Background: Nursing students' experiences during clinical training in aged care placements is a well-studied topic. However, there is less research on the connection between nursing students' prior experiences as assistants in nursing (AIN) and their perception of aged care nursing.
Aim: The aim of this study was to identify and synthesize undergraduate nursing students' experiences as working as AIN in aged care settings.
Method: A systematic review was carried out by searching the CINAHL, Scopus, Medline and Medic databases, supplemented by manual searches. The searches focused on peer-reviewed scientific empirical research articles published in English, with a 10-year date limitation. The data were analysed by the qualitative content method.
Results: The review identified 11 articles, which showed that nursing students' prior work experience shifts their perceptions of older adults' care. The findings were organized under four major themes. Through their employment as AIN, (1) nursing students' ability to reflect and develop skills needed in clinical work strengthened, (2) they became aware of the independent role of the nurse, (3) they feel part of the workplace community and (4) they recognized their feelings and views about aged care as a career.
Conclusion: Students' work experience in aged care helps them to observe aged care settings as a unique set up and nursing comprehensively from the perspective of an older adult's care needs and they can observe the dynamics of a workplace community. They can see many positive features in working in aged care and assess their experience with positive descriptions.
Keywords: aged care nursing; nursing student; older adult's care; systematic review; work experience.
© 2023 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Nordic College of Caring Science.