MICHELLE:
So I started with Hillcroft as a healthcare assistant part-time, It'll be six years ago in November. I'd just do half days a couple of days a week, I'd never actually done care before in a professional instance.
So when I first started, due to not knowing the industry and whether I'd fit in and if I could give to the residents what they required I wasn't sure if I'd actually stay within care.
But given the support that I was given through my career, I then went on to full-time healthcare assistant and six years on I didn't think I'd actually get this far. To work my way up from healthcare assistant, to senior and now to training AP, it's just amazing how much you can actually achieve in such a short time.
So Hillcroft approached me about starting the assistant practitioner course two years ago, as I'd shown commitment to the company to see if I wanted to progress my career. They supported me with getting in touch with the university, and then supporting with the extra skills that I required for the assistant practitioner course. All the way through we've had regular meetings and contact through Hillcroft, the directors, my matron, my nurse in charge who's mentored me. I've gone through medication training, observation, training, care planning, risk assessments.
I'm named key worker for a few of the residents and I deal with their day-to-day needs as well. So once I fully complete my AP training, I'm looking at first gaining more skills and competencies to do with hopefully more interventions with residents and service users, and then see how I progress from there, to whether I would then go into being a registered nurse because it is something that I've always well not always wanted to do, especially now through doing this training.
I never thought it would be possible but now I think it could be and it just gives me more of an insight to see what the nurses here do. It's a privilege to work alongside them.
If I was to continue on to being a registered nurse for me being in social care, I can give back more because I've been given the opportunities to further my career and get to know so many people and help so many people. I think my calling is actually staying within the social care sector even though the NHS are amazing at what they do, I believe this is my home.
