Unlocking her people and leadership skills: Ex-hairstylist thrives ...

She may have worked as a hairdresser for half her life, but only discovered her true calling when a friend recommended her a role in community care.

Ms Doris Lah, 35, had grown increasingly unhappy with her job, as she had to focus on selling products more than serving customers and didn’t enjoy that. She yearned for a different life and challenge, but didn’t quite know what she could do next.

It was then that a friend, who was working at the All Saints Silver Lifestyle Club @ Yishun Central, recommended that she apply for the role of a community care associate (CCA) with the service provider. Although she had never considered working in community care and was worried that she did not have the necessary qualifications, she seized the opportunity. 

“I mixed with the wrong crowd in my school days and ended up dropping out of school. I was very happy when I got this job because I wasn’t sure if I would be accepted to look after the seniors.”

However, she passed her interview, and joined All Saints Home in January 2020. 

Although she went into the job with no prior experience, she received a comprehensive seven-week training programme. 

She is now trained to deliver basic clinical duties such as administering insulin for diabetic clients, taking blood pressure and ensuring the safe distribution of pre-packed medications. She also learnt how to manage clients with mobility issues and transport them safely. 

Apart from clinical skills, she has also built up her communications skills to interact with different seniors, some of whom may have various health conditions. There are clients who are living with dementia, those who have suffered a stroke, and diabetic individuals, among others. 

Through her time on the job, working with and observing different clients, Ms Lah has also learnt to be attentive to their needs, and adapts the way that she interacts with them accordingly. 

“There is a client who just needs you to hold his hand and walk around together, while another requires that you sit and talk with him,” she says. 

She adds that while she enjoys caring for seniors, working in the community care sector has its unique challenges. For instance, she remembers being very emotional when she heard that one of her first clients had passed away despite seeing him just the day before. 

She has also dealt with disruptive behaviour from people living with dementia. She recalls an incident when a client got agitated and hit her.

Ms Lah has found that empathy is the solution. “I will make them feel that they are loved so they feel comfortable and calm down. You have to be patient, use a gentle voice and be compassionate when talking to them,” shares Ms Lah, who earned a promotion to senior CCA just two years into the job, in February 2022, and now assists the centre supervisor, who leads a team of 18.

Besides learning new skills to be better equipped to handle the challenges that come with eldercare, Ms Lah’s own leadership potential was also unlocked.

She introduced a procedure that halved the time taken to serve meals to the seniors. Meal service times used to take 20 minutes and was a messy affair with staff having to raise their voices to inform the kitchen at the type of meals needed for clients with different dietary needs.  

Upon seeing this, Ms Lah came up with an Excel sheet to plan out the clients with specific diets to be served first. The sheet also indicated that clients with similar dietary requirements should sit together. 

She also reorganised the CCAs' work schedules. The team previously had to carry out a whole range of different duties and staff were unsure which ones to do first. Ms Lah implemented a roster which saw certain CCAs complete one type of task first before moving on to the next. 

In addition, she set up a separate team to work with an occupational therapist to plan activities that were safe for the clients to participate in. 

Besides improving work processes, Ms Lah also discovered a change in herself. The career switch has made her much kinder and patient. For instance, she said that she used to speak harshly and directly to people but has now learnt to listen more and be more considerate of others’ feelings before she speaks – a change that even her friends have commented on. 

She is glad that she took on the role and encourages those interested in joining the community care sector to come with an open mind. 

“We are here to make our clients feel happy and safe, and it’s great when you develop a special bond with those you care for,” she says. “It’s also a nice feeling when they treat you nicely in return and tell me that I made their day. It makes me feel that I have done the right thing.”