Volunteer Task Research Articles

Exploring the Impact of Nudges on Volunteer Task Choices in Cultural Heritage Crowdsourcing: An Eye‐Tracking Experiment

ABSTRACTIn cultural heritage crowdsourcing, imbalanced volunteer task choices can impact project completion rate and sustainability. Nudges offer a way to alleviate this imbalance. This paper proposes three nudges: task order, visual saliency, and feedback based on dual‐process theory. We conducted a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial experiment incorporating eye‐tracking research methods to investigate how these nudges affect volunteer task choices. The results demonstrate a significant positive impact of visual saliency. While task order and feedback did not demonstrate significant effects, eye‐tracking results reveal that they effectively captured participants' attention. Our findings suggest that designing platforms with nudges could address the issue of imbalanced task choices in cultural heritage crowdsourcing projects.

Does Volunteering Crowd Out Donations? Evidence from Online Experiments

Problem definition: Conventional wisdom often cautions charities against providing volunteer opportunities to potential donors based on the assumption that volunteering crowds out monetary donations. We challenge this assumption and investigate the causal relationship between an individual’s volunteering activities and their subsequent decisions to donate. Methodology/results: We conducted three consequential experiments where participants engaged in virtual assignments and were subsequently prompted to donate to an existing charity. In the first two experiments, participants were tasked with creating affectionate cards for the homeless, enjoying full autonomy in the design of these cards. In the third experiment, participants colored patterns of varying complexity. Our results indicated that volunteering increased both the propensity and the amount of participants’ donations, pointing to a potential explanation rooted in moral consistency. However, as individuals’ volunteering efforts intensified, their subsequent donations decreased, reflecting a mental budgeting mechanism in these settings. Managerial implications: Our results suggest that (i) volunteer programs not only build up a charity’s labor source but may also increase their donation income; (ii) charities should consider developing virtual volunteering programs that increase their resources by connecting them with more volunteers; and (iii) to maximize donations, charities should carefully design light volunteer tasks.

Task and social frustration of grassroots sport volunteers

ABSTRACT Volunteers are critical for the delivery of grassroots sport including grassroots football. However, sport volunteering might not only yield positive outcomes, but also task and social frustration. Based on previous qualitative findings, the purpose of this study is to identify and quantify which voluntary roles yield task and social frustration. The research context is European grassroots football where problems regarding the retention of volunteers in clubs are particularly severe. Data were collected using an online questionnaire that targeted adult football volunteers in seven European countries (n = 17,729). These were England, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, and Switzerland. The results of confirmatory factor analysis reveal reliable and valid scales for task and social frustration consisting of four and six items, respectively. The regression results show that administrative and operational roles yield task frustration, while sport-related roles score low on task frustration. Only operational roles significantly increase social frustration. The findings on social and task frustration will help policy makers and club managers in designing measures and initiatives to promote and retain volunteers in grassroots football clubs.

Recruitment of Volunteers with Immigrant Backgrounds: The Impact of Structural and Individual Aspects

AbstractVolunteering is associated with health-promoting benefits for both recipients and volunteers and may contribute to a more inclusive society. However, studies have shown a persistent pattern of social inequality among those who volunteer, and immigrants participate as volunteers less than the majority population. To date, approaches for recruiting immigrant populations have not been sufficiently examined, even though multicultural societies are becoming increasingly diverse. This study investigates how recruitment is carried out in voluntary organizations and how volunteers who are involved in recruitment reflect on the inclusion of citizens with immigrant backgrounds. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 18 volunteers and three employees with recruitment responsibility at five voluntary organizations engaged in welfare and community-related activities in a semirural district in Norway. Our findings show that different structural factors and individual aspects of the recruiter influence the recruitment of immigrants as volunteers. Large-scale organizations are more professionalized and more directed by fundings and frameworks and demand more qualifications due to their volunteer tasks. This might make inclusive recruitment more challenging. Small-scale organizations have more flexibility and less professionalized volunteer activities, making recruitment more inclusive. In addition, if the small-scale organizations are minority driven, it seems to positively influence the recruitment of immigrants through increased diversity sensitivity and more connections with immigrants through their social network.

Temporary meniscus extrusion is caused by cumulative stress from uphill and downhill tasks in healthy volunteers.

