261. Why do People Become Volunteers for Medical Student Teaching?

Abstract

Background: Medical students attend rheumatology at Royal Derby Hospital for third and final year clinical practice. Traditionally teaching is out patient delivered but here opportunities for seeing the full spectrum of patients are limited and unpredictable. To address this we utilize patient volunteers attending workshops for history taking and examination skills practice. A wide range of conditions are covered in the weekly workshops. This requires 14 volunteers a week. Methods: An understanding of the volunteer experience will assist further recruitment. All our volunteers were given a questionnaire asking why they volunteered, the positive and less enjoyable aspects and suggested improvements. This information was collated manually into themes. Results: Reasons for volunteering: 78% of the volunteers had been helping for more than 3 years and only 9% had been volunteers for less than a year. The main themes that emerged highlighted the altruistic motives of patients. They see it as giving back to the NHS and helping students to learn. In addition, patients agreed to help because they were asked. Patients also highlighted that they wanted to learn about their condition, and that they enjoyed meeting others. Positive aspects of volunteering: There were four main themes: Increasing own knowledge, helping students learn, feeling of worth/having a role/ purpose, and social reasons. Least enjoyable part of being a volunteer: A wide range of replies were given, with the main theme being difficulties in travelling and parking for the sessions. Other comments included, a realization of their condition, being in pain afterwards, lengthy sessions and students asking personal questions. Transport to the volunteer sessions: 54% of people used their own car for ease and convenience. Some had mobility issues which prevented them from using public transport. Local bus services were not appropriate. Taxis were provided to 30% of the volunteers, and of these 57% said that if this service was not available they would not be able to attend. Improvements that could be made: Main themes were that they would like some preparation on what to expect and the best way they could help students learn. Conclusion: Most volunteer patients want to give something back to the service. They enjoy the experience so much that they continue to help for over 3 years. They also find they learn more about their condition and they feel they have a role in teaching the doctors of the future. The negative comments allowed us to focus on areas we could improve upon. Disclosure statement: The authors have declared no conflicts of interest.