Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Int J Older People Nurs. 2021 Mar;16(2):e12363. doi: 10.1111/opn.12363. Epub 2021 Jan 19.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Nurses in practice may require education on working with people with dementia as it is a deficit in nursing programmes.
护理专业中对老年人工作的负面看法导致缺乏有专业知识教授学生护士的教育者，并且护士毕业后也缺乏与老年人口合作的能力。最近从护理课程毕业的护士对他们的看法可以深入了解他们在毕业前希望了解与老年人一起工作的哪些方面。
定性描述性研究设计考察了最近毕业的注册护士对其老年人工作教育准备的反思。内容和主题分析用于开发对老年人工作的第一印象和准备主题。
主要发现是，护士直到毕业后才认识到学习老年人知识的重要性。只有那时，他们才意识到人口老龄化是如此复杂和普遍。他们认为缺乏教育，特别是与痴呆症老年人及其行为以及学习如何与老年人口进行沟通有关。参与者认为，作为学生，他们必须自行学习与老年人合作的知识，而无需教师的支持。
需要支持教师学习如何将有关老年人的内容最好地纳入他们的课程中。这可能包括开发消除对老龄化的负面刻板印象和促进对老年人兴趣的学习活动，因为这是学生毕业后最有可能与之合作的人群。
在实践中，护士可能需要接受有关痴呆症患者护理的教育，因为这是护理课程中的一个不足之处。