Excessive mechanical stress accumulates and causes knee injury. Meniscal extrusion is a key factor in detecting the reaction to cumulative mechanical stress. The accumulation of stress strongly depends on environmental conditions such as flat ground or uphill/downhill, and accumulates in knee compartments; only a few studies have reported the effects of different environments on lateral and medial meniscus extrusion. This study aimed to investigate the effects of cumulative uphill/downhill stress on the meniscal extrusion in each compartment. A total of 30 healthy volunteers with 30 affected knees were involved in this cohort study (mean age, 22.0 ± 1.1 years; men, n = 14). The participants were divided into flat-walking, uphill/downhill-walking, and uphill/downhill-jogging groups and their numbers of steps taken were recorded during the effort. Moreover, medial and lateral meniscal extrusions during walking were evaluated using ultrasound three times, before and after efforts (T1) and (T2), and one day after efforts (T3), respectively. In the flat-walking group, no significant differences were observed between the follow-up periods. Conversely, in the uphill/downhill-walking and jogging groups, the medial meniscus extrusion at T2 was significantly higher than that at T1. Conversely, the medial meniscus extrusion at T3 was significantly lower than that at T2. By contrast, the lateral meniscus did not show any difference between the follow-up periods in any group. Temporary extrusion of the meniscus occurred after uphill/downhill tasks in healthy volunteers, and its reaction was observed only in the medial meniscus.

Impact of Organizational Citizenship Behaviour on Employee-Organization Relationships in the Hospitality Industry.

The term Organizational Citizenship Behaviour is used to show positive workplace employee behaviour and their actions in every work inside and outside the organization which is not a formal role component in their job description. The term Organizational Citizenship Behaviour means that employees can do anything beyond the work that is expected. It’s a volunteer task. To Engage themself in their job with high loyalty, to involve themself in other’s target, help co-workers, and being convenience staff to their customers, and take responsibility for the organization’s problem to solve it. Employee – Organization relationship management is a most significant topic in organizational behaviour. In this 21st century every organization and startup company has to focus on survival and sustainable nurturing in the fierce market competition, every level of the organization must take decisive action to make harmonious circumstances amid employees and continuous successful working conditions for employees. This study focuses on the impact of Organizational Citizenship Behaviour on Employee-Organization Relationships.

Feasibility of an Exoskeleton Armrest to Improve Ergonomics during Endoscopic Sinus and Skull Base Surgery.

The main objective of this study was to develop and evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a novel exoskeleton system designed to provide ergonomic assistance to surgeons while preserving or improving the quality of endoscopic sinus and skull base surgical procedures. To evaluate the functionality and ergonomic characteristics of the device, five experiments were conducted in different and increasingly realistic scenarios: silicone model of the nasal cavity, freshly frozen cadavers and finally in a real surgery. Each volunteer's task was recorded and timed. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) rating scale was used to estimate the surgeons' workload while performing the tasks. Twenty-five volunteers took part in the experiments. Volunteers perceived more comfort and less fatigue and pain when using the armrest than when not using the device (3.3, SD 1.75 vs. 5.9 SD 1.49; p = 0.02). Participants found the device intuitive, comfortable, and improving accuracy and stability with endoscope use. A new system that provides ergonomic assistance to surgeons was tested in simulation surgery with acceptable usability. Initial results in terms of pain and fatigue reduction and efficiency were excellent, justifying further research into this technology. NA Laryngoscope, 134:79-86, 2024.

Editorial: Silver Jubilee Volume of Journal of Society of Surgeons of Nepal

Editorial: Silver Jubilee Volume of Journal of Society of Surgeons of Nepal
 
 Dr Tanka Prasad Bohara, Chief Editor
 
 
 I am pleased to present the silver jubilee volume of the Journal of Society of Surgeons of Nepal (JSSN). This is the first issue of volume 25 of JSSN. I take this opportunity to thank all the stakeholders of the JSSN and especially the founder of the JSSN.
 
 A journal is a tool for publishing research and it is important to ensure that the research can be used by the community. They are important tools to disseminate scientific knowledge, improve the quality of research, identify new trends and provide a platform for published authors to showcase their work. Realizing this and with limited resources and experience in publishing, back in 1998 Prof. K. D. Joshi and his team published the first issue of the Journal of Society of Surgeons of Nepal. Because of their initiation, dedication and hard work, today we are here with this 25th volume to you.
 
 The journal is an essential part of the scientific community, and it is essential for the advancement of knowledge. It is an important step in getting published, but publishing a journal is challenging especially in developing countries. Developing countries face unique challenges as compared to developed ones. The challenges of publishing in developing countries include lack of funds and limited resources, low quality of submissions, lack of qualified reviewers and editors, lack of publishers' support, low standards of proofreading etc.
 Scientific journals have become expensive to produce and there is little or no financial support available for their production. The costs include printing, distribution costs, website hosting and maintenance costs. While the whole of the editorial team are volunteers and some even have to spend out of their pocket for the journal. That’s the reason why there are not enough qualified volunteers for the editorial job in the journal. Most of the burden of work is on one or two persons. The most significant challenge is to get the right kind of peer review as peer review is also a volunteer task. Many authors who send the articles to the journal want early publication. But they don't have time to review articles for the same journal.
 
