Personal Care Worker

Aged: 82 years old

Last year, I saw an ad on Facebook and decided to try something new.

At 82 years young, I retired to Australia from the USA, after an incredible career that included time as a Military Medic, Primary Care Nurse, Hospital Manager, Ethics Review Coordinator and Educator in Business Administration, Nursing and Counselling.

Since arriving in Australia, I’ve kept myself busy volunteering for a range of community organisations and enrolled in a Certificate III Individual Support.

Helping people stay at home has always been part of my DNA. My mother was a nurse, my sister was a nurse, my sister-in-law was a nurse and I have a nephew who is a GP, and so I think there’s something in me that has that.

Within a week, Skills Hubs had submitted my information to Home Instead Gold Coast. Two weeks later, I’d received an offer to start employment as a Personal Care Worker. A month later, I was awarded ‘Rookie of the Month’, at Home Instead. I’m getting 15-20 hours a week which is what I want.

It’s really gratifying when you get to know people in their own home and you can sit down and chat about things. You learn something new about each one of them. It’s been rewarding. I don’t necessarily have to work, but I enjoy working and so that’s why I’m here. And I get paid, so it’s like a double bonus.

Stepping into someone’s home, I ask them what they can do and what I can do. So I never do for them what they can do for themselves. I fill in the pieces of what they can’t do but other than that I let them do everything they can possibly do.