Nursing students and geriatric care: the influence of specific knowledge on evolving values, attitudes, and actions

This descriptive study explored the influence of specific geriatric knowledge on second and third year nursing students in their provision of care to older adults. Nineteen student participants provided qualitative data on their values and beliefs about nursing older adults prior to their attendance at a 1-h session teaching about two assessment tools: SPICES (Sleep disorders, Problems with feeding, Incontinence, Confusion, Evidence of falls, Skin breakdown) and BPI-SF (Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form). Data were again collected following a 6-week practice experience in which the same students had the opportunity to implement the tools. Four emerging themes, beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, and application, suggested how the students' geriatric knowledge and attitudes evolved and took on personal meaning in their intermediate practice experiences. Their realization of the hegemony associated with devaluing of the care of older adults warrants further examination into how geriatric knowledge is conveyed and assimilated.