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RN military spouse seeks medical work in Yokosuka

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Josie310

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Hello! My husband and I just recently found out that we are moving to the Yokosuka Naval Base at the end of the year (surprise!). It's very exciting, but my main concern is that it sounds like it might kill my professional career. I've been an RN just shy of 3 years, working in adult critical care. Taking a 3 year hiatus is neither something I want to do, nor will it help my job prospects when I return. I have inquired about a job on base and was told it was rare, but occasionally happens, officially. Unofficially I've heard from several spouses that they knew people with more experience than me who tried to get jobs their entire time there.

I'm curious if there's any potential for a healthcare worker off base? I'm willing to do just about anything, but speak no Japanese (yet). I've lived overseas before (England and Jordan, before marrying into the military) and am not afraid to jump right into a new culture. My main goals with work are to 1) keep sane (I'm a person who must be occupied) 2) keep up my skills 3) pay off some student debt. Advice? Thoughts?
 
Be patient Josie , it's just 2AM in Japan now , LOL. Some of our members don't get on until the weekend , so hopefully by Monday , you will have some answers. The first thing you will hear is the language problem. Previous questions about the medical field in Japan make it sound like you will have to read and speak Japanese at a high level. That base has been there forever , so there may be a chance for an off base job with no Japanese knowledge , but probably not advanced medical. I would say once you get there , network with other base people for ideas. It's been 40 years since I've been there(US Navy) , so hopefully members here can give you better info when they wake up and get on line. Good luck !

P.S. There are several years of info here in our old posts on living in Japan and how to speak & read the language. Start learning now , and it will make your stay there so much better. Traveling around alone there is very safe and once you learn a bit of the language and get out and about , it will make you feel like a kid at Disneyland. Buy a few Japanese books now and have a good camera to take lots of pictures and you will not have time to get bored when you arrive there.
 
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Hi Josie,

Short answer is no. You won't be able to get an off base nursing job. Getting one on base would be extremely difficult, too, though you can certainly pursue the option.

That said, if you open yourself up to alternative ideas you can build at least a volunteer life. You can do some teaching of medical/health courses off base (I'm not positive nursing offers this possibility, I know OTs, PTs, SLPs, social workers, etc. can). You can volunteer in various capacities for USNH, Fleet and Family Support, Red Cross, etc.

It may not be what you want, but it can at least keep you active professionally.
 
Ask yourself if in an American hospital where you worked there was a nurse who neither spoke nor understood English and who was utterly and completely illiterate how well you think that would work out for other healthcare professionals who had to work with her. How effective would she be? How effective could she be?

Would you expect patients to feel comfortable being cared for by a nurse who can't communicate with them and who they know can't communicate with the other staff?...one who can't read anything either.

There is a special program accepting nurses from a few other Asian countries for a period of Japanese language study, supervised OJT, etc for a certain period in preparation for taking the national licensing exam (in Japanese) in hopes of alleviating the nurse shortage...the program has thus far been a major disappointment and may be considered a failure. The number of candidates who are able to pass the exam after completing the training is abysmally low (something like 10% or thereabouts) and the very few who are successful typically choose to go back to their home countries.

The tasks nurses are allowed to perform also tend to be much more restricted than what you are used to doing in America and even if you were to find a position you might find yourself feeling frustrated and insulted by the limited set of skills you are allowed to exercise.

One option that you might consider is looking for a position teaching at a nursing school. (Many enter the field through high schools specializing in nurse training or through vocational schools, not only through university).

Article

Foreign nurse training

Trouble with program

Poor results

WSJ on the foreign nurse situation

Heck, just google:

Japan nurse Indonesia

and get more interesting info than you can shake a stick at.
 
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Have you ever considered a long distance relationship?

The lack of English ability among doctors and nurses in Japan is abysmal. And not because I expect them to speak to me in English, but because they need English to be skilled and trained in modern medicine, or German or other. I don't think there is much hope for finding a hospital or clinic off base that would have staff that could communicate with you.

I agree with Mike Cash. Teaching English to nursing students is the way to go. English is a requirement for them, not that you would know it by dealing with your typical nurse in Japan though.
 
You don't necessarily have to teach English, you can teach medically related classes. I've done that, as well as doing professional development for hospital staff at a few hospitals. Though as a volunteer.
 
