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Exploring the perceptions of practical nursing students on caring for the older person

  • Lisa Dale , Pria Nippak EMAIL logo , Housne Begum , Julien Meyer , Nancy Snobelen und Annette Weeres
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 21. März 2025
International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship
Aus der Zeitschrift International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship Band 22 Heft 1

Abstract

Objectives

This study assessed the perceptions of Practical Nursing (PN) students around caring for the elderly and how these attitudes were related to PN students’ socio-demographics and other characteristics.

Methods

Cross-sectional study with data analyzed at a single point in time.

Results

A majority of respondents (63 %) identified specialized geriatric courses, and 62 % highlighted expert instructors, as beneficial in shaping perceptions of caring for the elderly. The mean Burbank’s scores of the PN students and new graduates indicated a positive perspective towards care and their scores were impacted by age and work experience, not by gender, or education years.

Conclusions

The development of specialized gerontology and related courses to improve students’ perceptions of caring for older people may be useful.

Implications for an international audience

Further international research work to expand findings is required.

Keywords: practical nursing students; caring for the elderly; perceptions
Corresponding author: Pria Nippak, Health Services Management, Toronto Metropolitan University Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto, ON, Canada, E-mail:

  1. Research ethics: Research ethics was received by Ryerson University and is outlined in the methodology.

  2. Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained as a requirement of the research ethics board guidelines and the approved research proposal to carry out the study.

  3. Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.

  4. Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.

  5. Conflict of interest: The authors state no conflict of interest.

  6. Research funding: None declared.

  7. Data availability: We do not wish to make our data shareable as per the requirements outlined in our REB submission. The only dissemination that has been approved is for the purposes of publication of the data in aggregate form. (Tier 1).

Appendix A

Please rate your responses to each statement according to the scale below.

(0=Strongly Disagree; 1=Disagree; 2=Agree; 3=Strongly Agree).

Items that are reversed scored are annotated with an asterisk.

Perspectives on the care of older patients (PCOP) questionnaire – burbank et al. Scale

0 1 2 3
1 Most older adults benefit from treatment
2 It is difficult to teach older patients *
3 Older patients are seldom irritable
4 Older patients tend to make fewer demands on nursing staff than younger adult patients
5 Older patients are set in their ways and unwilling to change *
6 I Prefer caring for older patients to caring for younger patients
7 Caring for older patients is depressing *
8 Younger patients expect more from nurses than do older patients
9 Older patients complain more often than younger adult patients *
10 Caring for older patients is usually challenging and rewarding
11 Nursing procedures with older patients are too time-consuming *
12 It’s frustrating caring for older patients *
13 Caring for older patients is often unpleasant work *
14 If I could, I would spend more time talking to my older patients
15 Older patients take up beds needed for other younger patients *
16 Caring for older patients is intellectually stimulating.
17 I Would not choose to attend continuing education in nursing care of older patients *
18 Older patients are interesting to care for
19 Interaction with families of older patients is an important nursing function
20 Caring for older patients is less rewarding than caring for younger patients *
21 Although caring for older patients is labor intensive, it is worth the investment of time and energy
22 There is little feeling of accomplishment associated with improving the functional status of older patients *
23 Caring for older patients is an undesirable career choice *
24 There are not many other jobs as important as that of being a patient care provider to the older patient.

Demographic and characteristic information

  1. Education Institute – Drop down of all Ontario Colleges

  2. Gender – Man, Woman, Prefer to Specify

  3. Age

  4. Semester in which you are currently enrolled:

    1. Year 1 – Semester 1.

    2. Year 1 – Semester 2.

    3. Year 2 – Semester 1.

    4. Year 2 – Semester two.

    5. Year 2 – Final consolidation/campus clinical consolidation.

    6. Prefer to specify.

  5. Have you had any formal education, e.g., workshops, courses, certifications, in caring for older adults (geriatrics)

    1. Yes or no.

  6. What changes in your educational experience would help you be prepared for working with older adults?

    1. Select all that apply.

    2. Specialized Geriatric course.en

    3. More clinical exposure.ro

    4. Expert instructors from the field.

    5. RPNs with geriatric expertise.en

    6. Prefer to Specify:

  7. Do you have experience caring for older adults (geriatrics)?

    1. No experience.es

    2. Little experience.fr

    3. Hard to say.tl

    4. Some experience.fr

    5. Lots of experience.

  8. Please indicate what some of the important factors were that helped your clinical placement(s) when caring for older adults:

    1. Select all that apply.

    2. I was oriented to the clinical area.en

    3. felt valued during the placement.

