Why did you choose to work for Waverley Care?
I am a qualified nurse and had been working in the oncology department at the Western General Hospital looking after patients receiving chemo and radiotherapy and also patients who were palliative. I loved this work but it frustrated me that there was never enough time on the busy acute ward to support people to deal with what they were going through. I decided to do the mental health nurse training with a view to working in palliative care once I qualified. I assumed that this would mainly be nursing people who had cancer but a couple of things happened to change that. Firstly, I found out that someone very close to me had HIV and he passed away within a few months. At the same time I saw the advert for a staff nurse position at Milestone House which, at the time, was ‘Scotland’s only AIDS hospice’, and applied for the job…and 24yrs later I am still here.
Tell us about life before Waverley Care.
This is where you can share any personal/professional background information e.g. where you’re from, previous jobs etc. This question is optional for all staff.
What do you most enjoy about working with Waverley Care?
This is where you can share what gives you meaning, purpose or fulfillment from your work at Waverley Care. I can’t imagine any other job where I am lucky enough to see the difference we make to people every day.
What do you do in your spare time?
This is where you can share a little more about you personally, such as interests, hobbies, volunteer work. I’m quite boring really. It’s the simple things in life that keep me going. Spending time with family and friends, reading, singing going to the movies and knitting.
Who inspires you?
This is where you can share who inspires you and why e.g. service users, activists, artists, colleagues, authors, public figures. Staff can also include a quote from someone here. I find myself inspired by people all the time. Seeing people striving to get to where they want to be and overcoming obstacles that get in the way never fails to move me. I’m also inspired by people who are able to see the positives in a situation as I find it very difficult to be around Lastly I am inspired by my colleagues. They are a fantastic bunch of folk from very different backgrounds with different skills and experiences but all totally committed to their role, the organisation and to the people we support.