What do RNs working in hospital aged care units identify as the positive and negative aspects of aged care nursing?

This study reports the positive and negative aspects identified by registered nurses (RNs) working with older people in public hospital aged care units and was conducted in 4 public hospitals in Sydney, Australia. Qualitative data using questionnaires and telephone interviews was collected from 26 female and 4 male RNs of which 46% (n 14) had worked in an aged care unit for 10 years or more. The participants identified positive perceptions within three major themes: a genuine liking of older people; the stories older people tell and the complexity of the older patient’s illnesses. Positive responses were a focus as it was identified that this was a gap in the literature which required addressing at the time. These findings are significant and have implications for nursing practice for several reasons: Data was collected exclusively from RNs and focused on their positive perceptions about aged care nursing in public hospitals. Participants reported a genuine liking for older people. Patients’ telling their stories was reported by 60% (n 18) of participants as being interesting in their work and meaningful to the patient and should be considered more as a therapeutic process during hospitalisation to assist support and enhance patient outcomes and therapy. The participants reported that aged care nursing is complex, rewarding and requires mature nurses, with current nursing knowledge and skilled in the art of caring for older people. These findings can be used to improve recruitment and retention of RNs within aged care nursing