RESUMEN
PURPOSE: This article describes the results of a study into how first-year nursing students' perceptions of psychiatric patients and mental health care influence their choice of specialization in mental health care and future working in this sector. METHOD: A descriptive qualitative study design with semi-structured interviews. Respondents were selected through purposive sampling among all first-year bachelor students attending a Dutch school of nursing. RESULT: First-year nursing students have stereotype, mostly negative perceptions of psychiatric patients and mental health care. These perceptions strongly influence their future professional choices. The respondents provided various reasons for their decision not to major in mental health care, one of these being that the school did too little to counsel and inform them about mental health issues and a career in mental health care. As a result, their unrealistic perceptions prevailed. CONCLUSION: If schools offering bachelor of nursing programmes do not sufficiently counsel and inform students about mental health care, students will leave school with their stereotype, negative perception of mental health care intact. Mental health care institutions will run a great risk of losing potentially good nurses.