Michelle's Inspiring Story
We’re privileged to have a fantastic team of Care Assistants and recently spent some time with Michelle, who explained a little about her background along with why she chose to work in care.
12/06/2023
We’re privileged to have a fantastic team of Care Assistants and recently spent some time with Michelle, who explained a little about her background along with why she chose to work in care.
We’re privileged to have a fantastic team of Care Assistants who are passionate about delivering high quality care that puts a smile on the faces of their customers.
We recently spent some time with Michelle, who explained a little about her background and why she chose to work in care. Michelle’s story truly is inspiring and if reading it thinks you could do the same, then we’d love to hear from you.
Michelle’s story started when she worked in Brentford as a primary school teacher specialising in Maths & English.
It was when her mother, who lived in Hastings, fell ill that Michelle chose to move from her 17-year career in teaching to live with, and provide support to, her mother who wanted to stay at home for as long as possible that her experience in care began.
As well as providing support herself, Michelle had help from the local nursing team who were excellent, and it was through this experience that Michelle was not just inspired to work in care, but experienced the difference good care can make.
After a short while, Michelle saw an opportunity with Bluebird Care, had an interview and was offered the job on the spot. She has never looked back since.
Although the first few days were somewhat scary, Michelle benefitted from spending time shadowing one of her colleagues who showed her the ropes. She then worked with colleagues where customers required two Care Assistants to assist and this really helped build her confidence.
Now, after three years, Michelle has an extended family in customers and colleagues that have become friends. Of her role, Michelle explained:
It’s a tremendous privilege working in care and there’s a lot of responsibility we have. For example, if you consider that it’s strangers (at the start) providing care to parents where family members may live a long way away or be unable to visit as often as they would like. Leaving the house every day certainly does not feel like a job. It’s something that makes me feel liberated and gives me the opportunity to make a difference through physical and emotional support.
It’s often the small things that make a big difference when visiting customers. For example, involving customers in choosing their clothes rather than simply putting them out for them, suggesting different items when shopping and customers may not have been themselves for a while or cooking food that looks presentable rather than simply throwing it on a plate.
One smile I’ll never forget is when a customer, who hadn’t been out for a number of years, came to mind when the bluebells popped up in my garden and I took a bunch to a customer who hadn’t been out for years. That really did warm the heart!
For Michelle, three tips she would give herself when first starting out is to be patient, maintain good communication and have courage; courage in believing you know how things should be as well as when you have made a mistake (and learning from it).
Has reading Michelle’s story inspired you to explore a career with Bluebird Care? If so, we’d love to hear from you and you can see our available roles here.
