I often worked in the dementia wing of a nursing home while I was doing my training, and I loved it. The residents were confused, but still had the basic need to feel that they were safe. Reassurance & distraction were the best methods of keeping them feeling safe & happy. Fortunately, episodes of aggression were very few & far between.

That contrasted with working in neuro, where confusion, agitation and violence were frequently encountered. Some people are just not nice people to begin with. Add a head injury and there’s a recipe for trouble. The value of doing an Aggressive Behaviour Management course was proven to me by noticing how some of us were able to verbally de-escalate most patients without getting physical; whereas you would wish that some other staff members would just keep their mouths shut as they only made things worse – in which case a takedown would be inevitable. I’d much rather talk someone down than have to take them down