Dmitry Viderman
The Academic College Tel Aviv-Yaffo, Israel
Abstract Title:Geriatric Nursing: Choice or Destiny?
Biography: Dmitry is a registered nurse with over 20 years of professional experience. His career has been primarily dedicated to the care of older adults in geriatric and orthopaedic departments. Over the years, he has also held senior clinical and managerial roles, including clinical instructor for nursing students, team leader, and acting head nurse in the departments where he served. Dmitry has completed numerous advanced professional trainings in areas such as pain management, nutrition for older orthopaedic patients, and adult neurology. For more than a decade, he has been actively engaged in nursing education across a variety of academic and clinical settings. He currently serves at The Academic College of Tel-Aviv Yaffo, Israel, where he lectures and heads several nursing programs, including a unique program for ultra-Orthodox men in nursing studies. In addition, Dmitry has taught in the Nursing Department of Tel-Aviv University as well as in other colleges across Israel. In recent years, his research has focused on older adults, with particular attention to the attitudes of younger generations toward aging populations and the perceptions of nursing students toward older adults within the health-care system. In parallel, Dmitry also conducts research on the LGBTQ+ community and their interactions with the Israeli health-care system. His work explores the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in accessing equitable and culturally sensitive care, and he investigates the development of appropriate nursing education and training that will enable nursing students to effectively and respectfully meet the unique needs of this community. He is pursuing his doctoral degree at the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, Romania, in the Faculty of Philosophy and Social-Political Sciences, with a specialization in Sociology.
Research Interest: Nursing is a vital profession with a central role in patient care and health promotion. Yet, the demanding nature of the profession contributes to burnout among nursing students, influencing both their motivation and the overall healthcare workforce. Research highlights that clinical exposure significantly shapes career trajectories. In China, exposure to diverse populations correlated with students’ motivation to specialize in certain fields (Cheng et al., 2015). Israeli studies similarly found that students often prefer hospital settings, perceived as more challenging, over community care (Sela-Vilensky et al., 2020). Broader societal perceptions of aging further impact career choices, with negative stereotypes discouraging interest in geriatric nursing (Haron et al., 2013). Moreover, the impact of formal training on career decisions remains contested, with some evidence suggesting limited influence (ibid). Students frequently describe geriatric care as emotionally taxing and repetitive, a perception linked to minimal exposure to older adults. Research indicates declining interest in geriatric care as students progress in their studies (Carlson et al., 2015). A Turkish study revealed that while 60.2% of students expressed willingness to work in geriatric nursing, only 18.5% enrolled in relevant courses. Those with personal connections to elderly individuals demonstrated more positive attitudes (Türgay et al., 2015). These findings suggest that tailored education and training in gerontological nursing can shift student attitudes. Promoting gerontological nursing, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, may improve quality of care and foster healthy aging worldwide (Abudu-Birresborn et al., 2019).