Registered nurses' perceptions and experience of working in aged care: A qualitative approach

Aim: To understand and report on the perceptions and experiences of registered nurses in the aged care sector. Design: An exploratory qualitative study. Methods: Semi-structured telephone interviews were utilised as the primary data collection method. Fifteen registered nurses were interviewed. All interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using conventional content analysis. Participants were quoted verbatim to ensure authenticity. Results: The results indicated a demand for increased administrative and staffing support in the aged care workplace. Poor morale and unethical practices contributed to negative perceptions and attitudes among nurses towards aged care. Managing and communicating with older people was reported as challenging, which impacts nursing staff recruitment and retention. Future work is needed to ensure that outstanding clinical role models and leadership support nursing staff recruitment and retention. Incorporating aged care content into the nursing curriculum and providing professional development opportunities to aged care professionals would be the foundation towards solutions, as the study primarily explored nurses' perspectives.