Associated data for 'Exploring the impact of a professional development activity on student nurse perceptions of older adults and the aged care clinical learning environment.'

The future of aged care nursing in Australia is uncertain. Projected nursing workforce shortages combined with an ageing population of both the general Australian public and nursing workforce stands to increase demand for aged care nursing services. Recruitment of registered nurses in aged care is further hindered by negative perceptions held by students towards aged care nursing. This research sought to determine whether a professional development activity designed to assist clinical facilitators (CFs) build mentorship capacity of care staff in residential aged care facilities could positively impact student perceptions of working with older adults, and their perceptions of the aged care clinical learning environment.

A quasi-experimental research design was developed to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention in this study, which was delivered as a series of professional development sessions to CFs. The intervention was offered to CFs who were overseeing nursing students during clinical placement at one of three residential aged care facilities. The sessions were designed to assist CFs to build mentorship capacity of the care staff who worked alongside nursing students during their aged care placement.

The study was designed to impact first-year undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing students during placement. Impact was measured by surveying these students before and after their placement. Students were assigned to either the Control or Intervention group depending upon their allocated placement site. The intervention group comprised students who were placed at one of three sites where the CF had participated in capacity building sessions. The control group comprised those students undertaking placement at other sites. Participants were invited to complete the Student Perceptions of Working with Older People (SPWOP) survey pre- and post-placement to measure their perceptions of working with older adults. Furthermore, the modified Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI) was added to the post-placement survey to measure student perceptions of their placement learning environment. Both surveys included an open-ended question inviting students to share further thoughts about working with older people.

Results indicated that students who were assigned to one of the intervention sites had a statistically significant increase in SPWOP score after completing placement. In comparison, students in the control group reported higher pre-placement SPWOP scores yet no significant improvement in score post-placement. The modified CLEI revealed that students in the control group reported higher levels of engagement in the learning environment; however, students who undertook placement at an intervention site reported greater motivation to learn. Content analysis of open-ended question responses identified three categories: feeling fulfilled, personal difficulties, and aged care as a career.

Findings from this study suggest that an intervention designed to help CFs build staff mentorship capacity in aged care settings can positively influence student perceptions of working in aged care. Despite these positive gains, the results indicated that students who undertook placement at the intervention sites were less engaged, and students across the cohort expressed concern about pursuing a career in aged care. This disparity illuminates the need for continued efforts to build staff mentorship capacity in aged care clinical learning environments to improve student experiences and perceptions of aged care nursing.