SPIN is based on English Speaking Simulated Patients and English Scenarios
for OSCE Nursing Student Evaluations (2024-2026)

supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 24K13695

Alan Simpson developed the University of Miyazaki English Speaking Simulated Patient program. This has included training English Speaking Simulated Patients, medical students and nursing students. This program was developed as a result of his research about the English needs of medical EMP and nursing ENP students. Nursing students may care for a patient with another first language in Japan, and they may study or do clinical practice overseas, where they need to interact and discuss cases in English. 

Mathew Porter (Fukuoka Jo Gakuin Nursing University) began working exclusively with nursing students in 2015. He co-founded the Japan Association for Nursing English Teaching in 2016 and has worked closely on developing a biannual journal and annual conference for research related to teaching English for Nursing Purposes in Japan. He completed a project to develop a spoken corpus of patient narratives from foreign-born residents for use as extensive listening resources with a focus on the challenges faced by foreign and immigrant patients when seeking care in Japan (JSPS KAKENHI project 18K00812). He was also a co-investigator on a mixed-methods study exploring the English-language needs of Japanese nurses, and helped conduct focus groups with experienced nurses in Hiroshima, Fukuoka, and Kumamoto (JSPS KAKENHI project 18K00770).

Joel Hensley (Miyazaki Prefectural Nursing University) has focused on English for Specific Purposes for over 15 years, including academic, engineering, and agricultural English, but mainly focusing on English for Nursing Purposes (ENP). He has been principal and co-investigator on both independent and grant-based research projects, the most recent of which was an independent exploratory mixed-methods study of the current state of cross-cultural nursing among nursing professionals in Japan (JSPS KAKENHI project 19K13267). This study included a nationwide questionnaire survey of over 700 nursing professionals and follow-up individual interviews with nursing professionals possessing cross-cultural nursing experience.

Yu Hirai (University of Miyazaki), is an English for Medical/Nursing Purposes lecturer, with research interests including Computer Assisted, Task-Based, and student-centered communicative, grammatical and vocabulary learning. He has worked within academia for five years developing student-centered self-access resources within Miyazaki International University’s Liberal Arts student resource center and has recently been training the student nurses and medical students within the Faculty of Medicine. 

SPIN would not be possible without the prior research and work, as well as the support and cooperation, of many English and nursing researchers and professionals. 

Ruri Ashida has been doing crucial work to address the increasing need for culturally-sensitive healthcare in Japan, particularly with the rise of residents and tourists from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Ashida-sensei is an expert and has pioneered the use of English-speaking simulated patients (ESSPs) in medical education in Japan. SPIN and our research has been possible thanks to her training, invaluable insights, and advice, for which we are incredibly grateful.

Simon Capper is a leading figure in the field of English for Nursing Purposes (ENP), known for the Bedside Manner series and as a co-founder of the Japan Association for Nursing English Teaching (JANET). SPIN is grateful to Simon for generously sharing unpublished background research on communication skills and nursing tasks used in the creation of a survey questionnaire to investigate the English Needs of Japanese nurses (JSPS KAKENHI project 18K00770). 

Fumitake Yamaguchi and Naoki Yoshinaga are Fundamental Nursing Educators and English Speaking Simulated Patients and English Scenarios for OSCE Nursing Student Evaluations (JSPS KAKENHI Project 24K13695) supporters at the University of Miyazaki. Their specialist knowledge and advice have been crucial for case development adding realism, practicality, and reference to the nursing students' abilities and knowledge. 

We would also like to acknowledge the Japan Association of Simulated Patients in Education (JASPE), the Association of Standardized Patient Educators (ASPE) and the Ai-Sim Nursing Simulation Education Center at Fukuoka Jo Gakuin Nursing University for their Simulated Patient training.

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