Students taking up nursing course bring with them stereotypes and prejudice towards mentally-ill clients. Nurses harbouring such stigmatising attitude can have a profound effect on their subsequent therapeutic relationship and quality of care rendered for the mentally-ill clients. Typically, students who harbour stigmatising views, develop positive mindset after psychiatric posting.
Over the last few years, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) as part of its global marketing initiative opened its doors to international students to take up elective as well full time programmes. In September 2017, 36 nursing students from a university in China completed a 12-week elective /mobility programme in UMS.