Aligning career aspirations with demographic reality: the role of gerontology and geriatric educators in shaping student attitudes and behavior
Read nearly any article in a scholarly journal focused on aging and you will encounter statistics about the burgeoning aging population, the unique developmental, medical, and other needs of older adults, and the pressing global shortage of professionals trained to meet these needs and those of their caregivers. The articles contained in this issue are no exception. As our population ages and older adults become more visible, we are simultaneously confronted with the existence of negative attitudes toward older adults and aging in our culture. Many of these attitudes are unconsciously internalized and likely to remain so until we are prompted to engage in reflection. These attitudes, unconscious or otherwise, influence so many things, among them our self image, sense of mastery, health, even our longevity. Additionally, they impact our interactions and their outcomes, both personally as we interact with family, healthcare and other providers, and professionally as we interact with clients, patients, and those we serve. This issue is dedicated to an examination of these issues as they apply to gerontology and geriatrics education. The unifying theme of this issue focuses on attitudes about aging and older adults and the impact that these attitudes have on behaviors and professional identities and trajectories. The articles herein report on a range of factors which may influence the decision to pursue gerontological or geriatric training or serve as a barrier to such. One area in which we see a glaring gap between the demand for and supply of professionals with aging related training is in health care, and projections are that this gap will widen significantly. Several of the articles in this issue tackle questions of how to attract students to geriatric training programs and enhance attitudes among students in these programs so as to improve upon the care they provide to their older patients and their caregivers. Darling and colleagues examine attitudes among a sample of undergraduate nursing students at a Turkish university, revealing generally positive attitudes toward elders. Factors associated with more positive attitudes included younger age and an interest in working with elders. The authors argue that more geriatric content in the Turkish nursing curriculum will enhance students' attitudes toward elders and foster interest in working with this growing population. In Learning about the experience of living with chronic conditions: A framework analysis of nursing students' reflections on their conversations with older adults, Olson and colleagues report outcomes of learning partnerships focused on the experience of chronic illness between community dwelling older adults and undergraduate nursing students. Reflective journals maintained by student participants were analyzed to reveal the extent to which these conversations led to a richer understanding of the experience of chronic illness and the potential for gerontological nursing intervention. Learning opportunities such as this GERONTOLOGY GERIATRICS EDUCATION 2018, VOL. 39, NO. 3, 265 267 https:/doi.org/10.1080/02701960.2018.1513116
Gerontology geriatrics education