A longitudinal investigation of changes in medical students’ attitudes toward the elderly

Medical students (N = 117) were surveyed and compared regarding their attitudes toward the elderly on four separate occasions in their medical school careers: (a) a baseline measure before an educational intervention interviewing the elderly in their 1st year, (b) after the intervention, (c) at the end of their 2nd year, and (d) at the end of their 4th year. Results indicated that (a) students whose educational intervention occurred in nursing homes (low independent‐living facilities) showed no significant attitude changes after the intervention, (b) students whose experiences occurred in residential facilities (high independent‐living facilities) did show significantly more positive increases in attitudes immediately after the course, (c) however, by the end of their fourth year, students' attitudes dropped back to the baseline level. Implications for programs attempting to enhance long‐term attitudinal change in the medical school curriculum are addressed.