Nurses play a key role in caring for the mentally ill and in rehabilitating them after an episode of illness. The nurses' attitude towards a patient is generally considered to be one of the basic factors contributing to the administration of total therapeutic nursing care. The purpose of this study was to examine whether attitudes towards mental patients improve after psychiatric attachment as well as the relationship between attitudes to psychiatry and intention to pursue psychiatry as a career. The study was conducted on sixty nursing students of fifth semester at the Kolej Kejururawatan Kubang Kerian, Kelantan who are doing their psychiatric postings in Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab II, Kota Bharu. The sampling technique for this study was convenient sampling. The instrument used for this study surveyed questionnaire developed by Brenda Happell (Happell, 2008). This quasi-experimental study measured changes in students' attitudes and satisfaction with clinical experience following a placement in mental health nursing. The questionnaire was administered to the nursing students on the first and last day of their psychiatric clinical placement session. The findings suggested that clinical experience during psychiatric clinical posting can positively influence attitudes, preparedness for practice and the popularity of mental health nursing. Satisfaction with clinical experience was also high. The findings of this study suggest that clinical postings had positive effects on nursing students' attitudes towards psychiatric patients and confidence in this field of practice.
Study site: Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab II, Kota Bharu