Michelle’s career journey with the hospice
For as long as she can remember, Michelle Ayling’s passion has been for nursing. When she began her nurse training at the age of 18, she realised that she wanted to work in palliative care. So it was a dream come true for Michelle when she was offered a job as a Registered Nurse at Rowcroft Hospice in 2008. Since that time, and with the support of the learning and development available to her, Michelle has continually built her skills and knowledge, gained extensive experience, and we’re thrilled that she’s now our new Inpatient Unit Manager.
A supportive team
“I remember starting on the ward and being made so welcome by a very close supportive team,” says Michelle. “From the moment I joined Rowcroft, I absolutely loved working here and still do today, 14 years later. I have learnt so much about complex symptom management, end-of-life care, and supporting both patients and families. This learning has come from our expert nursing team and medical staff as well as training courses to broaden my knowledge. Rowcroft as an employer really does support career progression and over very recent times, has invested in its staff and education to ensure we maintain high professional standards of care.”
Career progression
“During my time at Rowcroft I progressed to a band 6 (Rowcroft Band E) Deputy Manager of the Inpatient Unit (IPU) and through the support and development that Rowcroft provided, I felt confident and able to progress further in my career to my new position as the IPU Manager. This gives me the exciting opportunity to develop the IPU team and lead the team into the future to continue to provide the complex symptom control and end-of-life care to our patients. This is a very exciting time to step up into this role at Rowcroft as we begin our plans to develop the IPU for the future, which includes investing in our people.”
The best things about working for Rowcroft
“No single day in the Inpatient Unit is ever the same as the next, and I love that I am supporting and managing a team whilst also still delivering patient care. We are a close team and we support each other as needed in so many ways and have wider support available to us. We couldn’t do this job without the whole team and the support we give each other. Every single person is an essential part of the vital care we provide.”
A professional culture of learning and development
“Rowcroft is very supportive of career progression and is keen to invest in employees. This is one of the reasons I have been able to progress to my current position in an environment which I am very passionate about. Rowcroft encourages staff to develop in many different ways with formal and informal training opportunities, building skills and confidence in end-of-life care, and supporting your individual career path. Personally, the opportunity of developing my management skills through coaching and our development programme, along with the close support of the team around me will be invaluable in supporting me to deliver in this new role.”
Other blogs from Rowcroft
- Find out about Careers at Rowcroft
- Learn about what our clinical teams say about working for Rowcroft
- 40 years of caring for patients and families
- End-of-life care on the night shift