The Faculty of Global Nursing was founded in April 2019 as Japan’s first undergraduate faculty advocating for Global Nursing.
This Faculty strives to develop individuals who can acquire logical and practical knowledge and take action accordingly and who can provide equitable and just health care to all people with diverse values, traditions, and lifestyles.
To that end, our mission is to develop capable individuals who can communicate globally, mainly in English, so that diverse people can enjoy a healthy life in terms of medical care as well as in the community, regardless of language and cultural differences.
The Institute of Global Nursing was established by the Faculty of Global Nursing, and the purpose of the Institute is to realize the mission of Otemae University, which is “the regional cooperation through research and education, the devotion to develop the local community, and the contribution to the international community”. More specifically, our goals are to conduct specialized research to contribute to the health of the public, to collaborate with the local community, and to contribute to the local and international community in other words, to act as a platform to “Think globally, act locally.”
History of the establishment of the Institute of Global Nursing and its expected role
The Institute of Global Nursing（IGN）at Otemae University was established in April of 2019. The Institute develops activities aimed at nurturing the next generation while following the main objectives of the International Learning Collaborative（ILC）and the Global Nursing research activities of the Otemae University Implementation Centre（OUIC）.
We first met Professor Emiko Suzui, first Dean of the Faculty of Global Nursing, when she was studying in the U.K.（Thames Valley University Graduate faculty）under Professor Dr. Lesley Page, the first in the U.K. to receive a doctoral degree in midwifery. Dr. Alison Kitson, the current Vice President of Flinders University（former Dean of The Faculty of Nursing at the University of Adelaide）and the founder of the ILC, was introduced to Professor Suzui by her former teacher. Professor Alison Kitson then introduced Dr. Alan Pearson to Professor Suzui, who shared his qualities and ideas as a researcher as well as a common understanding of ILC’s philosophy and social activities through international activities and research exchange. These connections have led Professor Suzui to become an ILC member and a JBI member, and she has enthusiastically reported the results of international collaborative research.
Professor Suzui, who is also committed to fostering future generations, is involved in disseminating philosophy on the latest research directly to the benefit of patients in Japan, as well as passing on the joy of collaboration with world-class researchers to future generations. She established the Institute of Global Nursing, which encompasses the ILC and JBI, at the same time she assumed the position of Dean of The Faculty of Global Nursing, and entrusted the Institute to Professor Naoko Nishimura, the first director of the Institute.
Members of the Institute attend JBI and ILC.
Comments from the staff who attended the conferences.
Learning Systematic Review is a Journey to a New Nursing with Science and Evidence.
Tomiko Toda
When I learned about the JBI systematic review, I was overwhelmed by the possibilities. A critical understanding of nursing from the perspective of effectiveness and evidence had been overlooked for me. I suppose this is not only true for me but also for some Japanese nurses. This may have come from my view of nursing as I was taught the words “nursing is an art” and “tender loving care” when I was a nursing student.
I learned through the whole comprehensive systematic review course online held at a university in the UK and progressed to also online course from the University of Adelaide, which means that anyone wherever you are can learn from JBI, share our experiences and opinions, challenges, and sights, and broaden our horizons!
I assure you that you can develop your nursing expertise and transform your nursing care with evidence, at the latest global standard, as you sail together on this new journey.
First in Japan! The challenge of nursing education with the FoC framework!
Satoshi Takatani
I attended the ILC Conference and Summit (Oxford) for the first time in 2016 and again the following year in 2017 (Uppsala). There, I presented the results of international collaborative research on Fundamentals of Care [FoC] conducted in five countries, including Japan, and reported on the results of my own collaborative research on FoC with hospitals in Japan.
Through these experiences, I have recognized once again that FoC is an important concept that serves as the basis of nursing care, and at the same time, I have learned that FoC has various aspects in other countries.
In terms of FoC, we would like to reexamine nursing education in Japan and explore what we, as nursing educators, can do, what nursing students should learn, and what health outcomes will be achieved for the patients through the activities of ILC.
JBI is an Australian-based institute with the mission to promote Evidence-Based Health Care Practice worldwide. The organization is an international collaboration of researchers, scientists, and health professionals working together to implement “best practices”.
Currently, there are more than 70 centers in 40 countries around the world, and this center that opened in March 2019 became the fourth branch in Japan to begin operations. The centers work to ensure that decisions to implement the best possible health care to the target population are evidence-based.
Annually, a seminar entitled the Comprehensive Systematic Review Training Program（CSRT）is held with the aim of training researchers and clinicians who can conduct systematic reviews to generate evidence. Additionally, a 6-month course for implementing evidence in clinical practice called the Evidence Implementation Training Program（EITP）is offered in collaboration with a variety of medical institutions.
The International Learning Collaborative（ILC） is an international collaborative research institute of the Institute of Global Nursing. The ILC works together with researchers and clinicians to ensure that the latest research can be applied to care that directly benefits the patient. To further improve health care services, we advocate a Fundamentals of Care（FoC） .
Since 2008, an international conference has been held once a year at which medical institutions and universities in Europe, including the United Kingdom and Denmark, have collaborated to utilize this framework in actual medical settings to improve the quality of care. Measures enacted to improve care are reported at the annual conference.
The Institute of Global Nursing is working with overseas researchers to improve basic nursing education while utilizing the latest knowledge.
Journal published twice annually
Journal of the Institute of Global Nursing at Otemae University aims to broadly publicize the results of education and research that contribute to the development of nursing science to fulfill the mission of the Institute, which is to conduct professional research that contributes to the health of the public, and which contributes to the local and international communities through cooperation with the local community.
More information about
Otemae University and
Otemae College may be found here.
Click for publications and material
Japan’s first Faculty of Global Nursing offers a curriculum designed to provide students with continuing education in global communication, primarily in English, from their first year to their fourth year. Courses such as Seminar in Global Nursing and Global Nursing Practicum Care taught by faculty members in the field of Global Nursing, as well as specialized courses in seven areas including basic nursing and adult nursing, are taught to provide nursing care to diverse populations by using multilingual questionnaires and other means. Working under the motto “Nursing is for all people”, we strive to disseminate educational materials available to nursing professionals to the broader community.
This Faculty embodies the institute's vision of high-quality nursing care, research that contributes to the health of the public, and the development of human resources capable of global communication. Thanks to the internet, nursing research is being published all over the world at an astonishing speed more than ever before. Research papers that are the basis of evidence-based practice are often written in English, but in Japan, hurdles regarding the use of the English language are so high that the findings in this field are not fully shared. Beginning with a familiarity with working in English, we strive to realize a society in which Japanese faculty members can disseminate nursing research and in which nursing professionals can disseminate their nursing practices to the rest of the world.
Members of the Institute attend JBI and ILC.
Comments from the staff who attended the conferences.
Tomiko Toda
I learned through the whole comprehensive systematic review course online held at a university in the UK and progressed to also online course from the University of Adelaide, which means that anyone wherever you are can learn from JBI, share our experiences and opinions, challenges, and sights, and broaden our horizons!
I assure you that you can develop your nursing expertise and transform your nursing care with evidence, at the latest global standard, as you sail together on this new journey.
Satoshi Takatani
Through these experiences, I have recognized once again that FoC is an important concept that serves as the basis of nursing care, and at the same time, I have learned that FoC has various aspects in other countries.
In terms of FoC, we would like to reexamine nursing education in Japan and explore what we, as nursing educators, can do, what nursing students should learn, and what health outcomes will be achieved for the patients through the activities of ILC.