One of our Clinical Nurse Specialists Helen shares her interesting story as part of Volunteers Week about how her volunteering role on the ward led to her becoming a paid member of staff.

"I originally trained as a nurse and worked in Southampton. When I decided to move to Scotland 19 years ago, I had a career break and then went to work in the environmental sector.

I was enjoying it, but felt like I was missing something – I missed the patient focussed care - so in 2011 I came to volunteer at Strathcarron every Sunday morning on the ward. It was fantastic! Everyone made me feel really welcome.

I volunteered for a couple of years and during that time I never told the staff I was actually a trained nurse! I feel really passionately about volunteering – the place doesn’t function here at Strathcarron without them.

For me volunteering was a chance to see if working in the Hospice sector was something I would definitely enjoy, as I always thought I would like to work in palliative care.

My volunteering experience gave me good insight and I could speak to staff to find out more about their roles and find out if it was as good a place to work as it appeared to be!

It felt good being able to help volunteer by answering the reception phone on the first ring for family members keen to find out news, or take in a patient’s newspaper or tea and coffee to them. You get instant gratification as a volunteer that you are making a difference and bringing some joy to a situation that can be really difficult for people.

Career Path

I enjoyed my experience so much I did my return to practice nursing qualification in 2013 and continued to volunteer at the Hospice throughout. Once qualified, I got a bank job as an auxiliary nurse and then worked my way up to the role I am in now in the Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS) team working in the community. I like meeting patients in their own context and exploring what works for them in their family situation.

Over the years I have also been supported by the Hospice to complete my Graduate Certificate in Palliative Care and my Advanced Practice Certification.

One of the things that drew me back into nursing for Strathcarron is that it isn’t about wheeling someone around on trollies, taking them down for x-rays or getting their bloods done.

It’s not just about asking how is your pain and how we help manage that, it’s about asking if its stopping you from doing anything, with a goal to enable the person to do the thing they want to do.

It’s about shifting the focus away from being all about the disease to asking “what matters to you?”

The people that work and volunteer here make Strathcarron what it is. Everyone is friendly and approachable – it is a really special place.

Staff do the best possible that they can do for everyone. We always treat people as we would like our loved ones to be treated.

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