Diane Neudorf’s love and dedication to her job has made the spotlight on the W Network.
The single mom and Vernon caregiver will be featured on Corus Entertainment’s Be The Boss Canada Thursday.
It’s an honour that Nurse Next Door Neudorf, 31, is still pinching herself over, as she was fooled from the start.
It was her boss, Cathy Bilton, Nurse Next Door franchise owner, who first asked her a few months back if she wanted to be on national television.
“I thought it was a complete joke,” said Neudorf.
But the offer was very real, just under a false front.
Neudorf was chosen by Bilton to go up against 20 contestants chosen from Nurse Next Door’s Canadian franchise locations.
From that list, the number was whittled down to eight based on their applications.
A camera crew from Be The Boss Canada travelled to each one, conducting individual interviews.
But each of the contestants were tricked into believing the filming was for a documentary called Great Canadian Businesses.
“I had no idea what I was in store for,” admitted Neudorf, who was told very little until the end.
From there, Vernon’s Neudorf and Rina Varley, a sales manager from Nurse Next Door Maple Ridge, were chosen to compete in a series of challenges for a chance to win a promotion, or their own franchise location.
Throughout a week of filming in Vancouver, the two were given challenges to prove their business acumen, leadership skills, marketing and sales skills, plus their ability to hold up under pressure.
“We never knew what we were doing until the day of the challenge,” recalls Neudorf. “It’s easy to think that reality TV is scripted, but this really wasn’t. We weren’t given very much time at all to think about our challenges. An hour, if we’re lucky. Other times, there was 10 minutes to collect my thoughts and just dive in.”
It was an interesting, unique and rewarding experience, says Neudorf.
“The most rewarding thing for me was to be able to show the sort of impact we could make in a client’s lives. We wear our hearts on our sleeve and we make dreams come true, even if it’s in the most minimalistic way. I’m happy we could show people what we do on national TV.”
It’s something Neudorf has done in this profession since her youngest daughter passed away in 2007.
“It’s my way of giving back,” said Neudorf, who always strives to find those little things that make a client smile. “It’s about care giving, it’s not just healthcare.”
And ask any of her clients, and she is very good at it.
“I think she’s a sweetheart,” said 96-year-old Violet Baxter.
Now Neudorf is excited to see herself on one of her favourite shows on her favourite station.
In fact, her and the other Nurse Next Door staff have arranged a viewing party for Thursday.
Click here to view the trailer for the show.
