Wandering Resident advice

OP, for many years I was the night RN at a facility similar to yours. Very limited night staff (often, just me). I do recommend that you continue to document the behavior and your efforts. Include any patient complaints about finding this woman in their room, etc. I found that many times my manager didn't see the issue so didn't think it was important enough for funding of a solution. Especially since your unit is not set up for wanderers, it can be dangerous for the patient. Good luck to you.

I see your problem, I would think perhaps she is following a routine that she may have practised in her earlier life. What did she work as? You could provide tasks relevant to her previous work. We had a lady who was a midwife and then house wife. She was settled when she could help with cleaning, laundry and washing dishes. We used to put clean dishes in the sink just so she would wash them. Unfortunately our ideas reached difficulty when her husband was admitted and she continued to attempt to care for him, not allowing care staff access to her. We eventually had to move her to the upstairs unit for his benefit but she enjoyed this as it allowed her 'excursions' to see her husband who she believed was in hospital. It may also help to keep this lady busy during the day and she may tire at night. Approach sedation with caution though as where there's a will there's a way and it would be dangerous for her to continue to wander in a sleepy state.