The aim of this project is to determine if there has been a change in the perceptions of undergraduate nurses towards nursing older people in light of the extra resourcing and attention that has been given to this area of nursing education.
In recognition of the worldwide trend for an ageing population and what this will mean for Australia, various levels of government and the non-government sector, practicing nurses and nurse academics have been working together to prepare future nurses for the impact of this very significant demographic change on the health care system. Success of the collaborative work had two obstacles to overcome: 1) existing educational preparation of nurses did not provide the level of knowledge and skills that practitioners needed and 2) many undergraduate nurses do not find work with older people an attractive career option causing recruitment and retention difficulties in the field. Over the past few years, two main strategies to address these issues have been implemented, firstly, a number of projects focusing on the extent of aged care content in the nursing curricula across Australian universities have been undertaken to understand and strengthen the ability of universities to more effectively teach aged care. Secondly, specific government and non-government scholarship programs have been offered to encourage undergraduate nursing students to pursue a career in aged care.
While past research conducted in Australia on undergraduate nursing student perceptions and experiences of aged care is sparse and what does exist varies in consistency, depth and sophistication, they are unified by a common absence – that of a meaningful nation-wide approach. The proposed project will be a national survey and will also take advantage of being able to evaluate the recent high level national activity regarding aged care in undergraduate nursing curricula.
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Chief Investigator(s):
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Dr Christine Neville
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Investigator(s):
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Kerry Neale
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Funded By:
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The University of Queensland
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Project Commencement Date:
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May 2008
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Duration of Project:
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3 years
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