In the autumn of 1993, a new system of nursing education started in Sweden. A questionnaire was sent to the presidents of all the colleges of nursing, health and the caring sciences, and questions were asked about the part played by gerontology and geriatrics in the new curricula. The responses showed a considerable variety in the amounts of theoretical and clinical education given at the colleges. During the first or second week of their education, the students admitted to three colleges in the Mälaren area answered a questionnaire containing questions about their educational backgrounds, their working experiences in the health care system, why they chose nursing education, their ideas of the tasks that a registered nurse primarily carries out, and their preferences for work after graduation. The result shows a correlation between working experience and the reasons for studies. The students stated a preference for working in emergency care rather than in geriatric care after graduation from college.

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.

Studied how Swedish nursing students developed their perceptions of caring for older adults during their 3 years in nursing education. Interviews were audiotaped at the end of each academic year with 27 students from three colleges of nursing. In addition, 26 of these students wrote diaries during the clinical part of the course, in the second and third years. The interviews and diaries were analyzed using the phenomenological hermeneutic method, which is based on the idea that an interpretation of people's narrated, lived experiences is focused on the utterance meaning (Ricoeur, 1976). Four themes of caring emerged: respect for individual patients, responsibility for patients' well-being, sympathy with patients, and empathy with patients. Three themes emerged that were connected with impediments to caring: students' vulnerability, frustration and powerlessness in difficult situations, and ethically difficult situations. Findings revealed a development in the students' perceptions of caring as they proceeded through their education, moving from a naive, caring perspective, via a second-year stage of deeper relationships with patients, into a third-year organizational perspective, where they used their gained knowledge and experiences in taking responsibility for providing optimum care. Two students' narratives are used to illustrate the interpretations.

The transition from student to nurse involves the influence of several different educational aspects. The aim of this study is to elucidate the transition to the role of a nurse, which Swedish nursing students underwent during their 3 years in nursing education, as described from the perspective of their experiences with elderly patients. Interviews were conducted with the students at the end of each academic year, and the students wrote diaries about their clinical education in the second and third years. The narratives were analyzed with a phenomenological-hermeneutic method, and six themes appeared vital for the transition into nursing. The study implies a continuous process during education, involving many aspects of the transition from a student with a genuine and natural interest to care for others to a registered nurse ready to take up her first position. Cooperation with other team members had a strong influence on the students.

It is difficult to recruit RNs to positions in various areas of elder care. The aim of this study is to understand the meaning of Swedish nursing students' reasoning during education about where in the health care system they would like to work as RNs after graduation. The students were interviewed using the same guide at the end of each of their three academic years. In the second and the third year the students kept diaries about their clinical education. A phenomenological-hermeneutic method of analysis was used, and eight themes appeared vital for the students' choice of work area after graduation. The deeper interpretations of the results imply that the students received contradictory messages during the education in elder care. Students found that nurses working in this field were often isolated with no apparent support system, which in turn reinforced their own ambivalence and reluctance towards future work in elder care.

The aim of this study was to examine and describe how nursing students developed their reasoning and knowledge about the state of health of, and their possible actions regarding, two fictitious elderly patient case histories during their three-year education. The descriptions were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim and analysed by content analysis. The findings show a development in the students' reasoning concerning the more acute case, but no development in reasoning regarding the case of a confused person. This could be due either to a lack of education in gerontology and geriatrics, or to the students receiving limited guidance during their education on how to reason about and reflect upon different ways of approaching emerging problems. The findings could also be understood in the light of traditions and history in nursing education.