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First-year Swedish nursing students' experiences with elderly patients
1Sophiahemmet College of Nursing and Health, Sweden.
Western Journal of Nursing Research
|April 1, 1997
Summary
First-year nursing students often face challenges when caring for elderly patients, leading to complex experiences. Understanding these experiences is crucial for improving geriatric nursing education and student attitudes.
Area of Science:
- Geriatric Nursing
- Nursing Education
- Qualitative Research
Background:
- Negative attitudes among nursing students toward the elderly are a persistent issue.
- Understanding student experiences is key to addressing these negative attitudes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore and describe the lived experiences of first-year nursing students caring for elderly patients.
- To identify key phenomena influencing student perceptions and interactions with geriatric patients.
Main Methods:
- Phenomenological analysis of narratives from 30 first-year nursing students across 3 Swedish colleges.
- Students described memorable events during elderly patient care.
Main Results:
- Identified student perspectives on patients, staff roles, and their own roles.
- Highlighted patient helplessness and student identification/non-identification with individual patients.
- Revealed descriptions of challenging patient conditions, anxiety, pride, and treatment dilemmas.
Conclusions:
- Student experiences reveal complex interactions with elderly patients, influenced by patient conditions and student roles.
- Findings underscore the need for enhanced geriatric nursing education to foster positive attitudes and effective care.
- Addressing patient helplessness and promoting patient-centered identification are critical for nursing students.