Considering the feasibility of introducing nurse practitioners into Japanese thoracic services.

The need to change Japan's current health care system has recently motivated discussions about the introduction of nurse practitioners (NPs). This system might not be familiar to Japanese physicians; however, their roles have been valued greatly in Canada, which introduced programs for NPs in 1960s. We would like to introduce amazing roles that are performed by an NP in one Canadian thoracic surgery ward, and to refer to the feasibility of NPs providing clinical services for thoracic surgery in Japan.