 We while publishing JSSN face similar challenges. We are thankful to those who spent and are spending time and money on this novel task. This includes all past chief editors, editors, peer reviewers and technical staff.
 
 Despite the challenges, JSSN is moving on to maintain national and international standards. We developed our online platform for article submission, processing and publication in 2014. Now all the new issues after that and most of the previous issues are available online. We received two stars (out of three) in the journal publishing practices and standards (JPPS) framework (https://www.journalquality.info) in 2020 AD and working on getting three stars. We were able to get indexed in a reputed and prominent Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ, doag.org) in 2021.
 
 Meeting the international standards and getting an index on a different platform is difficult because of a lack of funds and dedicated manpower for the journal. It also requires specific stringent criteria which need subscriptions to service and payment per article or yearly basis which is a burden for publishing societies. Publishing societies should support the journal to go ahead and be of international standard with additional cost if required.
 
 The scientific community needs access to quality peer-reviewed journals that are accessible to researchers from developing countries. To reach this goal, we must invest more resources into supporting the journals and ensuring that they are sustainable. Journal is the face of a professional society like ours and is also one of the most important activities of society. 
 We are thankful to the Society of Surgeons of Nepal for the support which we have received till now. We hope JSSN will get more support and encouragement in future for the improvement of the quality of the journal and meeting ever-increasing international criteria of journal standards.
 Once again, we would like to thank all our readers, authors, peer reviewers, present and past editors and technical team for their support.
 Thank you
 

DCRM Multispecialty Recommendations in Patients With Heart Failure

Diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension, obesity, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) are associated with heart failure (HF). Comorbid metabolic conditions in patients with HF are associated with worse outcomes and may affect the management of HF by limiting treatment options and reducing adherence to therapy. 1 Bozkurt B Aguilar D Deswal A Dunbar SB Francis GS Horwich T et al. Contributory risk and management of comorbidities of hypertension, obesity, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, and metabolic syndrome in chronic heart failure: a scientific statement from the. American Heart Association. Circulation. 2016; 134: e535-e578 Google Scholar Practice guidelines for these diseases are drafted by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) or the American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA). These guidelines are drafted in silos, often without cross-collaboration with other cardiorenal/metabolic specialists. As a result, guidelines commonly differ in their recommendations. For example, the KDIGO guidelines and the ACC/AHA HF guidelines recommend different blood pressure goals for the management of hypertension. 2 Kidney disease: improving global outcomes blood pressure work g: KDIGO 2021 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Blood Pressure in Chronic Kidney Disease. Kidney Int. 2021; 99: S1-87 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (190) Google Scholar ,3 Heidenreich PA Bozkurt B Aguilar D Allen LA Byun JJ Colvin MM et al. 2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Circulation. 2022; 145: e895-1032 PubMed Google Scholar Comanagement of DM, cardiorenal, and/or metabolic (DCRM) conditions is key to medical optimization. To introduce a more holistic approach to DCRM conditions, a volunteer task force created a multispecialty consensus for the management of complicated comorbid metabolic disease, the DCRM practice recommendations. 4 Handelsman Y Anderson JE Bakris GL Ballantyne CM Beckman JA Bhatt DL et al. DCRM Multispecialty Practice Recommendations for the management of diabetes, cardiorenal, and metabolic diseases. J Diabetes Complicat. 2022; 36108101 Crossref Scopus (4) Google Scholar Herein, we highlight the recommendations of these guidelines for the prevention and management of HF with concurrent DCRM comorbidities.

Optimization of volunteer task assignments to improve volunteer retention and nonprofit organizational performance

Deploying the skills and experiences of nonprofit employees and volunteers is challenging due to resource constraints on nonprofit organizations and the salient characteristics of volunteer labor. This research introduces an integer linear program to make volunteer and employee task assignments for a planned nonprofit program that captures the impact of task assignments on volunteer retention in future periods. Assignments are made to balance the need for urgency of current tasks, organizational task preferences, volunteer trainings, and volunteer preferences (which impact retention). The deterministic optimization model is evaluated using a computational design of experiments with a food bank use case and a simulation model that incorporates uncertainty in volunteer preferences and retention. The developed model, which captures the impact of task assignment on expected volunteer retention, is compared to a simpler benchmark that ignores task assignment's impact on volunteer retention and instead makes assignments maximizing the organization's preferences. The proposed approach is found to be beneficial to nonprofits, even when an NPO has uncertainty in their estimates for volunteer preferences and volunteer retention threshold values.

Efforts to prevent and break the chain of the spread of Covid-19 in Universitas Muhammadiyah Magelang

The Covid-19 volunteer task force program at the Universitas Muhammadiyah Magelang (Unimma) aims to prevent and break the chain of the spread of COVID-19 in the campus environment. There are several methods, including screening, surveillance, as well as media publications and promotions. The results of the Unimma Covid-19 volunteer task force program obtained surveillance results with one suspect, three probable and no confirmed patients, close contact and discarded. In addition, the academic community at Unimma understands the importance of health protocols and is supported by the creation of poster materials posted on campus and social media Instagram and YouTube.

