Creating a supportive community for residents to enjoy whilst being cared for by teams who feel proud of their job is part of Moran Health Care Group’s vision. For some Moran employees, experience in aged care starts when they are students and develops into a lifelong love of caring for residents. We spoke to Makala O’Neill, Elly Haksteeg and Sreyan Adhikari who have all recently chosen to work in the aged care field.
19 year old Makala is studying for a Diploma of Nursing at University of Wollongong. She began her experience at Moran Engadine meeting and greeting families and helping with COVID testing. Four months later she transitioned to a job as a carer. She will qualify as an Enrolled Nurse next year and then continue her studies to qualify as a Registered Nurse in 2025.
Makala finds her work complements her university studies by teaching her new skills and giving her a deeper understanding of the profession. Her flexible roster arrangements provide an improved work life balance. But would Makala recommend working in Aged Care to others?
“It is a great experience and you build your confidence really quickly. The residents are lovely and working as part of the team is very rewarding. Moran Engadine is nice and clean and modern, it has a good feel about it,” she said.
Elly grew up in Dubbo and while working as a professional dancer, she supplemented her income working as an AIN. She was soon captivated by nursing and worked at Moran Sylvania while studying. She has since qualified as an Enrolled Nurse. Whilst Elly attributes her passion for nursing to watching her favourite TV show Grey’s Anatomy, Moran residents and her work mates think she’s a natural at it!
“It’s important for residents to feel secure in the knowledge that our team is caring and committed. Helping nurture nurses from the time they are students is one of the ways we can develop that commitment. The connection between residents and their nurse or carer is something very special and develops as they get to know each other over time. It’s a very rewarding experience,” said Lorraine Kelly, General Manager Moran Sylvania.
Sreyan is in his second year of a Diploma of Nursing. He started at Moran Engadine 18 months ago and now works 20 hours a week as a permanent part-time Carer. He says he is fortunate to have a very helpful Roster Coordinator who supports him to plan shifts around his study commitments. Sreyan likes seeing the theory that he learns at university put into practice in the workplace. He finds that the Registered Nurses he works with are willing mentors and guides and he likes learning from them.
“There is nothing like real time, hands on experience,” he said. “I really enjoy working in aged care, connecting with the residents is pretty special. I didn’t know my grandparents very well so this is a very rewarding experience for me.”
Moran offers online learning resources for employees, something Sreyan makes good use of to support his knowledge and assist with his university study.
“I use the online learning resouces at work as study support for university. As a bonus I get certificates for each online course that I complete. Getting to work is convenient, the train station is close (no train changes for anyone living in Hurstville, Rockdale area) and there is parking too.”
To find out more about a career at Moran Aged Care click here