Meet Rafidah Rafid, Head of Home at Pertapis Senior Citizens Fellowship Home (PSCFH). As a young leader and mum, she aspires to empower and nurture our residents to live a meaningful and dignified life.
Q & A with Rafidah Rafid
What is your role and how did you find your way to your current role at Pertapis?
I am the Head of Home and my role is to manage and oversee the operations of the Home to ensure that it is a safe and conducive environment for my residents to live in and for my staff to work and nurture. My role is also to set directions and guide the team to grow the Home for our residents holistic well-being.
When I was studying Gerontological Management Studies with Temasek Polytechnic, my passion developed in the elderly sector. I remember back then after I graduated, I struggled to find a career in the elderly sector as most of them require experienced staff. I was blessed that I met a friend in my previous workplace that recommended me to work in Pertapis as we were sharing our interest and expertise during our networking sessions. In 2016, I started as a Programme Coordinator for about a year and with the management's guidance and support, I was promoted to Deputy Head of Home in 2017 and recently, I am given the opportunity to take up a new role as Head of Home, PSCFH.
What does a typical workday look for you?
A typical workday for myself includes interesting segments such as interactions, meetings, paperwork and consultations.
My day commence with interactions with my staff followed by greeting my residents while doing my rounds. Then, I will refer to the communication book and acknowledge or work on any matters that staff has raised. Thereafter, I will be checking my emails and responding to stakeholders and attend to meetings.
I always have something new to learn, experience and connections made in a typical workday.
Is there anything about your job that you find challenging and how do you work through it?
As a Head of Home, I find it challenging when I have to manage very packed schedule of back to back meetings or audit, reports, etc. to be submitted and I have minimal interaction for the day with the residents or staff. This is a challenge as sometimes my residents or staff would want to speak to me but I am not able to attend to them immediately, and this does affect me sometimes. However, I manage this by spending some time after work to interact with them.
I also find it challenging to attract young talents to this sector.
"I believe young talents are crucial in this industry to help the sector grow towards the future of ageing. It will be great to have passionate young individuals to join the team."
It is a challenge to balance being young leader and mum. However, I have good support from my family and colleagues that makes it manageable.
Taking up this leadership role, what are your aspirations for the Home/ Pertapis?
I am grateful for the opportunity given. Being the Head of Home is a huge responsibility that I have been entrusted to. I aspire for PSCFH to adopt emerging technology trends such as utilising Artificial Intelligence, forging various partnerships and improving clinical and non-clinical aspects of care to provide the holistic needs for our seniors. I also aspire for the staff to be equipped with relevant skills and training to grow the home towards the future of ageing.
I hope to empower and nurture our residents to live a meaningful and dignified life.
What's something most people don’t know about you?
I love watching science fictional and Bollywood movies. Also, I love to bake!
Get to know more of our passionate and incredible employees at #lifeatPERTAPIS and learn how you can be part of the team!