Exploring practical nursing students’ perceptions of careers in older adult care

Examining the factors influencing practical nursing students’ willingness to work with older adults and identifying opportunities to strengthen the geriatric nursing workforce.

Linda Sheiban Taucar and Catherine Tong, CHCRI

About the project

Supported by funding from WeRPN, this research examined how practical nursing students perceive careers working with older adults, particularly in long-term care and retirement settings. The study explored students’ attitudes, career interests, and concerns to better understand the factors influencing their employment decisions and identify opportunities to support recruitment into older adult care.

The challenge

Registered practical nurses play an important role in caring for Canada’s aging population, yet long-term care and retirement settings can struggle to attract new nursing graduates. While these challenges are sometimes attributed to negative attitudes toward older adults, other factors may influence students’ career preferences. The research sought to understand whether students’ reluctance to enter these settings reflected attitudes toward aging or concerns about working conditions and professional development.

Approach

• Recruited 12 final-term practical nursing students and two faculty members from a public college in southern Ontario
• Conducted interviews and used a validated survey to assess students’ attitudes toward older adults and interest in geriatric nursing
• Analyzed quantitative and qualitative data to identify common themes and perspectives
• Examined factors influencing students’ willingness to pursue careers in long-term care and retirement settings
• Shared findings with nursing professionals, educators, researchers, and representatives from the older adult care sector

Results

• Found that participating students expressed positive attitudes toward working with older adults, with all viewing geriatric nursing as a rewarding career
• Identified working conditions and perceived limitations in professional practice as key concerns about employment in long-term care and retirement settings
• Highlighted the influence of perceptions that nurses may lose clinical skills when working in older adult care
• Shared findings through a student-led poster presentation, a journal article, and an online knowledge-sharing event
• Secured opportunities to present the research at additional nursing and gerontology conferences
• Established new research partnerships and secured additional WeRPN funding to examine the perspectives of working nurses and administrators

Why it matters

• Challenges assumptions that reluctance to work in older adult care is primarily driven by ageism
• Highlights workplace conditions and professional development concerns that may influence nursing career decisions
• Provides insights to support recruitment and retention strategies in long-term care and retirement settings
• Encourages greater recognition of the skills and responsibilities of registered practical nurses in older adult care
• Supports continued research into building a sustainable nursing workforce for Canada’s aging population

Get started with your next project

This project is supported by funding from WeRPN.