experience of nursing home care: A strong influence on physical therapist students' work intentions, The

Journal of Physical Therapy Education, Spring 2002 by Tovin, Melissa Moran, Nelms, Tommie, Taylor, Leslie F

On the other hand, faculty and clinicians who 'sold' geriatrics to students stressed die excitement and importance about providing good care to the population. They talked about the challenges of geriatric care in a positive manner, dispelling stereotypes and illustrating the many rewards for being a geriatric physical therapist. Enthusiasm and excitement were contagious and sparked students interest. Yet, students experienced more faculty and clinicians who devalued geriatric care than those who valued it. They perceived an imbalance in faculty values and interest, weighed heavily against geriatric care. They also perceived an imbalance in curricular content. Students believed less time and course content were devoted to geriatric care. They interpreted this as a value issue, believing that fac-ulty must not value geriatric physical therapy.

Some academic and clinical faculty also implic-itly devalued geriatric care. To students, faculty who were dispassionate, or internalized their passion, depreciated geriatric care. They devalued geriatrics by not caring to sell it to students and by not caring to maintain a balance in faculty interest. Faculty who excluded or minimized discussion about geriatrics in their courses also implicitly dismissed geri-atrics as unimportant.

Overall, educational role models affected stu-dents' perceptions and views about geriatric care. Christine said it best when she concluded,

I haven't had any real-world experience coming into this program, and you know, you're pretty impressionable. And when you're spending as much time with faculty and each other as we do, that's where you;re forming your ideal about the field. They are so much more influential than what you read in research articles or whatever. What you're hearing in class and in the halls really has an impact on you.

Despite their perception that some faculty and clinicians devalued geriatric care, several students believed they had greater awareness of geriatric issues because of educational experiences, includ-ing class discussions, community service projects, journal assignments, and interactions with some faculty and clinical role models. Samantha, for instance, believed she was more attentive to lan-guage used with older patients as a result of her communications class: "I don't think I would have thought about how it would feel to be an older per-son and have someone talk to me like that, it just really makes me cringe now." Ginger wrote about the impact of her journal assignment, "If we had not been instructed to observe ourselves when dealing with geriatric patients. I wonder if I would have noticed I was relating to them in a different manner. I immediately adjusted my tone of voice." Joshua stated, "I know I really enjoyed the geriatric com-munity project and geriatric rotations. I know a lot of people had the view of old people, you know, the stereotype. The experiences helped to change that."

Theme 8: Geriatric Care and Professional Development--A Conflict