Student nurses' career preferences for working with older people: a replicated longitudinal survey.

Background: The world's populations are ageing and the need for nurses and health care workers from all disciplines to manage this phenomenon is increasing. Yet the literature and previous research undertaken by the author reveal consistently that working with older people is ranked poorly as a perceived career destination of student of nursing.

Objective: The main research objectives in this study were to (1) develop a profile of nursing career preferences and the rationale underpinning those choices and (2) compare these results with other literature to indicate if this profile is changing.

Design: This study uses a repeated measures design, with a non-probability sample of undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing students in the State of NSW, Australia between 2007 and 2009.

Results: The results show that 8% of the students began their course wanting to work with older people. Overall the ranking of 'working with older people' for commencing students was 7 out of ten. This ranking decreased throughout their course to ultimately become the least desired career choice of graduating nurses with only 3 of the 150 participants stating a desire to work with older people. Career choices, over all, divide along the lines of 'high-tech' and 'low-tech' which support the findings commonly found in the literature. It would appear that socialising factors within the education process, negative clinical experiences and the ageist bias within the broader community play an important role in these student's career choices.