This position would suit someone who has an interest in health and medicine and likes to talk to people. If you are well-liked by small children and get along well with the elderly, you will do well. Communication skills are also necessary, as you will often be working with numerous professional staff members.

The nurse's role is to treat illness and injury and provide support under the direction of a physician. In contrast, public health nurses are responsible for preventing illness and maintaining and improving health. In addition to providing health checkups for local residents, infant checkups, health checks for pregnant women, and vaccinations, public health nurses also provide nursing and care guidance to the elderly and offer consultation to local residents.

To take the National Examination for Public Health Nurses to become a public health nurse, one must have a nursing license or be qualified to take the nursing examination. If you study for more than four years at a four-year nursing college designated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology or at a vocational school with an integrated curriculum for public health nurses and nurses, you can take the examination immediately after graduation. If you have graduated from a three-year junior college or vocational school, you must study for six months to one year at a public health nursing school or training school after obtaining your nursing license.

The pass rate for the national examinations in 2020 and 2021 is 91.5% and 94.3%, respectively, exceeding 90%. The national examination for nurses also has a pass rate of around 90% every year, so it is likely that one can become a public health nurse if he or she studies hard at a university or training school.

In the past, public health nurses were primarily engaged in health checkups and health counseling at public health centers. Recently, however, the scope of work of public health nurses, who provide community-based guidance, is expanding due to the increasing problems of nursing care and child abuse caused by the aging of the population. In the future, public health nurses will be required to have the know-how to provide appropriate medical and welfare services according to the circumstances of each client. In addition, as more and more companies pay attention to the health of their employees and staff in response to reforms in the way they work, they are expected to play an active role as "occupational health nurses".

The national average annual income is 4,758,000 yen, although it varies depending on whether you work as a public servant or in the private sector.

If you work as a government employee, you get your days off. Even if you work for a company, you are rarely so busy that you cannot take a day off at all. However, depending on the field you work in, you may need to work on your days off or at night.

Health centers, municipal health departments, general companies, and private hospitals and clinics.

It's a chart that shows at a glance the main routes to getting a job as a public health nurse!