Nursing homes as a training site for LPNs/LVNs

It is evident that a maldistribution of nursing personnel exists. Varying factors have influenced the failure to attract nurses into the long-term care field. The only solution to alleviating the shortage lies in the expanding of school curriculum to include more courses in gerontology and in requiring that part of the clinical training to be done in nursing homes. Results of the modest survey recently initiated are reasonably conclusive as to the lack of involvement of the schools and the lack of understanding and knowledge of long-term care on the part of the school staff. It is also evident that even brief exposure to long-term care is helpful in relieving the shortage of nurses and results in a change in attitude toward the aging process and the care of the aged. The future of long-term care depends on how well we do our job in attracting and training nurses in this very vital aspect of the health care delivery system.