TOMODACHI J&J Disaster Nursing Training Program to Develop Skills and Leadership Development of Nursing Students in Japan Selects 10 Students for its Seventh Year
June 16, 2022
Press Release
U.S.-Japan Council (Japan)
TOMODACHI J&J Disaster Nursing Training Program to Develop Skills and Leadership Development of Nursing Students in Japan Selects 10 Students for its Seventh Year
The TOMODACHI Initiative*1 (“TOMODACHI”), administered by the U.S.-Japan Council-Japan (“U.S.-Japan Council”), in partnership with Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies in Japan (“Johnson & Johnson”), has selected 10 participants for the seventh round of the TOMODACHI J&J Disaster Nursing Training Program (“the Program”), which is planned and implemented in partnership with the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies in Japan*2 (headquartered in Tokyo, Japan).
The program was launched in 2015 with Johnson & Johnson as a partner, with the aim of deepening the expertise of students majoring in disaster medicine and nursing in Japan, and developing the leadership skills of the next generation. For the first four years of the program, nursing students from or residing in the three prefectures that were particularly hard hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake (Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures) were targeted for this program. From 2019 onward, nursing students from all over Japan have been targeted. To date the program has provided a total of 51 future nurses with learning opportunities.
Unfortunately, we had to cancel this program in FY2020 due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, but in FY2021, we implemented the program online in order to train the next generation of leaders, even with the coronavirus disaster.
This year, we plan to hold pre-training in June and July, online training in the U.S. in August in cooperation with a U.S. institution, post-training in September, and a final debriefing session in December as the culmination of the program’s achievements. In addition, we plan to enhance the content of the training program by continuing to provide case studies on disaster relief in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In announcing the seventh round of students for the program, U.S.-Japan Council President Suzanne Basalla said, “We are very pleased to announce that Johnson & Johnson will continue to partner with us for the next three years, in addition to their existing support. We believe that the fact that this program, which began with the aim of deepening disaster nursing in Tohoku, is now attracting interest from nursing students not only in Tohoku but also from all over Japan is a testament to the fact that the alumni students are applying what they have learned from this program and are active in the disaster field and on the frontlines of disaster medicine. I hope that the 7th round of students will acquire the ability to cope with the new disaster of novel coronavirus infection, understand disaster medicine in both Japan and the United States as the next generation of leaders, and build their future career paths.”
-Notes-
TOMODACHI J&J Disaster Nursing Training Program Schedule
▼Pre-Training
(June 18-19 and July 16-17, 2022): Miyagi and Tokyo, or online
(Workshops by disaster nursing experts, preparation for U.S. training, etc. to be scheduled.)
▼ U.S. Training
(August 8-18, 2022): Online
Online exchange of ideas and opinions with facilities and organizations specializing in disaster medicine and nursing in the U.S.
▼Post-training and debriefing
Post-training (September 24-25, 2022): Hyogo (Kobe) or online
Final debriefing (December 11, 2022): online
Report and share learnings from the training
*1 About the TOMODACHI Initiative
Born out of the reconstruction efforts following the Great East Japan Earthquake, the TOMODACHI Initiative is a public-private partnership led by the U.S.-Japan Council and the U.S. Embassy in Japan that seeks to develop the next generation of U.S. and Japanese leaders through educational, cultural exchange, and leadership programs, and is supported by the Japanese government. The TOMODACHI Initiative seeks to foster a “TOMODACHI Generation” of young leaders in Japan and the United States who are deeply engaged in strengthening U.S.-Japan relations, understand each other’s cultures and countries, contribute to a more cooperative, prosperous, and secure world, and have the globally relevant skills and international perspective necessary for success in such a world. For more information, please visit the TOMODACHI Initiative website at www.tomodachi.org.
*2 About Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies in Japan
Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies in Japan consists of Johnson & Johnson K.K. with Consumer Company, Medical Company and Vision Care Company, Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K., AMO Japan K.K. and Dr. Ci:Labo Co., Ltd. Johnson & Johnson has been supporting this program since 2015.
For more information about Johnson & Johnson, please visit their website: www.jnj.co.jp
【For further information】
Please contact The U.S.-Japan Council-Japan TOMODACHI Initiative
Email: tomodachi@usjapancouncil.org
- Click on this link to meet the 7th round of students
