Ashlee McGlashan loves interacting with elderly residents in her job as a retirement village manager

Ashlee McGlashan loves working with the elderly in her position as a retirement village manager.

THE JOB

As a retirement village manager, I ...

• am an advocate for my residents.
• oversee the daily running of a retirement village – coordinating and organising contractors and ensuring maintenance jobs are completed.
• assist the residents on their journey and giving them the right information and advice on their care journey, whether it be home care, respite, or residential care.
• hold monthly meetings with all residents.

THE PATH My study history started back in 2011 when I went to university to study a bachelor of commerce (a double major in human resources (HR) and management). After university, I decided to start a career in HR and after a short period of time, I found out this industry wasn’t for me.

I wanted to work in a community service industry and applied for a care manager role in home care in 2014. Since my first job in aged care, I have worked as a regional manager for home care, a sales manager (looking after a team of eight people), managing a short-term restorative care program partnering with Medibank, and a village manager. I found the more “I climbed the ladder” in my career, the more disconnected I became from the people we support. This was the reason I requested a role back in the community as a village manager, so I could be back in a supporting role.

THE GOOD

Knowing that you are making a difference in someone’s life is truly the most rewarding part of our role. I love working with the elderly. They are lovely, generous, caring and there’s a lot we can learn from them.

THE BAD

There are constant legislative changes in aged care, whether it’s about new laws to improve seniors’ experience of living in and leaving a village, or for a new funding model in aged care, which provides increased transparency and accountability.

They can be challenging to manage so it’s really important to be resilient in keeping up with the changes. I don’t necessarily see this as “the bad” as I believe the changes are made for a better consumer model of aged care and will ultimately benefit our residents.

THE FUTURE

I think it’s important for village managers to understand all facets of aged care and therefore, to be a part of our residents’ care journey from the start to the end. Providing them with the continuum of care is important in supporting them as they age, and ensure they feel safe and supported.

We build a lot of trust with our residents and sometimes they will only open up to us about their struggles. It’s important we can give them the right information or refer them to someone who can.