h&h graduate Olivia Brettle has gone on to enjoy an exciting and rewarding career in Aged Care after studying Aged Care and Individual Support with us in 2013 and 2014. After graduating, Olivia worked at Harbison Nursing Home where she coincidentally, cared for another staff member’s late stepfather in a high care dementia ward. Olivia says, “Neville was such a lovely a man and a dream to care for. Even when he was in the very advanced stages of his disease, he was always smiling, and kindness just beamed from his eyes. People like him are the reason I got into this industry.”
h&h Graduate Grows Her Skills
Olivia also undertook studies in nursing while working at Harbison, and recently graduated as an enrolled nurse. She says that she would never have done this, if not for h&h.
“The great thing about h&h, is that the courses allow you to springboard to great heights in your career. The teachers are wonderful, too. Chris Whymark was my teacher and she was fantastic. She is really compassionate and she loves what she does. I also really like how organised the college is and how friendly the receptionists are.”
Olivia is now working at h&h in the role of Course Coordinator, which is a hugely responsible role. She is handling it with grace and ease.
“I prepare everything for the courses we offer here at h&h. So, when a new course opens up, I get all the materials ready and ensure all the classes run smoothly for the trainers and the students. I give all the forms for assessment to the trainers and ensure they are on top of follow ups, markings and assessments.
A Positive Study Experience
h&h graduate Olivia found her courses to be detailed and her experience at h&h was very positive.
“The course content was thorough; teachers were knowledgeable and always available. I’ve been to other colleges where I felt like I was a number, but h&h made me feel like I could ask anything at any time. That’s why I have come back! Nursing has always been my dream, but h&h has inspired me to take it to the education side! I am currently studying my training and Assessment and one day soon, I will be a trainer. I can’t wait to be in front of students and teaching.”
Life After Graduation
Olivia maintains her passion for Aged Care and highly recommends it to anyone. She says the job satisfaction is tremendous.
“The best part of my day at Harbison was arriving at work! I loved getting to work early, making a coffee whilst listening to handover and preparing for my day with the residents,” she says enthusiastically. Although, she does admit there were some hard aspects to her job.
“The hardest part was when we lost a resident. Preparing for a death of a resident you’ve developed a connection and a friendship with can be heart wrenching, which was the case with Neville. It’s especially difficult. However, you do learn techniques for handling this in your studies and throughout your course. I also found that sharing the grief with other staff members and colleagues really helped. My advice to anyone in Aged Care would be to make sure you have a solid, positive circle of friends outside of work, as well as a happy social life.
“I honestly would recommend the Aged Care industry so highly. It is extremely rewarding. If you’re inclined to enter this line of work, I would recommend that you always be kind, as kindness can go a long way. Patience is also important as is learning to work in a team cooperatively. These are all skills that you learn or learn to enhance when you study with h&h.”
Thanks to Olivia for sharing her wonderful story! If you want to know more, please contact us!