This paper examines the possibility of introducing the concept of functionally integrated generalist care workers in health and social care as an alternative model of human resources for community-based integrated care in 21 st-century Japan. As an example of this model, we cite the case of Finnish practical nurses (lähihoitaja). While the rough outline of their vocational education, training, and qualification has been informed gradually in recent years, the contents of their education, their

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... ctual assignments in care practice, and the framework of regulation regarding this type of nurses has hardly known in Japan. In the first section, we outline the present, dominant model of human resources for community-based integrated care as a cooperation model between various specialized workers, each of whom performs specialized tasks on the basis of their various vocational qualifications. Then, we consider the case of Finnish practical nurses ('lahihoitaja') as an alternative model of human-2-3-6 Minami,