Registered nurses’ reflections on their educational preparation to work with older people

Abstract

Background: Negative perceptions about working with older people within nursing contribute to the deficit of educators with expertise to teach student nurses, and nurses graduating ill-equipped to work with the ageing population. The perceptions of nurses who have recently graduated from a nursing programme can provide insights into what they wished they knew about working with older people before they graduated. Methods: A qualitative descriptive study design examined recently graduated registered nurses’ reflections on their education preparation to work with older people. Content and thematic analysis was used to develop the themes of first impressions and preparation to work with older people. Results: Key findings were that nurses did not recognise the importance of learning about older people until they had graduated. Only then did they realise that the ageing population was so complex and prevalent. They perceived a lack of education particularly related to working with older people with dementia and their behaviours, as well as learning how to communicate to an older population. Participants perceived that as students, it was up to them to fit in learning about working with older people without the support of faculty. Conclusions: Faculty need to be supported in learning how to best incorporate content about older people into their curriculum. This could include the development of learning activities that dispel negative stereotypes about ageing and facilitates interest in older people, as this is the population, students are most likely to work with when they graduate. Implications for practice: Nurses in practice may require education on working with people with dementia as it is a deficit in nursing programmes.