Stereotyping and Role Conflicts Between Medical Students and Psychiatric Nurses

Role stereotyping can cause conflicts between medical students and nurses on a psychiatric ward when students, expecting traditionally subservient handmaidens, find instead independent, capable nurses with their own views about patient care. The authors describe a study of interactions between nurses, medical students, and psychiatric residents on two psychiatric wards when medical students became primary therapists under residents supervision, and they discuss how the conflicts were minimized.