The attitudes of beginning nursing and medical students toward care of dying patients: a preliminary study

Abstract

The attitudes of entering classes of nursing and medical students toward the care of dying patients were compared using a self-administered instrument designed for the study measuring aversive and attractive components of these attitudes. Both groups exhibited similar aversive attitude items: Talking About Death elicited the most negative scores, General Interaction was slightly less negative, and Touching was the least negative. Among the attractive items, medical students were more positive on the Professional Challenge subscale, while the nursing students were more positive on the Personal Satisfaction subscale.