Healthcare assistant’s switch from cuisine to caregiving

Studying to be a healthcare assistant was not how Ryan Sampson ever pictured himself. But when the former chef spent months looking after his terminally ill wife, he discovered a newfound gift of empathy for the vulnerable as well as for giving clinical and personal cares.

“I never would have thought I’d have chosen something like this. But it feels very natural,” says Ryan, who has nearly completed the New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Level 3).

He decided to enrol in the course after reflecting on possible work options, after his wife passed away a year ago. As dad to boys aged 10 and 15, he could see the life of a professional chef was not going to be sustainable with long hours and late shifts.

Ryan, who is Australian, was encouraged by several of his in-laws from this region who work in the medical sector to try the healthcare assistant path having observed his capability in caring for Ebony, who required hospital level care.

“I hadn’t thought too much about it, but I enrolled anyway,” he says. “A year ago, I wouldn’t have thought of doing this but the support from friends and whānau gave me the confidence. I’ve still got 20+ years of working life, and I figured ‘why not?’”

“Seeing what Ebony went through and knowing there are people everywhere who don’t have friends and whānau but who need that care – I just wanted to help people. It’s changed my whole perspective on a lot of stuff.”

Life experience and listening skills

Returning to study after leaving school aged 16 to pursue his chef dream felt like a bold move and has had its challenges. But thanks to the teamwork culture in class, Ryan’s been able to stay on top of the computer-based assignments and group presentations.

An advantage of being a mature student is sharing life skills and experiences that complement the practical and clinical training, he says.

Study has also helped him with grieving by getting him out of the house. “It’s really helped me get my life in order, given me focus and structure so I can carry on. I’m a firm believer that things will work out.”

After 28 years as a professional chef in Australia and New Zealand – starting with cafes and hotels in Sydney then cooking for Prime Ministers in Parliament House in Canberra (including current PM Anthony Albanese) – his new path couldn’t be more of a contrast.

“Being an HCA [healthcare assistant] is not one of those jobs you do just to have a job; you have to actually want to help people and have that sense of empathy and get on the level of the person [you are caring for] - and they’re all different.”

Grumpy to grinning - a calling for caring

Ryan has already been offered a job at the rest home where he’s been on a placement, but his longer-term goal is to do the Level 4 Healthcare Assistant programme.

Aimed at those who want to enter the care-giving sector (aged care facilities, hospitals, doctors’ surgeries and in-home care), the Level 3 programme is his pathway. “The course is mainly centred on caring for the elderly, but I’ve realised I want to work in mental health and with younger people with disabilities who need that help.”

Ryan has enjoyed the rapport he’s built with some of the elderly he’s cared for on rest home placement, in particular a woman with dementia who’d been uncommunicative and refusing to eat breakfast until she saw Ryan again after his three-week break.

“Being a chef was very rewarding when people like your food and you get all that positive feedback. I seem to have found another career that’s very rewarding. If you can put a smile on the face of an 80-year-old who’s always grumpy, that’s cool as well.”

“You can learn the practical stuff but caring for someone – you’ve got it, or you don’t. You can’t really teach empathy or how to be a good listener.”

Caption: Ryan Sampson practising taking blood pressure on a medical mannequin at the WITT nursing simulation centre.