Nursing students take creative approach to care of dementia patients

In the UK, there are an estimated 800,000 people with dementia but their experiences on hospital wards are not always optimal and there is evidence of their care being task-oriented rather than person centred.

Research of the experiences of students from an English university on placement in hospitals found the students recognised the benefits of spending time with the patients.  Writing in the journal Nursing Older People, the researchers said there were examples where students took time to develop a relationship with patients with whom ward staff were struggling.

A former naval captain kept packing his bags and attempting to leave the ward to “go to sea”. The student engaged him in conversation about the navy: “He started telling me about all the ports and places he’d been; what he had done during his service.”

Other students reported of their experiences with patients:

– ‘I sat and ate my lunch while she sat and ate her lunch. It was the first full meal that she’d had in quite a while’

– ‘He was absolutely fine as long as you let him help fold the pillowcases and sheets. He’d found the linen trolley at one point that somebody had left and he decided he was going to tidy them up’

– ‘I had a patient who didn’t want to leave her teddy bear, so we wrote in the notes “Make sure the teddy bear goes everywhere with Mrs X”.’

This is a follow up to the first part of the study that reported that nursing students had found that the organisational culture and physical environments of hospitals are not suited to caring for people with dementia.

Students described how the priority to move patients through the system quickly led to a lack of understanding of patients’ needs and compromised their dignity.

The researchers said: ‘There are time constraints in acute hospitals but students appreciated the value of spending time with patients with dementia.’

 ‘Students’ experiences of caring for people with dementia are important, as they will influence their future roles as registered nurses,’ they added.