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Background: Population aging has increased the need for nurses who are competent and willing to care for older adults, but many nursing students report limited motivation to choose gerontological nursing as a career. This study examined how course perceptions, learning attitude, empathy, knowledge of aging, attitudes toward older adults, and family- and contact-related factors were associated with gerontological nursing career choice motivation among undergraduate nursing students.
Methods: This cross-sectional study followed the STROBE statement. A convenience sample of 441 nursing undergraduates completed an anonymous online questionnaire within one week after completing a gerontological nursing course. Measures included a gerontological nursing course perception scale, Palmore’s Facts on Aging Quiz, the Perspectives on Caring for Older Patients scale, the Jefferson Scale of Empathy–Nursing Student version, and the Career Choice Motivation Questionnaire for Gerontological Nursing. Direct and indirect associations were tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling in SmartPLS 4 with 5000-sample bootstrapping.
Results: The final model explained 39.1% of the variance in career choice motivation (adjusted R² = 0.380). Course perception (β = 0.243, p = .001), learning attitude (β = 0.286, p < .001), positive attitudes toward older adults (β = 0.116, p = .035), and willingness to live with older adults (β = 0.348, p < .001) were positively associated with career choice motivation. Knowledge of aging, empathy, reverse-scored negative attitudes, and communication fluency were not significant direct predictors. Empathy was associated with positive attitudes (β = 0.318, p < .001) and less negative attitudes (β = 0.406, p < .001). All endogenous constructs had positive Q²predict values, but the model did not consistently outperform the linear model benchmark.
Conclusions: More favorable course perceptions, active learning attitude, positive attitudes toward older adults, and willingness to live with older adults were associated with stronger gerontological nursing career choice motivation. Gerontological nursing courses should strengthen course support and student engagement, although causal inference is limited by the cross-sectional design.
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