Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

In Ontario, the older adult population is steadily increasing, and the healthcare system is not equipped to effectively care for their needs. This is evidenced by the large number of Alternative Level of Care (ALC) beds within hospitals, and lengthy wait times for older adults to obtain a bed within a Long-Term Care (LTC) facility. As new LTC spaces are created, new nurses will be critical members of the healthcare team required to care for these patients. However, there is no current evidence about the intentions of newly registered nurses in Ontario to work in aged care facilities, their attitudes towards older adults, or how their nursing education influences these variables. Aim: The aim of this study is to examine how pre-licensure geriatric nursing education and personal attitudes toward older adults influence newly registered nurses' and registered practical nurses' intentions to work in aged care. Method: A descriptive, cross-sectional study designed was used. A survey questionnaire was mailed to new registered nurses across Ontario (n=1103). Results from 181 questionnaires were analyzed. Results: New nurses in Ontario reported positive attitudes toward older adults; however, their positive attitudes were not influenced by their gerontological nursing education, and did not influence their intention to work in aged care. fourteen percent of participants (n = 26) intend to work in an aged care setting within the next five years. Participants' intentions to work in an aged care setting was positively associated with having a LTC clinical placement (OR 2.30; p < 0.01) and having more than one gerontological clinical placement (ß = 1.76, p < 0.05). Conclusion: The findings support the need to provide nursing students with high quality gerontological nursing curriculum and clinical placements in this field. Future research using a qualitative methodology is recommended to understand why new nurses in Ontario may not intend to work in aged care settings.