Deciding to go into the healthcare field is a sure-sign that a person is giving and compassionate. Choosing to work with the elderly is compassion on a whole different level. Acquiring the skills to become a nurse isn’t an easy task and possessing the compassion to work in elder care isn’t something you can learn. It takes a special kind of person but when you take that chance, the rewards are far more than financial. Here are a few of the rewards you’ll achieve by working in a senior living community:

Making a Difference Makes a Different You:

Albert Einstein says, “Only a life lived for others is worth living.” The biggest reward you’ll glean from working in elder care is the satisfaction of knowing you’ve made a positive impact in someone’s life. True, you’ll use your nursing skills working at a clinic or hospital but you get to choose how you interact with a group of people who have shaped the world we all live in. There’s something profoundly powerful about knowing you’ve made a difference in the daily lives of people whose lives we read about. It’s also a way to take a step outside ourselves and focus on someone else. You’ll learn things about yourself you didn’t know. You’ll discover a capacity for kindness that you didn’t possess prior to your experience in elderly care. The people you work with will appreciate even the smallest act of kindness and consideration.

You’ll Learn and Grow Within a Community:

Long-term care facilities like nursing homes are home to a diverse and important group of people. The residents you work with will teach you things and tell you stories you can’t hear anywhere else. The reality is that in the not so distant future, those stories won’t be accessible, those people won’t be available to tell them. You have an opportunity and a privilege to work with people who have lived entire lives by the time you interact with them. The life experiences they’ve had and the lessons they’ve learned are valuable. The residents you meet may have been experts in a field of study or may have a timeless recipe book stored in their minds. They’ve likely learned a thing or two about what’s really important in life and, when you get to know them, they will be more than willing to talk with you about where they’ve been and what they’ve seen.

You also have ample opportunity to grow within the community you work for. There are always options for advancement within a senior living community. You’ll also have the benefit of working within a team of like-minded individuals who have the same compassion you have.

Your willingness to share in this chapter of your residents’ lives is the greatest reward you’ll find. The people you meet and interact with have things to share and are just waiting for someone to listen. You’ll grow, learn, and be challenged and you’ll come out the other end a better person for having had this experience.