed

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

I wonder what kind of japanese uber prowess you need to wipe japanese dotards arses every other day.

Normally, I scoff at the idea of the Japanese being unique, but it may be a different case when it comes to their arses. Indeed, I have been living here for years, and have struggled vainly throughout that time to find a decent one.
Considering said foreign nurses are going to be required to wipe decrepit fogies' arses and the dearth of said arses, maybe there is something to be said about the tough qualification enforcement.
Let's not forget, there are not four seasons in Indonesia, which may directly affect the ability of the inhabitants of that archipelago from being able to find an arse.

[Greji]

Normally, I scoff at the idea of the Japanese being unique, but it may be a different case when it comes to their arses. Indeed, I have been living here for years, and have struggled vainly throughout that time to find a decent one.

Gotta agree with you Hair. The only perfect arse I've found here was my boss.....

[Coligny]

Amateurz...



(bow before Yua...)

[Greji]

Amateurz...

I stand corrected....

[matsuki]

I stand corrected....

I strand erre.....nevermind

[Mike Oxlong]

See it reported over on Japologism that:

Remember all the Philippine and Indonesian nursing staff struggling to pass exams? I was surprised to learn that Chinese exam passers far surpass them, and Vietnam equals them. In detail, 30 out of 311 South-East Asians passed, whereas over 600 Chinese students are here, and 183 passed this year. As mentioned about, 30 Vietnamese also passed, as did 4 South Koreans, for a total of 217 new foreign nurses.