Igniting a passion for aged care: nurse educator on International Nurse Day

A nurse educator has reflected on the importance of teaching students the value of a career in aged care on International Nurses Day.

Deputy Head of Monash University School of Nursing and Midwifery, Associate Professor Helen Rawson, said nurses are caregivers and leaders who significantly impact people's lives.

"You're never 'just a nurse'," associate professor Rawson said.

"We are leaders – leading care at the bedside, education, research and policy.

"Nurses are highly skilled and educated healthcare professionals."

International Nurses Day not only serves as a tribute to the remarkable contribution of British nurse Florence Nightingale but as a recognition of nurses' vital role in aged care, she said.

Aged Care Insite spoke with associate professor Rawson about how educators can ignite a passion for aged care and motivate them to pursue careers in this field.

NR: Why is it important to you that we celebrate international nurses day?

HR: It's crucial to celebrate International Nurses' Day as it brings global attention and recognition to the vital and fundamental role that nurses play in society's care and wellbeing. 

Nurses comprise the largest proportion of the healthcare workforce and perform a myriad of tasks. 

So, it's essential to highlight their work. 

Plus, the pandemic emphasised the significance of healthcare and the essential role of nurses. 

Nurses continue to do their important work as we transition through the pandemic.

What attracted you to working in aged care as a nurse?

I first started working with older people as a young girl. 

In my background, older people are respected as leaders in the community, and that's how I was raised. 

So, I always had great respect for them. 

When I began working in aged care at 16, I saw the fantastic care that older people received. 

It was an unconventional Saturday job, as most people worked at places like McDonald's or the shops on High Street. 

I am also a second-generation nurse, as my mother, who came from the West Indies, moved to England to train as a nurse. 

So, a passion for nursing runs in the family. 

However, when I transitioned to the hospital setting, I realised that we needed to do better in delivering quality care in aged care.

We must ensure that older people receive the highest quality of care. 

That passion drives me to care for older people because I want to guarantee it's better and safer. 

A selfish part is that unless something intervenes, I'll continue to get older and become the recipient of that care, whether in my home or a care setting. 

I want to ensure that I have played a role in guaranteeing that the care is high quality.

As a nurse in education, have you noticed that students are less inclined to choose a career in aged care?

Yes. When teaching students about caring for older people, I ask them to be honest about who actually doesn't want to be in that class and would prefer to be in something related to ICU or acute care. 

A lot of them would put their hands up.

And I would then say that we cannot have nurses working in only one area – we must have nurses everywhere.

Unless they want to work with babies or in maternity settings, most patients nurses will see are over 65. 

So, no matter their healthcare setting, they will work with and be engaged with older people as their patients.

I don't think students do not want to work with older people – what would be a broad brush to use?

But we, as educators and within the nursing profession, need to focus on understanding the value of working with an older person.

I reflect on my experience as a nurse in aged care; they have a huge responsibility and value.

You're using all the skills you learnt during your education, including critical thinking and quick decision-making.

But as we know, there are fewer nurses in the aged care setting compared to a hospital, for example. And often, it could be the one nurse on the shift. 

Registered nurses have the responsibility for the people receiving care but also for the staff who are providing that care. 

They have a key role in coordinating all the other interdisciplinary professionals, such as the GP, physiotherapist and dietitian.

So, it's a huge and really important role.

And when we start to share that with our students, more and more nurses will choose a career in aged care.

Where does the perspective on aged care among student nurses stem from?

One thing that's important to consider is the lens through which people view things. 

For example, many health programs in the media focus on acute care, such as emergency departments or operating theatres. 

You don't often see TV shows focused on aged care. 

Unfortunately, when the media covers aged care, it often has a negative slant. 

This can skew people's views if they are unaware of what else is happening – some excellent work in aged care doesn't make the headlines.

The experiences we give our student nurses and how we teach them about aged care are crucial to encourage people to choose a pathway into aged care.

The aged care sector needs highly skilled and trained people.

If you compare the nursing role to when your mother was a nurse and your current position, what stands out to you?

So many things have changed!

Even when I was doing my nursing degree – when my mom trained as a nurse, they were not educated at a degree level. 

She underwent hospital training, and then when I completed my nursing training, I earned a degree.

Nurses are now able to pursue leadership roles, including senior leadership roles. 

So, the nursing profession stretches from being at the bedside with patients or people receiving care right through to being prominent in policy in government and the United Nations. 

There are many differences between our experiences. 

One of the things is critical thinking and understanding the importance that we as a profession have to instigate change, make decisions, and have an impact on policies. 

People now recognise that our role is vast in terms of the care we provide.

It's so much more than just nurses being carers; nurses are also leaders. 

They may lead at the bedside, in healthcare, academia, research, policy development, or even at the government level. 

People often think of nurses as just being at the bedside, but their role is much more diverse and equally important.

And society values nurses for what they do.

Society does understand that nurses are involved in every aspect of someone's life, from the moment they are born to when they go through their lives. 

Whether an individual goes on to have children or comes to the end of their life, nurses are involved everywhere throughout our life trajectory. 

People engage with nurses when they engage with healthcare. As a result, there is an understanding of the different things that nurses do.

In what ways do you hope to inspire student nurses to work in aged care?

I'm just very passionate about it.

When I talk to students or anyone about aged care, I talk about it from my experience and try to resonate with them.

I have not worked clinically for a while now because of being in academia, but during Covid-19, I went back to work clinically to support an outbreak in residential aged care.

For example, many people have older family members, and we are all getting older, so we all have that ageing experience. 

People may have difficulties thinking about the end of their lives and how age care fits into that. 

But it's an honour to be with someone at the end of their life. 

Age care is not just about caring for older people in a residential setting since only about 6 per cent of people receive care in residential facilities. 

Many people are in their homes receiving support to continue to live well. 

These are the important things I convey to students and anyone I talk to about the importance of aged care.

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