What’s Stopping a Career in Gerontological Nursing?: Literature Review

Despite the rapid aging of the world's population, many countries are experiencing difficulty in recruiting nurses to work with older people. A literature review was conducted regarding the career preferences of undergraduate nursing students from seven different countries. The literature review has identified that gerontological nursing does not feature highly as a career goal. Notably, this has been the situation for the past decade. There is no indication that the situation is going to change at any time in the future unless some serious decisions are made at professional, health service, community, and government levels. This literature review has identified the reasons why undergraduate nurses are not choosing gerontological nursing as a career, what has been done in an attempt to address the problem, and what else may be done.