Donna Frost

Chapter 5 130 I am very curious about this project, I see it as a chance to take a step back every now and again and reflect on our work. Many days I feel like I haven’t stopped to think about anything, I have just been ‘on’ the whole day. […] Also, when I was a nursing student we learnt about research. It was interesting but this is the first chance I have had to be involved in a research project. […] About being nominated by several people, well, I don’t really knowwhat to say about that! It is a compliment, of course, but a great surprise. I am on and off all the units in Elm Tree House when I have the senior’s phone, so maybe that’s why a lot of people knowwho I am.(Jane-RNI-Mtg 2 8 -Rec 1 of 5 ) Mara Mara had also qualified as a nurse eight years prior to the start of the inquiry. She had followed an in-service programme to become a diploma level registered nurse and had worked in aged care since beginning her training. She joined Greenwoods Care three years previously and worked, at the start of the inquiry, on a closed unit providing residential and nursing care to twelve people living with dementia 9 . During the CCCI Mara changed workplace: she went to work primarily on the ‘short stay unit’, where clients resided for several weeks or a couple of months, as part of a rehabilitation or assessment process. Nurses assigned to the short stay unit were also often asked to help out elsewhere in the residential home so that Mara not infrequently filled shifts back on the closed unit. 8 See Table 5 . 3 for meeting dates. 9 On a closed unit the unit’s outer doors can only be opened with keypad or code access so that residents cannot leave and reach the stairs or lift. The rest of the unit, including staff areas, the unit kitchen and an outside terrace, are open and accessible for all residents. This creates a reasonably large ‘walking route’ with various spaces to sit in, either fairly secluded and quiet or in one of two larger sitting rooms which are busier and adjoin the dining rooms. The decision to place a resident in such a unit is subject to legal and medical regulations and takes place only after thorough assessment.