Medical students' and nursing students' attitudes toward patients with mental illness

The purpose of the study was to determine the changes in attitudes about mental illness among nursing and medical students after their first psychiatric clinical rotation in the Dallas Veteran's Affairs Medical Center. Data were collected from 20 nursing students and 23 medical students. Both groups were administered the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons Scale-B (ATDP-B) before and after their first psychiatric clinical rotation to assess their attitudes about mental illness. Data were collected on this 30-item Likert format scale. A comparison of the pre- and posttest scores was determined using a t-test, which indicated no statistical difference for either group. However, there was a significant difference when comparing the nursing group to the medical students group on attitudes toward mental illness.