The aged care classroom: Shifting undergraduate nursing students' perceptions of residential aged care

• There has been increased focus within undergraduate nursing education in Australia to address the nursing shortage in residential aged care facilities. • Aged Care Classroom addresses the growing need for aged care competencies among future healthcare professionals, focusing on dementia care, communication, mobility, comprehensive aged care assessment, effective communication with older adults and their families, ageism, end-of-life issues and the social policies that impact older individuals. • The Aged Care Classroom was co-designed with staff from an aged care facility and has led to a significant positive change in undergraduate nursing students’ interest in aged care nursing as a career option. Although demand for registered nurses in aged care is rising, nursing students remain hesitant to choose it as a career. The aim of the project was to assess the impact of the Aged Care Classroom on undergraduate nursing students’ perceptions, thoughts, and attitudes toward residential aged care nursing. A sequential mixed-method research design was utilized and guided by the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research checklist. An online pre- and post-workshop survey (via Qualtrics) alongside pre- and post-workshop focus groups. The quantitative survey data were analyzed using SPSS software. The qualitative data were thematically analyzed. The results indicated a highly significant difference in student interest in aged care nursing as a career choice. The focus group data identified four key themes, two pre- workshop themes: Dipping My Toe in the Water, Nursing Student Fears; and two post-workshop themes, Opportunity Knocks, and The Heart of the Matter. The findings provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of collaborative educational interventions to improve students’ perceptions, attitudes and thoughts toward aged care nursing