Join us as we meet some of our amazing aged care workers.
Deb’s 45-year nursing career has seen her care for people across the entire lifespan, moving from paediatrics at Westmead… to aged care at BaptistCare’s Maranoa care home.
She says there’s a surprising amount of crossover.
“My passion was always working with children, and I never thought I’d move out of that,” she says. “But my journey took me to some surprising places.”
From paediatrics to aged care
In 2007, a friend encouraged her to try her hand at facilitating nursing students into placements, and she discovered a passion for mentoring.
“To my delight, I found I had a natural gift for coaching,” says Deb. “I placed my nursing students into all areas of nursing, including aged care. I was able to use my experience to support others and that felt good.”
It wasn’t until she relocated from Sydney up to Evans Head in New South Wales’ Northern Rivers region during the pandemic that she decided to transition into aged care, taking on the role of Quality and Education Supervisor at BaptistCare Maranoa residential aged care home.
“People are often surprised I’ve moved from one end of the lifetime – paediatrics - to the other - aged care,” says Deb. “But there are lots of similarities.
“Young children often can’t fully express or communicate what they are feeling, so as a nurse, you use your observations, and keep trying different approaches until something works.
“Caring for older people with dementia can be similar, or those are who palliative. They can no longer communicate in the way they once did.
“There is also a real vulnerability at these two stages of life – both are completely reliant on the knowledge, skills, care and kindness of other human beings.”
Leaving the profession in good hands
Deb says she is passionate about teaching the skills that healthcare students don’t always learn in the Education system, providing practical tools and resources that enable staff to realise their own potential in delivering exceptional care
“Ultimately, I want to feel like I have played a small part ensuring that the profession is left in good hands,” she says.
Day-to-day, this involves working alongside our training coordinators and the home’s leadership team to empower staff to deliver exceptional care to residents.
This might mean putting together training, “toolbox” talks, and enhancing internal processes like orientations for new starters.
“We’re a quite a new team, and we want the workplace culture here at Maranoa to be as high a quality as the care we deliver to residents,” says Deb. “That’s a marathon, not a sprint, but we’re committed to cultural change. We want our people to recommend Maranoa as a place to work.”
Travelling the world
Outside of work, Deb is an avid traveller! Last year, she travelled to more than seven countries on a bucket-list trip, one of the many highlights of which was an overnight stay in a 950-year-old Scottish castle!
“I have another round the world trip up my sleeve too, but we’re just outlining the finer details,” she smiles.
Deb also loves to spend time on the beach near where she lives, practice meditation, and focus on her own personal development.
“I love using my brain and learning new things,” she says. “The way I see it, we have one brain and one body – use them or lose them.”
