The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the students' geriatric clinical nursing practice in a nursing home on their attitudes of nursing students toward the elderly. Data were collected from 225 volunteers in a junior nursing program over a one month period from November I to November 30, 1998. One group was tested after completing a geriatric nursing course and geriatric nursing practice; and the other group was tested after completing only a geriatric nursing course. A multiple-act behavioral attitude instrument was developed and used in the study. The instrument measured the students' reactions to 11 opinion statements, rated on a four-point scale, ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree". A t-test was used to determine the differences between the of the two groups attitudes of the two groups. There was no difference in the attitudes of nursing students toward the elderly between the group of nursing students who had a geriatric nursing course and clinical nursing practice and the nursing students who had a geriatric nursing course only. After the nursing students had geriatric nursing practice, they talked more with the elderly (χ²=7.708, p=0.052), demonstrated better manners with the elderly(χ²=12.700, p=0.004), and thought that the elderly were more lonely(χ²=8.294, p=0.081).