Jobs and Careers Autumn 2019 - 207

For any young and aspiring nurses out there,
Sam's long and distinctive career has taught her
that caring for older people is an exceptionally
rewarding environment in which to drive your
career. "Care homes have come a long way, with
environments that are dynamic and allow for
autonomy," Sam says. "Recently, I have watched
three out of a group of five people become
nurses after visiting us at weekends from college
and undertaking a year-long work experience
placement. Hearing that they chose caring
for older people as their next step was a real
source of pride for me." And, there's plenty of
opportunity for everyone else - team members
can progress their career to take on broader
senior management roles, whilst remaining
involved in the clinical side of work.
From another perspective, Owen Mbulo has
been a nurse at Gracewell of High Wycombe
for nearly two years. The care home provides
high quality, personalised residential, nursing,
dementia and respite care to residents, with
their individual needs in mind.
He decided to become a nurse after realising
that he had always looked for ways to help
other people. His initial motivation was to help
other children and growing up in Zambia,
where he saw many other children suffer, this
sparked Owen's desire to give something back.
He recognises, his career in nursing has
developed greatly. After starting as a general
nurse, he worked his way up to the position
of nursing home manager, having undertaken
an array of nursing-related training opportunities
to give him a broader understanding of
the sector.
Owen feels similarly: "I have met so many
wonderful people as a nurse and knowing that
I have made a difference to their lives is the
part I always enjoy the most."
He says that nursing within a care home
is exciting because "it has given me the
opportunity to practice independently
and competently, whilst practicing lots of
clinical skills, all within a lively and homely
environment." Gracewell specifically is a great
place to work "because of its lovely facilities
for residents, staff and visitors and a good team
and management who are easily approachable
and supporting."

Owen Mbulo,
a nurse at Gracewell
Owen recognises that things that benefit
Gracewell employees include competitive pay,
a modern work environment, holidays and
flexibility. "As an organisation," he says, "Gracewell
has standardised care plans and you can easily
work in any of their care homes thanks to the
structure and well organised systems in place."
Like Sunrise, Gracewell also provide national
standards training for staff to enable career
development.
Amidst all of this, it is of course worth noting
that Owen is a successful and passionate man
in the nursing and care sector.

As Owen recognises, "although nursing
is a very female-dominated career,
there are so many budding male
nurses out there who can receive
all the support they need at a
well-established organisation like
Gracewell, especially as male nurses
are always needed just as much!"
For more information
Visit http://www.sunrise-team.co.uk
or http://gracewell-team.co.uk
http://www.sunrise-team.co.uk http://gracewell-team.co.uk
Jobs and Careers Autumn 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Jobs and Careers Autumn 2019
