School of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
Nursing Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China.
Nurse Educ Today. 2025 Jan;144:106407. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2024.106407. Epub 2024 Sep 12.
In response to the aging population, it is essential to examine gerontological service career adaptability among health science undergraduates.
This study aimed to clarify the trajectories and predictors of health science undergraduates' gerontological service career adaptability.
This study adopted a longitudinal design.
This study was conducted at four universities in China.
Health science undergraduates were recruited via convenience sampling. Data were collected in the third (Stage 1), sixth (Stage 2), and ninth (Stage 3) months of the participants' graduation year. A total of 471 undergraduates completed a three-stage self-report questionnaire that assessed gerontological service career adaptability, career motivation, proactive personality, and practice environment at Stage 1 and gerontological service career adaptability at Stages 2 and 3. The response rate was 76.84 %. Data analyses entailed multiple linear regression, a latent growth mixture model, and multiple logistic regression.
Three subgroups representing different gerontological service career adaptability trajectories were identified: rapidly growing (6.16 %), stably growing (87.47 %), and decreasing (6.37 %). Changes were observed primarily from the third to sixth months of the participants' graduation year. Health science undergraduates with high career motivation and a strongly proactive personality were likely to be in the decreasing group, whereas those with a supportive practice environment were predisposed to belong to the decreasing and stably growing groups.
The health science undergraduates' gerontological service career adaptability trajectories are heterogeneous, with the critical period spanning the third to sixth months of their graduation year. Gerontological service career adaptability grows stably among most undergraduates who have a supportive practice environment. Additionally, gerontological service career adaptability changes easily among undergraduates with high career motivation and a strongly proactive personality. Educators should implement tailored interventions to enhance gerontological service career adaptability based on health science undergraduates' traits.
为应对人口老龄化，有必要考察医科大学生的老年服务职业适应性。
本研究旨在阐明医科大学生老年服务职业适应性的轨迹和预测因素。
本研究采用纵向设计。
本研究在中国的四所大学进行。
通过便利抽样招募医科大学生。在参与者毕业当年的第三个月（第 1 阶段）、第六个月（第 2 阶段）和第九个月（第 3 阶段）收集数据。共有 471 名本科生完成了三阶段的自我报告问卷，该问卷在第 1 阶段评估了老年服务职业适应性、职业动机、积极人格和实践环境，在第 2 阶段和第 3 阶段评估了老年服务职业适应性。应答率为 76.84%。数据分析包括多元线性回归、潜在增长混合模型和多逻辑回归。
确定了代表不同老年服务职业适应性轨迹的三个亚组：快速增长（6.16%）、稳定增长（87.47%）和下降（6.37%）。变化主要发生在参与者毕业当年的第三个月至第六个月。具有高职业动机和积极人格的医科大学生更有可能属于下降组，而具有支持性实践环境的医科大学生更有可能属于下降组和稳定增长组。
医科大学生的老年服务职业适应性轨迹具有异质性，关键时期跨越毕业当年的第三个月至第六个月。在具有支持性实践环境的大多数大学生中，老年服务职业适应性稳定增长。此外，具有高职业动机和积极人格的医科大学生的老年服务职业适应性变化容易。教育工作者应根据医科大学生的特点，实施有针对性的干预措施，以增强老年服务职业适应性。
