Proposal for an onboarding program for Chinese nurses in Japan

Nurses immigrating to Japan from China are attracting attention as new talent in the Japanese healthcare environment. They are expected to easily adjust in Japan owing to cultural similarities, such as the written language. However, challenges include the differences in the culture of interpersonal behavior and nursing roles. It is important to prevent their reality shock and facilitate adjustment by providing support to overcome these challenges at an early stage of immigration. This paper proposes an onboarding program to support nurses and address these challenges.

The objectives of the proposed onboarding program are based on the literature on the present situation of Chinese nurses in Japan, cross-cultural adjustment, Japanese social norms, and differences in nursing roles between Japan and China. Onboarding programs can be broadly divided into sedentary and active learning methods. Japanese communication is context-dependent, with words having different meanings based on the situation surrounding the scene. Such communication can be effectively addressed in role-playing and open discussions rather than lectures.

Based on these objectives, we propose a combination of program content and appropriate support methods. Implementing and evaluating this onboarding program will be a future challenge.

Capitalizing on the strengths of Chinese nurses, such as their kanji proficiency and respect for older adults, which they share with the Japanese, to support their adjustment will help them achieve self-fulfillment and improve Japanese healthcare services. Mutual understanding is the key to the success of cross-cultural collaboration.