Dementia Care Education for Nursing Students.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Gerontology
• Dementia Care

Background:

• Effective preparation for dementia care requires both theoretical knowledge and practical clinical experience for nursing students.
• Nursing students need specialized training to meet the complex care needs of individuals with dementia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a Dementia Care Bootcamp (DCB) and clinical experience on nursing students' dementia knowledge, attitudes, self-confidence, and empathy.
• To compare the effectiveness of DCB alone versus DCB combined with clinical experience.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental design was employed.
• Participants received a 10-hour DCB; one group also completed a clinical experience and journal assignment.
• Outcomes measured included dementia knowledge, attitudes, self-confidence, and empathy.

Main Results:

• The DCB significantly improved students' dementia knowledge, attitudes, and care confidence.
• Empathy was not significantly affected by the DCB.
• No significant differences were found between students who had clinical experience and those who did not.

Conclusions:

• The DCB is an effective educational intervention for enhancing nursing students' preparedness for dementia care.
• A single clinical day is insufficient to yield further improvements in knowledge, attitudes, or confidence.
• Further research is needed to determine optimal clinical exposure duration for dementia care education.