Aim: This study clarified how Japanese nurse administrators consider the current status and future prospects of development and utilization of nurses with specialties.
Background: The demand for specialized nurses is not satisfied throughout the country.
Methods: Nine nurse administrators participated in three focus-group discussions. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis technique.
Results: On development of specialized nurses, four categories were abstracted: offering opportunities for career development; establishing an environment of life-term continuous learning; providing well-balanced support for the needs of organizations and individual nurses; and support for career development as a specialist.
Conclusions: To develop specialized nurses effectively it is important to focus more attention on qualitative aspects of nurses' professional experience in in-service education and to support appropriate personnel for strategic human resource development.
Implications for nursing management: Facilitating frequent contacts between specialized and general nurses should be highly valued as making an environment where nurses can face career goals daily leads to steady preservation of human resources. It is necessary for nurse administrators to keep human resources quantitatively and to clarify the developmental process after nurses obtain special roles to plan for continuous education.