Student nurses' attitudes towards the care of the elderly

Abstract

The study was aimed to identify and explore the attitudes of student nurses towards care of older adults. The sample consisted of 56 student nurses following an undergraduate nursing course at a local health institute at a local university. A response rate of 100 % was attained. The tool utilized for the research study was a self administered questionnaire which included open- ended and close - ended questions. Qualitative data collected was analyzed through content analysis, while quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Prior to the initiation of the study, the participants had already covered both the theoretical component of care of the elderly and the practice placement attached to the same credit. The findings demonstrated that student nurses showed positive attitudes towards learning about elderly care since most patients being treated in hospital are older adults and the topic is very interesting. In addition the findings also demonstrated that even though student nurses feel affection for older adults, the majority of participants had a negative attitude towards working in geriatric placements once graduated. The researcher recommends that student nurses who would like to specialize in elderly care are to be given the opportunity to do so as this would enable more graduate nurses to be satisfied in their job. Ongoing educational programs for mentors working in elderly care settings would help them to develop their teaching skills throughout students' placements.