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Career Preferences of Nursing Students*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2012

Odette N. Gould ,
Anna MacLennan  and
Suzanne Dupuis-Blanchard
Odette N. Gould*
Affiliation:
Mount Allison University
Anna MacLennan
Affiliation:
Mount Allison University
Suzanne Dupuis-Blanchard
Affiliation:
Université de Moncton
*
†Correspondence and requests for offprints should be sent to / La correspondance et les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à: Odette N. Gould, Ph.D.Department of PsychologyMount Allison University49A York StreetSackville, NB, E4L 1C7(ogould@mta.ca)
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Abstract

This study investigates novice and experienced student nurses’ attitudes about caring for patients across the lifespan. Students were also asked why they would enjoy or not enjoy caring for children and older adults. Both novice (n = 114) and advanced (n = 56) nursing students were relatively positive about caring for patients across the lifespan. However, novices were significantly more negative about working with older patients, particularly after experiencing a first clinical placement. In contrast, a significant quadratic effect was found for advanced students, indicating more negativity about working with both children and older adults. When giving reasons for why they would enjoy caring for older patients, novices were more likely than were advanced students to focus on stereotypical characteristics and on negative health outcomes of older adults as a group. Overall, results suggest that the attitudes driving career interests in nursing students change as training advances.

Résumé

RÉSUMÉ

Cette étude adresse les attitudes des étudiants et étudiantes débutants et avancés d’un programme en science infirmière envers les soins des patients tout au long de leur durée de vie. En plus, les étudiants et étudiantes ont donné les raisons pour lesquelles le soin des enfants et des personnes âgées leur semble plaisant ou déplaisant. Les étudiantes et les étudiants débutants (n = 114) et avancés (n = 56) étaient relativement positifs par rapport aux soins des clients tout au long du continuum d’âge. Toutefois, il y avait un effet linéaire significatif pour les étudiantes et les étudiants débutants, indiquant plus de négativité quant au travail auprès de clients âgés, en particulier après avoir connu un stage clinique initial. Nous trouvons un effet quadratique significatif pour les étudiantes et les étudiants avancés, indiquant ainsi plus de négativité envers le travail avec les enfants et les personnes âgées. Les raisons données pour apprécier les soins envers les aînés étaient différentes pour les deux groupes d’étudiants : les débutants placent plus d’accent sur les caractéristiques stéréotypes et la piètre santé des aînés que les avancés. Bref, les résultats semblent indiquer que les attitudes qui motivent les intérêts de carrière en science infirmière changent à mesure que la formation des étudiants progresse.

Keywords

vieillissementsoins infirmiers gériatriquesintérêt de carrièreétudiants en science infirmièreâgismeaginggeriatric nursingcareer interestsnursing studentsageism
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 31 , Issue 4 , December 2012 , pp. 471 - 482
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2012 

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Footnotes

*

This research was supported in part by grants from the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research at the Université de Moncton awarded to the third author. The authors thank all the nursing students who participated in this data collection.

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