Abstract: Traces the origins of gerontology knowledge among student nurses while considering how people designated as older are perceived by the student nurse, and the effects of functional decline and biomedical discourses on their views of older people when on clinical placement in aged residential care (ARC) facilities. Hghlights the contested domain of gerontology knowledge to generate dialogue about how older age is actually represented in student nurse education, as the current iteration perpetuates stereotypical assumptions about older age.