Healthcare assistant shares festive spirit with clients

Health and Wellbeing

Monika Manu sees her career as an opportunity to bring happiness and joy to her clients’ lives.

Christmas is a particularly special time for the New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing – Health Assistance Strand (Level 3) graduate, as she cherishes the festive celebrations she engages in with the clients in her workplace.

“Each year we take part in many wonderful activities on Christmas day. In the morning we help our clients to dress up so they feel elegant and festive – ready for the celebrations ahead. We also participate in an arts and crafts session to create our own decorations for the Christmas tree, and bake fruit cakes together.

“At lunch time we share a delicious meal, welcoming our clients’ family members to join us in celebration. We hold performances to entertain everyone, and hand out gifts and Christmas cards signed by staff. With the assistance of our activities coordinator I usually dress up in a fun outfit and play music, encouraging everyone to sing along and dance with me.”

This year, Monika is in charge of choosing a special theme for the Christmas festivities.

“As something a bit different, we will be celebrating a ‘Cultural Christmas’. Staff will dress up in beautiful cultural clothing and perform traditional Christmas songs and dances.”

Providing emotional support to her clients is something Monika particularly treasures during the holiday season.

“As healthcare assistants, we are the faces our clients see the most, so we have the opportunity to build up therapeutic relationships with them. It’s extremely important to me to spend one-on-one time with our clients during this time of the year; making sure they feel loved and cared for – especially as some may not have family or friends of their own.

“The clients love the engagement with everyone, and the overall spirit of Christmas that we strive to instill in our workplace. Special times like this show that we are one big family, and that makes me feel as though I am truly succeeding as a carer.”