ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE CARE OF THE AGED AND TO A CAREER WITH ELDERLY PATIENTS AMONG STUDENTS ATTACHED TO A GERIATRIC AND GENERAL MEDICAL FIRM

Abstract

Studies in the United States have suggested that medical students' bias against older patients is not influenced by ad hoc courses in geriatrics. If the suggestion is correct then there should be no difference between the attitudes towards the care of the aged and to a career with elderly patients among students attached to a geriatric and general medical firm. In order to examine the hypothesis, such attitudes were compared among students randomly allocated to geriatric and general medical firms. More of the geriatric firms' students held favourable attitudes towards the care of the aged and were prepared to consider a hospital career with elderly patients. The majority of students in both groups wanted to gain their pre-general practice experience of elderly patients on a geriatric ward. The geriatric firm's students also felt that their training had more adequately prepared them to deal with problems commonly encountered among the elderly in hospital.