MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — During the Spring 2025 semester, the WVU School of Nursing welcomed members of the Hamamatsu Nursing School in Japan for a cross-cultural exchange. Their multi-day visit included tours across campus, meeting with WVU faculty and students, and experiences in Morgantown.
Hamamatsu Nursing School, a three-year undergraduate nursing school, accepts roughly 70 students per year and their graduates usually obtain a 100% pass rate on their national nursing exam. Like WVU, their school also incorporates simulation as an invaluable learning tool for their students.
Hamamatsu professors Michie Ochiai, Midwife, Pediatric Nurse, Nurse Educator; Toshiko Sugino, English Lecturer; and third-year nursing students Saki Atsumi and Karin Ito attended the visit from March 10-14. The visit was mutually beneficial for both the Hamamatsu faculty and students, as well as the WVU community.
“This experience was amazing,” said Julie Boney, a WVU School of Nursing student. “I found a lot of similarities between the Japanese nursing culture and the American one, however, there were still a lot of differences.”
Boney said she especially enjoyed learning about the tea ceremony that takes place in Japan, along with learning about the importance of hand and foot baths. She was able to join the Hamamatsu visitors for a welcome breakfast and a tour of the Student Recreation Center.
“Furthermore, I was able to see that at the heart of Japanese nursing culture, there is a great desire to improve the healthcare of the Japanese population. It was inspiring to see how the students wanted to care for others with their recently obtained degrees,” Boney said, noting that she now hopes to visit Japan herself.
Another WVU nursing student, Cole Helmandollar, said he enjoyed his time with the Hamamatsu nursing students.
“I had the opportunity to speak with them and provide insight on the WVU School of Nursing while also learning about their own experience in nursing school,” Helmandollar said. “This was a very enriching experience for me, as it is always interesting to see how nursing is similar and different in other countries.”
One similarity, Helmandollar said, is the amount of hands-on experience required in the simulation and hospital setting. However, in Japan, there is more focus on food as an aspect of healthcare. Helmandollar said they ensure that patients not only meet their nutritional needs but also have foods that are culturally significant and look appealing.
“There is more than one way to perform effective care and communication in a hospital setting, and I think having these exchange programs give us an opportunity to learn new skills that can be implemented into our own practice while educating others on how we care for patients,” Helmandollar said. “I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to speak with the students from Hamamatsu, and hope that more exchanges like this one happen at WVU so students can continue to learn about health practices in other countries.”
Since the partnership began in 2019, several virtual education sessions have been offered between the schools. Last year, WVU nursing student Sydney Cain traveled along with Dana Friend, Coordinator of Global Programs, for a tour at Hamamatsu and other Japanese cultural experiences.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Wendy Holdren
Director of Communications and Marketing
WVU School of Nursing
304-581-1772; wendy.holdren@hsc.wvu.edu