When Dayolen Kristnen was a teenager his auntie was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
“In Mauritius, when an elder is unwell, we look after them at home because [residential] aged care isn’t really a thing there,” says Dayolen.
“It came naturally to me to nurse her, to look after her. It was quite a delicate situation, and I remember making it my job to take care of her, and just to be with her.”
Dayolen realised he wanted to become a nurse and moved to Melbourne as a 22-year-old.
In 2018, he graduated with a Master of Clinical Nursing at ACU, which led him to take on several managerial roles in the aged care sector.
Today, Dayolen is the facility manager of mecwacare’s O’Mara House in Traralgon, a city in the Gippsland region of Victoria.
“It’s complex and you have to be meticulous and to think outside the box, but I really love my job,” he says.
Dayolen’s style of empathetic leadership is a good fit at mecwacare. Chief Executive Michele Lewis says he “embodies the mecwacare spirit”.
“With his caring, giving nature and strong leadership skills, [Dayolen] is an excellent guardian of our aged care home in Traralgon,” she says.
Athough he’s come a long way, Dayolen hasn’t forgotten his roots.
“Sometimes those memories do come back,” he says. “If (my auntie) were alive, and she had a chance to see what I was doing with my life, I think she would be proud. Definitely, she would be very, very proud.”
