First-year Swedish nursing students' experiences with elderly patients

Nursing students' attitudes toward elderly people have frequently been found to be negative. This study's aim was to describe the experiences of first-year nursing students with elderly people. Thirty students from 3 Swedish nursing colleges, interviewed during the last weeks of their first year were asked to describe a memorable event that had occurred when they were caring for an elderly patient. The narratives were analyzed phenomenologically. Three perspectives emerged: the students' perceptions of the patients the staff's roles, and their own roles. From these, two phenomena were identified: patients' helplessness and students' identification/nonidentification of the individual patient. Students described difficult situations for elderly patients patients with difficult diseases, anxiety pride; and conflicting views of how to treat patients.