As nurse in charge of a 44 bedded unit, it was my responsibility with the support of management and as part of a team to ensure the provision of excellent quality palliative and dementia care. As well as working as part of a team, I was required to operate independently at times taking on many duties,roles and responsibilities. In this challenging and demanding position, it was my duty to accurately assess, diagnose and refer patients suffering from a wide variety of progressive and degenerative conditions as able/appropriate. During my time here, I was a team leader and as such, supervision and education of junior staff members was vital to the everyday routine/functioning of the home. Patient education was also key to my role, including supporting and educating patients and relatives/care givers at every stage of the disease process. In order to meet the complex and varied needs of the elderly at all stages, effective liaison with all stakeholders in the service was required. In addition to my role as staff nurse, it was also my responsibility as dementia link nurse to complete/oversee all psychiatric referrals as appropriate and to re-assess patients at regular intervals/as their condition dictates. The often unpredictable nature of this work environment meant I had to be flexible and adaptable and respond to situations quickly and effectively should I encounter acute illness/injury.