    4. felt safe in the clinical environment (emotionally and physically).en

    5. My supervisor(s) helped me identify my learning objectives/needs.en

    6. I was adequately supervised in the clinical environment.en

    7. had opportunities to enhance my skills and knowledge.en

    8. I anticipate being able to apply my learning from the placement.en

    9. Not applicable.

    10. Prefer to Specify.

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Received: 2024-02-28
Accepted: 2025-01-02
Published Online: 2025-03-21

© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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  22. Flourishing in nursing: positive factors that contributed to mental wellbeing of nursing students in Thailand
  23. Exploring the perceptions of practical nursing students on caring for the older person
  24. Nurse educators’ experience in implementing concept-based curriculum: a phenomenology study
  25. Perception of nursing students on nursing teamwork in hospitals in Slovakia: a cross-sectional study
  26. Lived experiences of international nursing students regarding the studying challenges: a phenomenology study
  27. Educational Process, Issue, Trend
  28. Nursing student needs assessment and preferences for faculty-led mentoring
  29. Pedagogical matters: a dialogue of diverse persons, perspectives, and programs
  30. Effects of cooperative learning on undergraduate nursing students: a quasi- experimental study
  31. Corrigendum
  32. Corrigendum to: Pedagogical matters: a dialogue of diverse persons, perspectives, and programs, International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, vol. 22, no. 1, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijnes-2024-0034
https://doi.org/10.1515/ijnes-2024-0019
Schlagwörter für diesen Artikel
practical nursing students; caring for the elderly; perceptions

Artikel in diesem Heft

  1. Association between admission criteria to nurse practitioner program in Israel and academic success: a retrospective study analysis
  2. Innovative strategies for supporting disadvantaged nursing students in rural areas
  3. Literature Reviews
  4. Higher education nursing students’ literacy skills: a scoping review
  5. Predictors of classroom exams, standardized exams, and nursing licensure exams in U.S. and international undergraduate RN and PN nursing programs: a scoping review
  6. Transfer of learning in baccalaureate nursing education: a systematic scoping review
  7. Research Articles
  8. The effect of a hybrid educational escape room on undergraduate nursing students’ nursing process knowledge
  9. Use of simulation-based education to enhance clinical judgment among prelicensure nursing students
  10. A computer-based educational program for promoting student cultural competence
  11. 10.1515/ijnes-2025-0037
  12. Immersive virtual reality simulation: engagement and clinical judgment
  13. Exploring nurse faculty perceptions of notetaking
  14. Exploring the link of educational environment and self-esteem with critical thinking in undergraduate nursing university students: a cross-sectional study
  15. Navigating global mobility: a comparative study of nursing education in Nepal and Australia
  16. The impact of simulation-based ethical education on nursing students’ moral distress levels
  17. Affective learning assessment of beginning nursing students
  18. Examining perspectives of instructors and students on the instruction of care plans within the nursing process – a qualitative inquiry
  19. The Doctoral Seminar in nursing: an exploration of the literature and trends found in Canadian syllabi
  20. Deliberate practice of medication administration among nursing students: a pilot study
  21. Canadian nursing students and education in medical and recreational cannabis: a preliminary evidence
  22. Flourishing in nursing: positive factors that contributed to mental wellbeing of nursing students in Thailand
  23. Exploring the perceptions of practical nursing students on caring for the older person
  24. Nurse educators’ experience in implementing concept-based curriculum: a phenomenology study
  25. Perception of nursing students on nursing teamwork in hospitals in Slovakia: a cross-sectional study
  26. Lived experiences of international nursing students regarding the studying challenges: a phenomenology study
  27. Educational Process, Issue, Trend
  28. Nursing student needs assessment and preferences for faculty-led mentoring
  29. Pedagogical matters: a dialogue of diverse persons, perspectives, and programs
  30. Effects of cooperative learning on undergraduate nursing students: a quasi- experimental study
  31. Corrigendum
  32. Corrigendum to: Pedagogical matters: a dialogue of diverse persons, perspectives, and programs, International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, vol. 22, no. 1, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijnes-2024-0034
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