When May Reid retired from the NHS after 26 years in 2019, she wasn’t ready to stop working completely. In fact, she knew exactly where she wanted to be.
In life, it is amazing how often we hear of people coming ‘full circle’ and back to where it all began. May Reid, a staff nurse at Balhousie Wheatlands care home in Bonnybridge, is a perfect example.
Beginning her nursing journey in 1985 as a Nursing Assistant working with people with learning disabilities, May, who is Bonnybridge born-and-bred, went on to study nursing at Forth Valley College. During her training, she picked up care shifts at Wheatlands.
“I instantly loved working with older people,” says May. “It’s a similar feeling to working with people with learning disabilities in that you have to be patient, and have a lot of understanding and compassion.”
Once May qualified, she worked as a Staff Nurse at Falkirk Royal in a medical ward then went onto specialise in Radiology before finishing her NHS career as a Charge Nurse at Forth Valley Royal Hospital. Throughout her career, she never forgot her time working at Wheatlands.
“When I retired, I always planned to go back to Wheatlands,” explains May. “At 55, it felt too early to retire so I just went down to Wheatlands, rang the doorbell and asked for an application form. I was welcomed back with open arms. It felt a bit like coming home.”
“At Wheatlands, It’s homely – it feels like a person’s home. It feels like family. The residents and staff are lovely. Today, there’s lots of care homes looking for staff, but I couldn’t go anywhere else. In a way, I never really left.”
Now working part-time, May is thriving being back nursing in a care home environment. “Care home nursing is a very different type of nursing from general nursing. Isn’t like being in the hospital where doctors are always on-hand. In a care home, the nurses are in charge and making difficult decisions. The nursing team here at Wheatlands are very good at asking each other for advice and sharing our ideas and experiences.”
Having found a perfect work-life balance working two shifts a week, May believes many nurses who are retiring would get a lot of joy from bringing their experience to care homes. “It’s very worthwhile. It’s a rewarding job, keeps your mind active and is a great way to keep your nursing registration active after you retire. The hours are really flexible, so you can fit shifts to suit your circumstances.”
Amazingly, since coming back, May has been working with another nurse, Helen McIntyre, who was the matron at Wheatlands and mentored May when she was training. “It really is like going full circle,” says May. She’s back wher
When May Reid retired from the NHS after 26 years in 2019, she wasn’t ready to stop working completely. In fact, she knew exactly where she wanted to be.
In life, it is amazing how often we hear of people going ‘full circle’ and back to where it all began. May Reid, a staff nurse at Balhousie Wheatlands care home in Bonnybridge, is a perfect example.
Beginning her nursing journey in 1985 as a Nursing Assistant working with people with learning disabilities, May, who is Bonnybridge born-and-bred, went on to study nursing at Forth Valley College. During her training, she picked up care shifts at Wheatlands.
“I instantly loved working with older people,” says May. “It’s a similar feeling to working with people with learning disabilities in that you have to be patient, and have a lot of understanding and compassion.”
Once May qualified, she worked as a Staff Nurse at Falkirk Royal in a medical ward then went onto specialise in Radiology before finishing her NHS career as a Charge Nurse at Forth Valley Royal Hospital. Throughout her career, she never forgot her time working at Wheatlands.
“When I retired, I always planned to go back to Wheatlands,” explains May. “At 55, it felt too early to retire so I just went down to Wheatlands, rang the doorbell and asked for an application form. I was welcomed back with open arms. It felt a bit like coming home.”
“At Wheatlands, It’s homely – it feels like a person’s home. It feels like family. The residents and staff are lovely. Today, there’s lots of care homes looking for staff, but I couldn’t go anywhere else. In a way, I never really left.”
Now working part-time, May is thriving being back nursing in a care home environment. “Care home nursing is a very different type of nursing from general nursing. Isn’t like being in the hospital where doctors are always on-hand. In a care home, the nurses are in charge and making difficult decisions. The nursing team here at Wheatlands are very good at asking each other for advice and sharing our ideas and experiences.”
Having found a perfect work-life balance working two shifts a week, May believes many nurses who are retiring would get a lot of joy from bringing their experience to care homes. “It’s very worthwhile. It’s a rewarding job, keeps your mind active and is a great way to keep your nursing registration active after you retire. The hours are really flexible, so you can fit shifts to suit your circumstances.”
Amazingly, since coming back, May has been working with another nurse, Helen McIntyre, who was the matron at Wheatlands and mentored May when she was training. “It really is like going full circle,” says May. She’s back where her nursing journey began – and loving every minute.
Balhousie Care Group has nursing opportunities across its 26 homes. Email careers@balhousiecare.co.uke her nursing journey began – and loving every minute.
Balhousie Care Group has nursing opportunities across its 26 homes. Email careers@balhousiecare.co.uk
