Kimberley Chetland

Knowing she helps people every single day is the reason Kimberley Chetland loves her work in aged care. "They may not say anything but you just know that in a small way you are helping them, and that’s a nice feeling", she says of her elderly clients. "I love the contact with people".

After completing school, Kimberley harboured an interest in nursing, but was reluctant to commit to the length of a degree course, so she chose the TAFE option. "I decided to do TAFE first and loved it", she says. "The course really suited me and when I found out I liked aged care so much it was a bit of a shock".

Kimberley went on to complete Certificate III in Aged Care. As a local in the Bass coast area, the Wonthaggi campus was convenient, but she had heard through others that it was "a good place to study". After applying, she was even more convinced. "When I had the interview I was really drawn to it", she says. "Everyone was really nice".

She found the teachers extremely helpful and dedicated to their task, Kimberley says. "They were really thorough and always went into extra depth in a subject to make sure we really understood".

The 120 hour work placement Kimberley completed at an aged care facility as part of her course proved invaluable, she says. "You learn about things in the course and sometimes I thought I would freeze or be ‘grossed out’ when I confronted them, but the staff were great and they understand you are a student".

"The work placement was excellent preparation for the real world of work", she adds. "We had to do a lot of things and it really helped".

Kimberley has fully embraced the world of aged care. She now works in two locations: Bass Coast Regional Health and with the Bass Coast Shire, and credits Chisholm staff with getting her both jobs. "A teacher told me about the Shire job and then encouraged me to apply to the hospital, even though they don’t normally take people with just a certificate", she says.

There are also plans to undertake further study. "Hopefully I will do Division 2 Nursing at Gippsland TAFE. They have an alliance with Chisholm and the staff have been very supportive of me wanting to do that".