University of Tasmania, Australia

A project focused on developing support structures for student nurses on placement in residential care.

Project Background

The recruitment and retention of nurses into aged care is cause for ongoing concern. In Tasmania, the historically limited exposure of nursing students to residential care facilities (RCFs) is said to undermine the ability of aged care providers to attract new graduates. Yet evidence suggests that if students are not supported appropriately when on clinical placement in the sector, following graduation they will not choose aged care as a career option.

In an attempt to address these concerns regarding recruitment and retention, the Commonwealth Government has implemented the Commonwealth Aged Care Nursing Scholarship Scheme (CACNSS) to support nursing students' engagement in aged care contexts. In 2003 the Commonwealth funded an additional program to develop support structures for CACNSS scholarship holders.

  In June 2003 the School of Nursing & Midwifery (SNM) received Commonwealth funding as part of the Commonwealth Aged Care Nursing Scholarship Support Systems (CACNSS) program. The funding was intended to pilot a project designed to build on the successful ‘Making Connections in Aged Care’ study (Robinson, et al., 2002) conducted by the SNM in 2001. This project is titled ‘Building Connections in Aged Care’. It will be conducted over three Stages between September 2003 and May 2005 and will involve six industry partner RCFs located in the north-west, northern and southern regions of Tasmania.

The first two Stages, funded by the Commonwealth, will involve 40 second year nursing students, some of whom are CACNSS scholarship holders. The students participate in a three-week clinical practicum across two academic semesters, which correspond to successive Stages of the project. Additionally, 30 registered and enrolled nurses, employed in the six RCFs, will participate in the project by virtue of their role as preceptors workingwith students.