Japanese Nursing Care as Seen Through 'Words for Living Together'

What does it mean to live together?
The word "together"—which caught my eye when I saw the book 'Words for Living Together: Tips for Care and Creating Spaces in Homes for the Elderly'—is something I hold dear.

As I read on, I realized that in the field of nursing care, there is a tendency to fall into a structure of the "supporter" and the "supported."
But is that really the case?

This book gently unravels such stereotypes and depicts a way of nursing care that is about "living together."

Who does "together" refer to?

When people hear "living together," many might think of the relationship between family members or caregivers and the elderly.
However, what I realized after reading this book is that "together" is a much broader concept.

✔️ The person providing care and the person receiving it
✔️ Family members and facility staff
✔️ The community and the elderly
✔️ One's past self, present self, and future self

Nursing care is by no means something you "do for someone," but rather "something where you engage together and change each other."

Both the caregiver and the care receiver influence each other, spending time together, learning, and growing.

What I resonated with in the book

Within this book, there were many histories born from the accumulation of daily care, and numerous words born from them.

What I resonated with was that all of them were written from the perspective that they exist "within the lives of the elderly."

In many countries, nursing care is often thought of as "assisting those who need support."
However, Japanese nursing care has a culture of "supporting naturally as part of that person's life."

This was expressed throughout the book.

✔️ Providing care while respecting what the person "can do"
✔️ Cooking together, going out into the garden together, spending time together
✔️ The nursing care site is not a "place for caretaking," but a "place for living"

The courage not to intervene too much

When working in nursing care, the feeling of "I must do something for this person" becomes strong.

But what is truly necessary is to "support them so that they can continue to do what they can, in the way they can do it."

Through this book, I realized once again that this is not just "nursing care," but "support that draws out that person's vitality."

How will I apply this idea?

As an international nursing care professional, I want to convey the appeal of Japanese nursing care to the world.
In particular, the unique Japanese concept of "independence support" should influence the way nursing care is provided around the world.

In many countries, nursing care equals support, but in Japanese nursing care, it equals living together.

By spreading this idea, I want to change the image of nursing care and deliver the value to the world that "being cared for is not negative, but a new stage of life."

To that end, I will share the appeal of "nursing care as living together" on note!

✔️ Re-recognizing the value of Japanese nursing care
✔️ Restoring the pride of those working in the nursing care field
✔️ Creating a society where those being cared for can feel a "sense of purpose in life"

I would like to gradually give shape to these things.

To "live together" is not for one side to support the other, but to support each other.
I want to convey the true meaning of these words through Japanese nursing care.

I will delve a little deeper into the practice of "nursing care as living together" from this book.
Let's think together about what "living together" means to you! ✨

Citation: 'Words for Living Together: Tips for Care and Creating Spaces in Homes for the Elderly' (Kaneko & Iba)