2020 Volume 20 Issue 1 Pages 61-69
Purpose: Targeting chief nurses who had taken the gerontological nursing course, this study was conducted to clarify what changes their participation in the course had brought about in their perspectives of nursing care for the elderly.
Methods: Focus group interviews were carried out with four participants, the results of which were analyzed focusing on how they viewed care for the elderly differently after the course.
Results and discussion: The aspects of care where the chief nurses experienced renewed awareness include: the need to respect elderly persons as individuals living their own lives rather than persuading them to have normality of physical data; the importance of collecting a wide range of information and making multi-faceted assessments to understand the elderly holistically; the importance of judging nursing care from the perspective of the elderly rather than focusing exclusively on treatment and recovery; the importance of making nurses aware that ordinary daily care includes the aspect of respect for each elderly person; the need to foster nurses who can make independent and reasoned decisions rather than just following a routine; and the importance of working together to improve as a team by sharing their nursing experiences. It appears that the chief nurses’ perspectives changed from prioritizing effective treatment to stressing comfortable daily living on the part of each elderly person. They also took on board the ideal of an independent nurse who is capable of making rational and autonomous decisions.
