After finishing Seventh Form, and with no career plans in mind, Sam Langton decided his best option was to take a gap year and get work experience. “I heard there was a job going at the local hospital for an orderly, so I applied and got an interview,” he says. 

Sam landed the job and is now close to the end of his three-month training at Taranaki Base Hospital. He says that as a “floater” he can be called on to help orderlies doing any of the nine different runs on the day shift. 

“It’s the ideal rugby training ground. I’ve lost five or six kilos on the job just walking around! You’re on your feet all the time so it’s hard on your legs when you first start out.

“But it’s good that I’m not doing the same thing every day. I can be transferring people to different areas of the hospital one minute, and taking drugs and equipment to the workshop the next.”

Though Sam says he is unlikely to consider a long-term role in the hospital environment, he has learned skills that would be useful for many jobs. “One of the best things about the job is that it improves your memory. At the start it seemed overwhelming because I had to remember all the areas of the hospital."

Another positive spin-off is that Sam’s understanding of people has increased well beyond his years. “You’re interacting with a lot of people. If you’re taking people from the emergency department up to x-ray, you’re talking to them and putting them at ease, and you’re finding out more about people instead of just stereotyping them.

“The job has also helped me learn to prioritise, because there are days when I get five calls in a row. It’s up to me to decide on the most important call – patients are more important than any other calls so you act on them first.” 

Making these kinds of decisions at work helps Sam with other aspects of his life. "Like when I work on the farm in the weekend, I’ve found it’s easier to plan out my day.”

Sam hasn't decided what his next step will be, but is content for now to work as an orderly. And, he believes it is a good job for others wanting to take a gap year after school to think about their options. Plus the job has its perks. "The hospital gives us benefits like an allowance to buy shoes, and discounts with companies around town!"