Description: I worked five days a week in a locked dementia ward for six years. During that time, I noticed that some of the new staff and residents' relatives had difficulty adapting to the reality of the dementia ward. New staff would take fright and not return to work after as little as one shift. The relatives would react by getting angry. Both would sometimes have difficulty with their own perceptions of reality and try to force those onto the dementia ward but never successfully, which caused everyone stress. I thought some of my experiences might help to open up this world a little bit to those who are confronted by it and help ease the culture shock and adjustment.
