A stocktake of existing aged care clinical placements for undergraduate nursing students in Australia

Objective The aim of this study was to survey selected universities on a variety of aspects of the aged care clinical placement component of undergraduate nursing courses. Design A cross-sectional, descriptive design using a questionnaire was employed. Setting Selected Australian universities offering undergraduate nursing courses. Subjects Australian universities having a faculty, department or school of nursing (n = 32). Results It was found that placements occurred in the first and third years of academic study largely in an aged care facility close to the university site. There was often competition between universities in trying to access the same facilities for student placements. Not all universities performed a formal assessment of the facility's suitability for an aged care clinical placement and often universities struggled to find university educators suitably qualified in aged care. Conclusions Recommendations include the use of sites other than aged care facilities that offer aged care specific services. Use of services away from the immediate locality may expand student experience, while better university co-ordination of placements may ensure fairer access to all students. The development and implementation of a clinical audit tool, together with incentives for experienced aged care nurses to participate in higher education may contribute to the development of quality aged care specific skills.