Background <p>As the demand for long-term care increases due to an ageing population, ensuring continuous and high-quality geriatric nursing is crucial. However, geriatric nursing faces challenges such as workforce shortages, high workload, and high emotional demand, which can impact quality of care, job satisfaction, and career change. Little is known about nurses’ opinions on geriatric nursing and their ideas for addressing challenges in caring for the ageing population. This study aims to explore what nurses in Austria value about working in geriatric nursing and their ideas about addressing challenges in geriatric nursing.</p> Methods <p>A descriptive qualitative study was conducted using a modified focus group approach that included freelisting interviews and the nominal group technique. The two used sampling methods (i.e., convenience and snowball sampling) generated a convenience sample of 12 participants. Two focus group workshops were held in 2025 with nurses working in long-term care in Austria. The freelisting data were analysed using salience analysis. The ranked ideas generated in the nominal group technique were analysed using Van Breda’s method of ranking.</p> Results <p>Nurses valued the appreciation they received from colleagues and older persons they care for, the opportunity to work with the family and relatives of older persons, and their ability to provide individualised and person-centred care. A skilled geriatric nurse was described as possessing empathy, sensitivity, and broad expertise in health care. The three highest-ranked ideas for strengthening geriatric nursing were (1) Promoting/strengthening older persons’ self-care abilities (e.g., providing holistic, individualised care), (2) Coordinating care between services for the older persons, and (3) Promoting/strengthening the team.</p> Conclusions <p>These explorative findings suggest that strengthening geriatric nursing requires structural attention to improvements such as reducing bureaucracy, enhanced collaboration across healthcare sectors with the assistance of community nurses, and recognition of nurses’ competencies using a skill- and grade-mix. Implementing a supportive work environment (e.g., adequate equipment/staff/time), optimising skill- and grade-mix approaches, and listening to nurses’ expert insights may contribute to sustainable and high-quality long-term care for the ageing population. Future research should consider a co-research design to plan and introduce target group-specific interventions in geriatric nursing based on nurses’ suggestions.</p> Clinical trial number <p>Not applicable.</p>