Nursing students' attitudes toward elderly people have frequently been found to be negative. This study's aim was to describe the experiences of first-year nursing students with elderly people. Thirty students from 3 Swedish nursing colleges, interviewed during the last weeks of their first year were asked to describe a memorable event that had occurred when they were caring for an elderly patient. The narratives were analyzed phenomenologically. Three perspectives emerged: the students' perceptions of the patients the staff's roles, and their own roles. From these, two phenomena were identified: patients' helplessness and students' identification/nonidentification of the individual patient. Students described difficult situations for elderly patients patients with difficult diseases, anxiety pride; and conflicting views of how to treat patients.