Danielle initially thought her passion lay in childcare, but after realising that role wasn’t for her, she found her true calling in adult social care. She’s always been a naturally caring person and is urging people with a similar personality to discover the job for themselves.
“After school, I went to college to do my SVQ2 and 3 in childcare but as I got further and further down the line with that, I realised it wasn’t what I wanted to do.
“I really wanted to care for other people as I felt I had natural qualities and experience suited to that. Growing up, my stepdad and gran needed extra support so I had to be quite mature early on in life. My mum was a single parent before she met my stepdad so I’ve always been used to supporting others.
“I started my caring career in a ‘care in the community’ role and have worked for the past five years in a care home where I’ve been helping people with complex needs. To begin with, I was quite scared of palliative (end of life) care and helping people with dementia as I didn’t properly understand it. However, one of the great things about this role is the training on offer, so I’ve been able to learn more about dementia and how to help those who have the disease. This means I can also be of support to families who are learning about the dementia as their loved one experiences it.
“There can be the assumption that all you do is clean up after people. It’s not that way at all. I always think to myself, how would I look after my own gran and I realise the importance of what I’m doing.
“You really can make someone’s day just by giving them a hug or sitting down with them for a meal.”
Danielle’s advice to people looking to apply for an adult social care position:
“To be successful in a caring role, I believe you have to actually want to care for and help other people. You have to be interested and willing to learn. If you have these qualities, there’s a host of opportunities available to you and I really can’t think of a better job.”
