Shifting student attitudes of gerontology nursing: A quasi-experimental evaluation of a clinical educator programme

Background: Enduring shortages in the gerontology nursing workforce are projected to increase as demand for services for older persons grows. Recruitment of Registered Nurses in gerontology is further hindered by negative perceptions held by students towards nursing older people. Aim: To determine whether a professional development activity designed to assist clinical supervisors to build the mentorship capacity of care staff in residential aged care facilities could positively improve their clinical learning environment and improve student attitudes towards working with older adults. Design: A quasi-experimental, non-equivalent pretest–posttest control group design. Settings: Clinical settings in which participants were undertaking an older person–focused clinical placement. Participants: A purposive sample of 466 first-year undergraduate nursing students. Forty-seven students responded to both the pre- and post-placement surveys. Methods: The intervention comprised four professional development sessions delivered to clinical supervisors supervising nursing students during clinical placement across three residential aged care facilities. Pre- and post-placement surveys measured Student Perceptions of Working with Older People (SPWOP). The modified Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI) was included in the post-placement survey to measure student perceptions of the clinical placement learning environment. Results: Control group participants reported higher pre-placement SPWOP scores yet showed no significant improvement in score post-placement; however, the intervention group reported a statistically significant increase in SPWOP score post-placement. Modified CLEI results revealed the control group reported higher levels of engagement in the learning environment, yet the intervention group reported greater motivation to learn. Conclusions: An intervention designed to build staff mentorship capacity in gerontology care settings can positively influence student perceptions of working in gerontology. Despite these positive gains, results indicated that students who undertook placement at the intervention sites were less engaged. This disparity illuminates the need for continued efforts to build staff mentorship capacity in older person–focused clinical learning environments to improve student experiences and perceptions of gerontology nursing. Implications for Practice: Further research that engages directly with unregulated healthcare workers in geronotological care settings could provide new insights into what this cohort need to become effective mentors and shift student nurse attitudes towards caring for older adults.