Utilizing “Strengths” of Elderly Patients in Nursing Practice:

Focusing on Awareness of Nursing Students in Gerontological Nursing Training

Abstract

　We interviewed six third-year junior college nursing students regarding how nursing students utilize the "strengths" of elderly patients in their nursing practice. From these interviews, the following three categories were extracted: 1) "ascertaining the ‘strengths’ of elderly patients," 2) "incorporating the ‘strengths’ of elderly patients into nursing care," and 3) "inability to incorporate the ‘strengths’ of elderly patients into nursing care."At the stage when nursing students utilize the "strengths" of elderly patients in nursing care, the students were able to elicit the "strengths" of elderly patients when they successfully incorporated "feasible tasks," "potentially feasible tasks," and "good conditions that elderly patients desire" into nursing care. In contrast, when they were unable to elicit feelings regarding "good conditions that elderly patients desire" or unable to overcome the preconception that there are no "feasible tasks," they were unable to incorporate the "strengths" of elderly patients into nursing care. During practical training in gerontological nursing, it is vital that students shift their focus to "good conditions that elderly patients desire" in addition to nursing problems faced by elderly patients. The results of this study suggest that to achieve this shift in focus, teachers and instructors must provide guidance regarding the "strengths" of elderly patients to indicate the direction of nursing that students should take according to each situation.