Should nurses be required to administer care to patients with AIDS? Students respond.

A total of 40 baccalaureate nursing students were assigned to write a paper that expressed their opinions about providing care to patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and to give the rationale used to support their views. Although 75% of the students believed that nurses should provide care to patients with AIDS, 25% expressed either negative or ambivalent feelings about providing such care. Moreover, many of the same rationales were offered to substantiate all three attitudes, emphasizing the need for definitive guidelines for decision making.