I took over care of a patient with dementia from Doug. The patient had significant memory deficit and the unfamiliar environment of the hospital caused the patient to become nervous and scared at times until reoriented.
During patient rounding overnight, I heard the patient talking out loud. Upon entering the room, I found the patient reading from a piece of paper that they had stored in their gown's pocket. The paper listed facts including the patient's name, age, home address, current location, reason for being in the hospital, a song they enjoyed singing, that they were sometimes forgetful, and that they were safe. After reading these few reminders, the patient was immediately comforted.
The patient's neighbor in the semi-private room told me that Doug, the day shift nurse, had written the paper for the patient. Doug showed exemplary care by taking a few extra minutes of his day to provide the patient with a tool that could reorient and comfort them when a staff member was not present.