Margreet 10 years at KinderThuisZorg
''Actually, you never stand still and it remains fascinating.''
What makes working at KinderThuisZorg so special to you?
What makes working at Children's Home Care so special to me is that no two days look alike. And have been for the past 10 years. You come into contact with different children and families, disciplines, teachers, schools and hospitals. And of course not to forget the colleagues from the team, main region, national and from the
service bureau. You will visit different places in your own region, but sometimes also outside of it. You keep developing yourself continuously to provide the right qualitative care. In fact, you never stand still and it remains fascinating.
What's the funniest thing you've experienced?
The funniest thing I have experienced is going with a child in care to the movies. I went along for the care she needed at that time. We had the greatest fun in the cinema. It was great to see her eyes light up and hear her laughter at the great movie and our shared jokes.
What is the saddest thing you have experienced?
The saddest are the children we have to say goodbye to in this life. Sometimes you have such a good contact with the child and the family that it feels like personal loss. You yourself are then saddened by the death of the child.
Besides the sadness, it also gives f i yne energy. You have very special conversations, special moments, that give me so much learning that I can't get from literature. It gives broadening in my life which also makes it so beautiful.
What important knowledge and experience do you take away from these 10 years?
The most important knowledge and experience from the past 10 years I was able to gain during the college nursing course I took in Nijmegen. It was an instructive time in which I learned to look at healthcare and myself in a different way. This made me more self-confident and I look critically at healthcare and at myself. I stand for quality care and want to put it into practice.
When is a day of work successful for you?
A day of work is successful for me when I can put a smile on the face of
the child, even if the care is sometimes so unpleasant. And when the child and the family are happy with the care Kinder Thuis Zorg provides. We do it together and that's what makes it so nice. In addition, the day is also successful when we have improved the care, in whatever way. It always remains a challenge to provide the best care and that keeps me on my toes and I love that!
Look back to when you started here. Who were you as a person then and who are you now?
Looking back to the beginning of my career at Children's Home Care and now I see that I have never stood still. I have continued to develop and this was made possible within Children's Home Care. This has made me an enthusiastic person with a lot of knowledge and experience.
I am open to new developments and challenges. As of 2021, I have the role of learning coach in addition to the pediatric nursing profession. In this role, I may guide/coach professionals in training ( PIO' s) to become a pediatric nurse. This also keeps me abreast of new developments and in addition, it keeps you young because the PIOs infect you with their enthusiasm.
What are the biggest changes you've experienced in care recently?
One of the biggest changes within care is the self-direction that we encourage in the child and family. We take it for granted that we also go back out of care and that was different 10 years ago. This makes that care is used in a different way: more efficient and appropriate to the child and family themselves. Another big change is the way we approach the child. We do not perform coercive care. We teach skills needed to keep medical operations in children trauma-free. This may be the most beautiful development of the last 10 years. This development puts a smile on my face.
What has kept you loyal to KinderThuisZorg year after year?
To me, Kinder Thuis Zorg is an organization that is open to development. Indeed, one that makes the developments itself. We go and stand for the best care. We all remain critical in this. Even when you are not doing well. Then Kinder Thuis Zorg is there for you. This has made me work for 10 years now at this beautiful organization.
How do you see yourself in 10 years?
In 10 years I hope to be providing child care in Spain. I hope that we will not only be proud of our own care in the Netherlands but also in Spain. That the KTZ cars will be recognizable on the highways in Europe. And that besides our nice cars there will also be a children's ambulance from KinderThuisZorg driving around. I also hope that the digital age will ensure that the layers between the various organizations will have disappeared so that we can communicate directly with those/specialists we need at that moment for the child and its family.
What else should we know about you?
You should know that I love my job. That I am very proud to work at Children's Home Care. I regularly proclaim how proud I am of our beautiful pediatric nursing profession/profession/organization. Craftsmanship is mastery. That applies to us as well.
