Hi everyone. My name is Jed Montayre. I am a young registered nurse specialising in gerontology. I want to share my story about how I became actively involved in promoting and supporting nurses’ passion for aged care nursing.

I started working here in New Zealand for an aged care facility. I am originally from the Philippines, where we don’t or rarely have rest homes and aged care facilities like what we have here in New Zealand.

Looking after older people is not new to me, however aged care nursing in an institutionalised setting is something I needed to learn. At first, I did not like my job, as I always compared myself to other nurses and friends working in other areas, which they considered to be more technical and claimed as the ‘real’ kind of nursing. Additionally, with my unfamiliarity to aged care nursing sector, I felt left out with my practice.

I work in a dementia unit. One morning shift, I found myself, with other staff, trying to pacify a gentleman’s aggressive behaviour primarily caused by his dementia. This happened in 2011, and dementia is not a new condition at all but it was that day I discovered how nursing and caregiving staff struggle; stressing themselves out about patients and their family (who are sometimes to be found arguing with their relatives with dementia). I realised at that point that there is a need for increasing awareness in understanding dementia, not only as a disease process, but also the responses and effects it has on family members and staff.

My passion for aged care grew even more when I felt the value of nurses in educating family members and assisting them to understand about the dementia that their relative has. Being able to work with the family in outlining an individualised care plan for a patient is one the strengths I have developed. I learned to explore the beautiful times dementia patients lived or had in the past and utilised that as part of their care to pacify behaviours, assessing triggers to behaviours and most importantly, promoting quality of life.

One day I received a card from one of my patient’s relatives saying “Thank you for helping me understand my husband’s condition. Acceptance is not that easy, but it would have been so much harder if you hadn’t help me see what to expect and how to make the best out of his remaining days”.

I feel I have a place and a vital role to fulfil, and I take it with me every day in my life as a nurse.
I always share my experience in aged care with new nurses and nursing students. I believe each field of nursing practice has an equal contribution to safe and quality care. Above all, whichever field nurses decide to specialise, there is one component that is common to everyone - it’s the compassionate nursing ‘care’ which makes nursing a uniquely noble profession that makes the difference in health care.