Compassionate caregiver a humble leader
Name: Dilshad Amlani
Job Title: Geriatric Nurse working at Little Mountain Place (longterm care facility)
Union: BCNU
When she first joined the BC Nurses’ Union, Dilshad Amlani was content to be a rank & file member and didn’t know much about what trade unionism meant. But an enthusiastic local BCNU leader saw something special in Dilshad and knew she was a diamond in the rough. Dilshad had found her mentor in union activism.
With steady encouragement and support, Dilshad accepted the role of Steward at her workplace and began to take the courses and training modules offered by the BCNU, which she credits for not only making her more effective in the workplace, but what she learned has even had positive effects in other areas of her life.
“As female workers of colour, we can gets used to being really tame and manipulated. Being part of this union really brought me up, so I can fight for what’s right for patients and coworkers alike.”
Even as a little girl in Nairobi, Kenya, Dilshad showed signs of a penchant for caregiving, playing nurse from a tender age. By the time she was in Grade 12, going to study nursing held twice the allure because at that time nurses were paid to learn and work instead of paying tuition. Thus, Dilshad settled into her nursing career at the Aga Khan hospital and nursing school.
Her family was thrilled when she received her 1st nursing degree in 1969 and went on to work at the Kenyan hospital until 1976 as a general nurse, gaining diverse experience in many aspects of her vocation.
When the political climate in Kenya became unstable in the mid-70s, Dilshad emigrated to England and continued her nursing career after re-certifying to practice there. She spent eight years developing her practice working as a psychiatric nurse until 1983 when she married and came to Canada.
Raising a young family initially meant Dilshad could realistically only work part-time, after re-certifying once again. Her first full-time employment in Canada began in 1989 at Little Mountain Place, a long term care facility in Vancouver, and she has worked there ever since.
“I love geriatric nursing. If I could, I would continue geriatric nursing until I myself am geriatric. It’s the satisfaction of knowing that a human being gets old and can’t do certain things, and you help them. You see the connection between yourself becoming old and seeing the elderly you care for becoming old.” Becoming old is like looking into your own end and you become more spiritual.