When I first decided to make an important change in my life and go back to school, I was unsure where I was headed but I knew it would be somewhere in the medical field. I spent hours trying to find a college that suited the demanding needs of a family and a busy home life. I sent in requests to so many places but there was only one that contacted me almost immediately. The energy and excitement from the voice on the other end of the phone calling me in to discuss my future was like a breath of fresh air.
During my initial meeting, there was never a question left unanswered. They didn’t just want to know “what” I wanted to do with my future they wanted to know about “me”. Every decision made was worked around myself as a person and my needs and wants. I entered the school to become a Health Care Assistant.
Clinical, boy those will rattle your nerves the first couple days. But of course, we step back and remember the WWDD of theory. Which makes us all stop, take a deep breath, focus, smile stupidly and think “What Would Dianne Do” we had such a personal hands-on experience that just the silly abbreviation of thinking like our instructor could smooth and pacify any storm we felt we were facing. The hands-on experience was phenomenal, each facility with its own challenges and strengths, being able to show each of our residents the compassion and heart we had of our own was an experience like no other I have ever had. The importance of something so simple as a touch and eye contact can change an entire person’s day. Everyone is so busy trying to “fix” people that the concept of listening has been lost. People just want to be heard, they want to feel acknowledged and I now have the opportunity to provide that. There is no greater gift than to know you made one person’s day, bringing a smile to ten or twenty people’s faces is great but it’s not about quantity it’s about quality.
I started out at Sprott Shaw as a nervous quiet and soft-spoken person. My self-image was a low one and I spent most of my time worrying about whether or not I was getting it right and I always questioned my own knowledge base. My Instructor is one of the most truly amazing and profound women I know. There was never a day the instructors and staff of Sprott Shaw weren’t smiling or laughing, it wasn’t just a school, it was my second home except with homework and exams. I had some struggles and road bumps on my journey and everyone was there with a helping hand to get me through it, even when I thought I didn’t need it, they were there and gave the extra push. Most schools don’t care if you show up, they don’t care if you pass or fail. Sprott Shaw cares, each staff member cares and wants you to succeed. I was fortunate enough to be able to witness the amazing compassion and heart from each of them. They are not there because it’s their job, they are there because it’s their heart to teach and I could not have gained knowledge from better people than that. My instructor always told me it’s not us it’s all you, you know this. Though as much as what she says is true, I am a firm believer that any student is only as good as the Instructor teaching them and with Sprott Shaw you get the best. One of my amazing instructors from the first day told us all “We can’t teach you compassion, that comes from your heart” and truer words couldn’t have been spoken, they may not be able to teach it to us, but she sure showed it to us every single day we stepped foot on that campus and that compassion carried on when ventured into clinical.
Sprott Shaw has taught me that being task-oriented is only good for you, but what about the other people around you. If I can make a difference in even one person’s life, my day is truly amazing and I am so thankful that Sprott Shaw gave me the opportunity to have the gift of being able to give that to another person no matter what age or condition. Thank you Sprott Shaw, I started out as a scared, timid person and I have graduated with so much pride, confidence and fulfillment that I could never truly express. But I can show it every day by applying all that knowledge base you’ve given me and make a difference in someone’s life. And thanks to my hard work as well as yours, I was fortunate enough to have a job waiting for me before I even graduated.
Aly W.
Health Care Assistant Program
Penticton Campus
