Changing the Care Provided Persons with Dementia

This discussion is both cautionary and hopeful, for it addresses the remaining ability of those persons with dementia as well as the effect of such lack of recognition, upon the care delivered to all vulnerable older adults. A series of vignettes are presented that reach across time, each describes the nature of such remaining ability in dementia. The vignettes present a nurses’ “remembered” experience; each vignette is also reflective of a given philosophy of science position affecting such nursing care. The discussion also describes how our current research has taken note of these changes in earlier philosophy of science positions, in order to improve the quality of care for older adults today and hopefully in the future.