The impact of discrimination against older people with dementia and its impact on student nurses professional socialisation

SummaryThis paper aims to review the literature to identify persistent areas of concern in the care of the older person with dementia, and factors that may impact on the students experience both now and in the future. It is argued that despite recent policy initiatives, professional socialisation is impacted upon by resource limitations, negative attitudes and poor practice development in the care for people with dementia. A recognition of the interaction between societal, practice and curriculum issues is fundamental to overcoming negative professional socialisation and is a key aspect towards providing social justice for this group. The feasibility of making progress in this area is explored.