From paralegal to care manager

For Rachel, Care Manager at Mandurah Coast Care Community in Western Australia, a career move to the aged care sector was driven by a heightened sense of meaning.

“I’d worked as a paralegal for 20 years, so it was a big change,” explains Rachel. “When I returned to Australia after several years in the UK, I found my role didn’t exactly fit with what I wanted, or my family responsibilities. And when I weighed up a career change, I knew I wanted to give back to the community. That prompted me to do a Bachelor of Nursing degree at Murdoch University.”

Rachel began her new career as a registered nurse and progressed to clinical nurse and acting care manager roles. She then joined our Mandurah Coast Care Community team where she added ‘leader’ to her career story.

Stepping up with our Opal HealthCare Academy

We launched our Opal HealthCare Academy in 2019 to address the need for capable and competent aged care workers who can deliver the highest standard of care. Our Leadership school is one of six schools of education in the Academy. Rachel can attest to the value of our Emerging Leader Program.

“One of the most important insights of the program for me was an understanding of my leadership style and how I can best engage with people,” says Rachel.

“It helped me with my self-awareness and ability to grow as a leader; recognising the example I can set as Care Manager. The program outlined the importance of my role in fostering a positive culture and ensuring our team is valued and supported.”

A supportive team

The support of team members and fellow leaders has been invaluable for Rachel.

“My general manager, Katy, has been so supportive throughout,” says Rachel. “And that’s been the case for all of us on the Emerging Leaders Program;" working together, sharing feedback and learning from each other has been a real highlight.”

“I love engaging with our residents and their families, working with our team to make sure everyone’s supported and can live well at our Care Community.”