The Preparedness of student nurses of Cotabato City and Davao City Schools of Nursing in the care of the elderly

Abstract

Abstract: The purpose of this descriptive research was to determine the preparation of student nurses in the care of the elderly. Specifically, the study made use of the level of knowledge, skills, and attitudes of student nurses as indicators of their preparedness to practice gerontological nursing. A nine-page questionnaire was administered to student respondents for quantitative data collection while a focus-group discussion was conducted to nursiong faculty who handled the student respondents in any clinical setting with elderly clients for qualitative data. Results revealed : 1) most student respondents hade adequate knowledge, and perceived their level of skills as adequate, and posses very good attitudes towards the care of the elderly, 2) nursing faculty perceived that these student nurses have less adequate level of knowledge, with adequate skills, and posses very good attitudes in the care of the elderly, and 3) both groups of respondents ranked clinical experiences (among other factors identified like curriculum content, methodologies of teaching, faculty expertise, and availability of facilities) as most influencing in the preparedness od student nurses in the care of the elderly. The faculty respondents added other factors such as culture, values, upbringing, administration support, and personnel and staff relations may influence the preparedness of these students in elderly care.