28 October 2022
Meet Valerie, Personal Care Assistant and Lifestyle Assistant at Regis East Malvern. Having taken care of her father for a number of years and being with him throughout his journey into aged care, Valerie understood the need for aged care workers and always enjoyed her interactions with residents and employees. This sparked her decision to obtain certifications to work within the industry.
Valerie loves her different roles and “being able to make a difference to the lives of residents in so many different ways.” She always starts her day greeting all the residents with a big smile, before getting into the activities of the day. One of her favourite parts of the job is theme days, because she loves going above and beyond to make our residents smile.
“Working collectively as a team, the opportunities to grow and develop, and the varied things we do” are just some of the reasons why Valerie loves coming to work every day. “I just love making people smile and laugh,” Valerie added.
Valerie values her work in the aged care sector because she is “supporting and making residents feel confident every day in the thing they would still be doing at home.”
“Going the extra mile to make them feel special” is what makes her work rewarding.
When asked what advice she would give to those contemplating work in aged care, Valerie strongly encourages people to “give it a go.” “Study is fun, you learn a lot of new things and meet many new and exciting people.”
When Valerie isn’t working, she loves spending her time swimming. Every morning before work, she’ll go for a swim at her local beach. She is also a volunteer lifesaver and is learning to board rescue and surf ski, planning to compete in the master competition in the coming months.
Home to Valerie is her family, having a big family of four children. She also loves the comfort of reading, crocheting, and spending time with her loved ones.
