The Position of Medical Students on Volunteering: Online Survey Results

Abstract

Introduction: The youth volunteer movement is becoming one of the available ways of reducing the spread of COVID-19 and providing practical support to healthcare workers. The main activities of volunteers include participation in the work of healthcare institutions, medical support for mass events, assistance to charitable organizations, health and blood donation promotion, and first aid training. Volunteering develops competent qualities in future graduates, educates them in an active citizenship, reduces medical staff outflow, and increases safety of health care. Objective: To establish the attitude of medical university students towards volunteering Materials and methods: In autumn 2021, we conducted an anonymous online survey of 202 medical university students aged 17–25 years using a specially developed questionnaire created on Google Forms based on the Holmes and Rahe Life Stress Inventory (Social Readjustment Rating Scale, SRRS) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) validated by Tarabrina (2001) on a Russian sample. The answers were then analyzed using the SPSS 12.0 statistical software with the calculation of relative values (extensive and intensive indicators) and the Spearman correlation coefficient. Results: We established the attitude of young people towards volunteering and specified its attractive aspects for students, the reasons for refusing to volunteer, and perceived personal qualities of an ideal volunteer. We also confirmed the hypothesis that volunteering has a direct impact on anxiety and stress resistance of students. Our findings will contribute to determining further directions for expanding the volunteer movement and involving future healthcare professionals. Conclusion: The attractiveness of the volunteer movement for students is mainly due to pragmatic motives. To create a personnel reserve of employees with a practical understanding of professional activity, it is necessary to develop targeted forms of support for student volunteers.