For many healthcare professionals, working in the field can be demanding but is very rewarding – and that’s the same case for this week’s Sprott Shaw Hero, Kayla Hanak.
As someone who deeply cares for others, Kayla has always enjoyed making a difference in other people’s lives and seeing them get the help they need and deserve. Interestingly for her, working in healthcare was not always her goal nor even a thought at certain points in her life, but as she says, “life has a funny way of guiding you towards what you are meant to do.”
To start her career in healthcare, Kaya studied and graduated from the Health Care Assistant (HCA) Program at our Penticton campus in 2019.
Hired Immediately After Graduation as a Health Care Assistant
Last September, after graduating from the Health Care Assistant Program, Kayla was immediately hired at Good Samaritan Village by the Station in Penticton. At the residential care centre, Kayla works as a casual Health Care Assistant, which means that she works all types of shifts and all over the building including complex care, dementia cottages, and assisted living.
For Kayla, every day at work starts by hitting the ground running with the tasks and duties she’s responsible for. On a day-to-day basis, she helps the residents with their care – and this often includes assisting with their meals and baths, doing their laundry, administering medication, stocking rooms with necessary supplies, and much more. To make sure that every resident is attended to and cared for accordingly, she does all this in collaboration with her team members.
Working in healthcare, Kayla loves making a difference in the lives of the residents she works with. As she says, “it’s always such an honour to see a smile on their faces, and [know] they are in good hands.” She also feels that her residents truly appreciate every task she helps them with, so she returns the favour by taking the time to learn more about them and their preferences to make them feel at home.
From her year of work experience, Kayla notes that, “it takes a lot of patience and compassion to do this job. If you are willing and wanting to make a difference every day, I would highly recommend this as a career. This is not for the faint of heart, this job will have you mentally and physically exhausted every single day. But it is worth it when you hear a resident kindly say, ‘thank you,’ and when you see them smile and you get to laugh with them. When you get to know your residents who have responsive behaviours, and learn what helps them feel at ease and what helps [prevent] those moments, it’s almost like finding that long lost piece of a puzzle, and only you could find it.”
Healthcare Training at Sprott Shaw
For Kayla, studying at Sprott Shaw was the right decision for her. During her time at Sprott Shaw, the instructors and staff members played a huge roll in every students’ success – including hers. Kayla says that the instructors, “guided, encouraged, and believed in [her] even when she didn’t believe in [herself].”
As one last note, Kayla says, “I just want to thank every healthcare worker out there for all the hard work they are putting in, especially this year. No one said it was going to be easy or this difficult. Thank you for caring for all the ones in need at such a difficult time! You are not unnoticed!”
At Sprott Shaw, we are proud to have healthcare heroes like Kayla fighting on the frontlines, so thank you, Kayla, for all your dedication and hard work!
