DESIGN: A qualitative approach was taken.
METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 50 bachelor and vocational-educated nurses working in care for older adults. Interviews were conducted between December 2019 and May 2020. Data were analysed and interpreted through inductive content analysis.
RESULTS: Five themes embody the meaning of the nursing professional identity of nurses who work in care for older adults. The five themes are: born to care: a lifelong motivation to nursing; nursing through the noise: dedication in a demanding profession; the silent backbone: caught in the crossfire of interdisciplinary teams; learning under pressure: the demand for expanded nursing expertise and against the current: the barriers to advocacy in nursing.
CONCLUSION: The professional nursing identity of nurses working in care for older adults is multi-faceted. A personal dedication to patient care, where patients 'human' aspect is heavily valued, commits nurses to their profession and underscores their dedication to upholding the quality standard in nursing practice.
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION: The older adults' nursing identity highlights that nursing deserves acknowledgement as a professional occupation. Nurses should speak to the public about their professional roles to improve the public view of older adult nursing.
IMPACT: A clear understanding of the older adult nursing professional identity clarifies specific roles, experiences and expectations. This can help attract and retain nurses whose views of older adult nursing align with the nursing professional identity. This could help resolve nurse turnover and reduce shortages in older adult care.
REPORTING METHOD: We adhered to Consolidated Criteria For Reporting Qualitative Research guidelines.
PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution.
BACKGROUND: Nursing students are part of the future healthcare workforce; thus, being aware of their intention to work with older people would give valuable insights to nursing education and practice. Despite a plethora of research on measuring intention to work with older people, a valid and reliable instrument has not been identified.
DESIGN: A systematic literature review of evidence and psychometric properties.
DATA SOURCES: Eight database searches were conducted between 2006 - 2016.
REVIEW METHODS: English articles were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The COSMIN checklist was used to assess instruments reporting a psychometric evaluation of validity and reliability.
RESULTS: Of 41 studies identified for full text review, 36 met the inclusion criteria. Seven different types of instruments were identified for psychometric evaluation. Measures of reliability were reported in eight papers and validity in five papers. Evidence for each measurement property was limited, with each instrument demonstrating a lack of information on measurement properties. Based on the COSMIN checklist, the overall quality of the psychometric properties was rated as poor to good.
CONCLUSION: No single instrument was found to be optimal for use. Studies of high methodological quality are needed to properly assess the measurement properties of the instruments that are currently available. Until such studies are available, we recommend using existing instruments with caution.
OBJECTIVES: The current study aimed to assess student nurses' intentions to work with older people and to determine the predictors of working intentions among nursing students.
DESIGN: The study adopted a cross-sectional design.
SETTINGS: Multistage sampling was used to recruit nursing students from five states in Malaysia.
PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1462 nursing students from eleven nursing education institutions participated in this study.
METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. This study is underpinned by the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The Intent to Work with Older People Scale and Kogan Attitudes Toward Old People Scale were used to assess nursing students' intentions and attitudes towards care of older people respectively. Researcher-developed instruments were used to assess subjective norms and perceived behavioural control among nursing students.
RESULTS: The present study found that nursing students in Malaysia demonstrated a moderate level of intention to work with older people, with a mean of 39.72 (±4.38). There were significant differences in effects of gender, ethnic group, academic level, type of nursing institution and setting of older person care clinical experience on intentions to work with older people. There was a moderate and positive relationship between attitudes towards older people and intentions to work with older people, as well as between perceived behavioural control and intentions to work with older people; it was found that r = 0.36 for both relationships. Attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control accounted for 19.7% of the variance in intentions to work with older people.
CONCLUSION: The primary findings of this national study revealed that Malaysian nursing students have a moderate level of intention to work with older people. It is imperative to develop educational interventions to nurture attitudes for caring and promote stronger intentions to work with older people.