Dream. Believe. Achieve.

Categories: People & Places.

Many young people are faced with decisions in life. Some are confident in their career paths where some are still deciding but for 23 year old Gereldine – she is confident and has direction in life in wanting to become a nurse.

On 29 August 2016, she will be with Boland Hospice for a year. Jokingly she says that she is still very “fresh” but the compassion and experience she has encountered thus far has been priceless! Growing up in Worcester with 4 sisters, she studied a Home Based Care course with the intention of working with people. “I love working with people and I feel that there so much knowledge one can learn from each other.” she said.

Her typical average day starts at 7:00am in the morning, taking over from the night shift staff who hands over their patient duties for further intervention. The first thing we do is to ensure that patients are bathed and fed and attend to their individual needs. Some patients enjoy being outside while others prefer to be indoors in front of the television. Although she did a one year Home Based Care course, Gereldine feels that there is so much more she can learn. It is at hospice that she is learning to get the Palliative Care “hands on” experience approach.

There are special occasions that takes place at our In Patient Unit as many patients don’t often receive visitors. Offenders from the Brandvlei Correctional Services often visit patients where they sing, bring gifts and spend some time with patients which is so much appreciated. On a Sunday, pastors often visit to pray for patients and spend time with them as well. This really makes me feel good as I see how much compassion there is not only with staff but community members as well.

Asking her what her future plans are? “I am very young and would like to study further and pursue my dream of becoming a nurse. I do believe I can achieve anything in life if I put my mind to it!” she stated.

To learn more about Boland Hospice, click here

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *