This study investigates neophyte student nurses' attitudes to working with the elderly through placing them in relation to attitudes to other nursing career options and by exploring student nurses' reasons for such attitudes. The results are based on a questionnaire answered by 610 students from five NSW teaching institutions. The results indicate that nurses rate working with the elderly very poorly, and that this negativity is based on unfavourable stereotypes of aged persons and their care. These findings are placed in the context of projected demographic changes and the pressures these will place on the health care system and its need for nurses qualified in this area of work.