There are at least some clinics, medical centers, and hospitals in the Tokyo area that operate outside of (and alongside) the usual Japanese medical system that may be interested in you. They mostly serve foreigners/expats, and there is even some medical tourism--foreigners who come to Japan for specific kinds of treatment/surgery**/etc. Also, some foreign companies use them for very basic stuff like blood work done for insurance policies, or pre-employment physicals.

**It would take me a while to dig up, but about a year ago a team of cardiac surgeons left the local uni hospital and set up a surgical center in Tokyo. The lead guy was well-known as having "the hands of god" and I heard that at least some portion of their clients would be visitors from the middle east. This is an extreme example, but there's a range of outside-the-system treatment from this down to the simple stuff mentioned above. There could be something comparable in Yokohama as well.

Also, before you turn away from the possibility, I'd suggest being very thorough and sure that DoD would not contract you to work at a hospital on base.
 
To the OP, don't let other people get your hopes up. You career will stagnate, no-one will hire you as a nurse. You will also find it difficult to obtain positions teaching medical English unless you have a master's degree, but it may be possible if you are lucky. However, bear in mind teaching English to nurses and being a nurse is totally different. You may get a job in the stores on base.
How to stay sane: join the American club they have coffee mornings and there will be things going on on the base.
 
I'd be very surprised if the DoD contracted her for USNH. We have tons of junior officer nurses. That's not to say it won't happen, but it's going to be a tough row to hoe.

Jobs at the NEX, commissary, etc. are actually harder to get than most others because everyone is essentially qualified and all the high school kids and spouses are vying for them.

I wish I had useful contacts for you, but I work peds so I doubt I could be helpful.
 
Thank you to all the responses. Even the more negative ones, because I appreciate having realistic expectations. Of course, I was never thinking I could work for the Japanese healthcare system, having just started learning the language, but was hoping there might be an "out of the box" job I hadn't thought of. I will still try and pursue a medical job on base, and will try to network to see if there are foreign clinics or businesses that might want an English speaking RN. Otherwise I will pursue volunteer work to keep my skills up (although it doesn't help much with student loan payments). If anyone has any contacts near Yokosuka, or any other ideas, I'll be checking back regularly!
 
It is really disheartening when people go out of their way to make informative posts only to have them called negative posts. We don't create reality; we only report it.
 
Mike Cash said:
It is really disheartening when people go out of their way to make informative posts only to have them called negative posts. We don't create reality; we only report it.
Click to expand...

The connotations of the word "negative" are many, although we may be able to agree some connotations are garbage yet very, very commonly used. Its clear from her post she meant the posts that were not all peaches and cream, happy, joy, sing song and promises of easy goings.

She also went out of her way to use the word "realistic" and that was the word that spoke to me the most. I don't think its fair to be so down on her for a common use of the word "negative". Its hard not be affected in your speech when surrounded by people misusing it.

I also go out of my way to inform people of word "neutral", which lies between positive and negative and other concepts. Neutral is a vital word, concept and position that gets over-looked damned near all the time.
 
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If student loans are your primary concern, you can substitute teach, start a small business, etc. I know a couple spouses who opened small businesses back in Okinawa. There's a captive audience of bored spouses.
 
I have to agree with the other posters about your slim to no chance of finding work here. Even if you locate a clinic that accepts your own lack of language ability, you will probably still have to pass the Japanese medical board exams.
 
A number of posts in this thread have been edited/deleted, for reasons I hope are obvious to all involved. I don't want to see any further posts arguing with each other instead of answering OP's queries in this or any other thread in this forum.

If you want to start a debate, start a new thread in Serious Discussions, rather than derailing the thread.
If someone posts something you think is out of line, report it rather than derailing the thread.
 
Hi, I am a chief director of a medical clinic and nursing home for elderly facilities located in Yokosuka, Japan. I may be able to help you or assist you for finding the right information that may lay initial foundation how to go about in your new life and experience in japan hopefully to be involved in medical and nursing activities locally.
社会福祉法人 恵徳会

Tokio Nakano

Admin note: please do not post email addresses to a public forum
 
Hello Josie310,

I am in the Navy and my wife is an ICU RN. I will be transfering to a ship in Yokosuka later this year and we are un a similar situatiin that you were in last year. I am wondering if you have anything to recommend for us to help my wife find a job in Japan. Any information about your experience would be helpful.

Thank you

Baldy
 
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