Because of the high acuity level of hospitalized clients and the rapid increase in aging populations, the placement of beginning fundamental students in a nursing home setting should be taken into more serious consideration. Thus, the purpose of the present paper was to describe the advantages and disadvantages of using nursing homes as clinical sites for baccalaureate of science in nursing education based on a comprehensive review of the literature. The main advantages are the wide spectrum of health needs, stable census, and regularly scheduled treatments in nursing homes. The main disadvantages are lack of adequate role models, lack of preparation and interest of the nursing faculty in working with the elderly, and potential for creating negative attitudes toward the elderly and their care.

Although the use of nursing homes in nursing education has been described in the published research, no current report exists outlining guidelines for faculty if they desire to use nursing homes for their undergraduate nursing courses. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to identify courses that are best taught in nursing homes and the approaches faculty can implement when using nursing homes for student experience. The use of nursing homes for the courses in fundamentals, leadership and management, research and community health is discussed. A step-by-step approach for faculty to initiate the use of nursing homes for undergraduate teaching is also provided. The nature of the faculty, the characteristics of nursing home settings and the characteristics within the community will affect students' learning experiences and effectiveness. Thus, it is important to consider nursing homes as appropriate for certain types of learning needs.

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