Nursing curriculums may hinder a career in gerontological nursing: An integrative review

Abstract

Nursing faculties must review their curriculum to ensure that there is sufficient focus on the needs of older people within the curriculum for every student. Furthermore, respected role models who are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about issues related to older people must teach gerontological nursing courses.

Incentivising a career in older adult nursing: The views of student nurses

“…Negative views are anchored in wider problems, chief among which are ageism within society, inadequate preparation in undergraduate curricula, low nurse–patient ratios and negative experiences during clinical placements (Garbrah, Välimäki, Palovaara, & Kankkunen, ; Koh, ; Neville, ). Student career preferences are formulated during experiences on clinical placements, where mentors and ward managers can reinforce negative, stereotypical perceptions of older adult nursing (Carlson & Idvall, ).…”

“…There is no evidence for this assumption, staff levels in all older adult settings are problematic, and with over one‐third of acute inpatient beds occupied by older people, it is not practical or advisable to exclude older adult acute care wards from student clinical rotations. The solution is to define evidence‐based staffing levels for acute care older adult wards and to build gerontoloigical capability in the nursing workforce which starts with preregistration programmes (Alzheimer's Association, ; Garbrah et al, ; Hayes & Ball, ).…”

“…As care delivery shifts to a community focus, undergraduate nursing curricula need to reflect new primary and intermediate models of care, especially for older adults (Imison et al, ). There is a need for innovation to promote gerontological knowledge and skills as a core part of undergraduate programmes coupled with high‐quality gerontological experiences (Annear, Walker, Lucas, Lo, & Robinson, ; Garbrah et al, ; Koskinen et al, ; Mattos et al, ; Tenhunen & Fitzgerald, ). Student clinical placements are vital to influencing career decisions.…”

Perspectives: Dementia education in Higher Education Institutions, now and in the future: the role of the professional regulatory bodies in the UK

“…This extends beyond the UK and is an international issue (Hvalič-Touzery et al, 2017). A worrying finding from a recent literature review points to nursing curricula being a contributing factor in nursing students selecting acute or critical care over working with older people (Garbrah et al, 2017). The low status afforded to working with older people is not new but to find that education curricula continue to reinforce negative perceptions about working with older people is, we feel, of great concern.…”

“…Therefore, we believe that pre and post qualifying education curricula need to include opportunities for students to interact with, and be taught by, positive enthusiastic and knowledgeable role models. Regardless of specialisation options there should be an age friendly curriculum with career pathways supported (Garbrah et al, 2017).…”