Attitudes of medical students to old people: a cross-national comparative study

Medical students' attitudes to the elderly were compared at the start and finish of a 5-week clinical attachment in health care of the elderly at the Christchurch School of Medicine. The study investigated students in their first clinical year (fourth year of their medical course) over five terms using a questionnaire employing a Rosencranz-McNevin semantic differential scale to measure general attitudes to old age and a Likert scale to measure attitudes to medical care. A question was also asked about career preferences. There was significant improvement in attitudes measured by both scales (Rosencranz-McNevin P less than 0.001, Likert P less than 0.001). Students also showed an increase in interest in health care of the elderly as a career choice. When compared with two cohorts of students from Nottingham Medical School, attitudes were significantly better in the Christchurch group at the commencement of the run. Students at both schools showed an improvement in knowledge but this was more marked for Christchurch students.