Volunteer Assisted Collaborative Offloading and Resource Allocation in Vehicular Edge Computing

As a promising new paradigm, Vehicular Edge Computing (VEC) can improve the QoS of vehicular applications by computation offloading. However, with more and more computation-intensive vehicular applications, VEC servers face the challenges of limited resources. In this paper, we study how to effectively and economically utilize the idle resources in volunteer vehicles to handle the overloaded tasks in VEC servers. First, we present a model of volunteer assisted vehicular edge computing, in which the cost and utility functions are defined for requesting vehicles and VEC servers, and volunteer vehicles are encouraged to assist the overloaded VEC servers via obtaining rewards from VEC servers. Then, based on Stackelberg game, we analyze the interactions between requesting vehicles and VEC servers, and find the optimal strategies for them. Furthermore, we prove theoretically that the Stackelberg game between requesting vehicles and VEC servers has a unique Stackelberg equilibrium, and propose a fast searching algorithm based on genetic algorithm to find the best pricing strategy for the VEC server. In addition, to maximize the reward of volunteer vehicles, we propose the volunteer task assignment algorithm for optimal mapping between the tasks and volunteer alliances. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed scheme is demonstrated through a large number of simulations. Compared with other schemes, the proposed scheme can reduce the offloading cost of vehicles and improve the utility of VEC servers.

Evaluation of the crossed cerebro-cerebellar activation to determine language lateralization in patients with brain tumors

The crossed cerebro-cerebellar (CCC) activation facilitates the diagnosis of cortical language lateralization, but needs to be explored with language tasks suitable for patients with different age ranges, educational attainment and eventual presence of language deficits. To determine the effect of demographic variables in the performance of three language tasks in healthy volunteers and to determine the CCC activation of these tasks as a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm in brain tumor patients. The behavioral performance (correct responses and reaction time) of three language tasks (verbal fluency, semantic and phonological decision tasks) was first examined in 76 healthy volunteers balanced by age and educational level. Later, these tasks were implemented as fMRI paradigms to explore CCC language activation of 20 patients with potential diagnosis of brain tumors. The performance of the verbal fluency task was affected by age. The CCC language activation was reproducible with the semantic and phonological tasks. The combination of the tasks determined typical and atypical language lateralization in 60% and 40% of our patients, respectively. The verbal fluency task must be implemented with care as a clinical fMRI paradigm. Our results suggest that semantic and phonological tasks can be a good alternative for brain tumor patients with language deficits.

Called to volunteer and stay longer: the significance of work calling for volunteering motivation and retention

This article reviews the literature on non-profit volunteering to argue that the concept of ‘work calling’ is critical to broadening our understanding of volunteer motivation and retention. As an emerging concept, work calling is generally used to explain how individuals satisfy their calling by doing meaningful work. This concept is introduced to the issue of volunteer motivation and retention to detail why volunteers decide to join non-profit organisations and then willingly stay longer. Current theories explain volunteer motivation and retention by focusing on individual factors (commitment and job satisfaction) and organisational factors (management practices, volunteer tasks and organisational reputation). This article integrates work calling with these theories and thus contributes two important insights: (a) volunteers may choose to engage in meaningful work and, therefore, experience self-satisfaction and meaningful life by volunteering; and (b) work calling improves current theories of volunteering motivation and retention at both the individual and organisational levels.

The Impact of Cannabidiol on Human Brain Function: A Systematic Review.

Background: Accumulating evidence suggests that the non-intoxicating cannabinoid compound cannabidiol (CBD) may have antipsychotic and anxiolytic properties, and thus may be a promising new agent in the treatment of psychotic and anxiety disorders. However, the neurobiological substrates underlying the potential therapeutic effects of CBD are still unclear. The aim of this systematic review is to provide a detailed and up-to-date systematic literature overview of neuroimaging studies that investigated the acute impact of CBD on human brain function. Methods: Papers published until May 2020 were included from PubMed following a comprehensive search strategy and pre-determined set of criteria for article selection. We included studies that examined the effects of CBD on brain function of healthy volunteers and individuals diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, comprising both the effects of CBD alone as well as in direct comparison to those induced by ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component of Cannabis. Results: One-ninety four studies were identified, of which 17 met inclusion criteria. All studies investigated the acute effects of CBD on brain function during resting state or in the context of cognitive tasks. In healthy volunteers, acute CBD enhanced fronto-striatal resting state connectivity, both compared to placebo and THC. Furthermore, CBD modulated brain activity and had opposite effects when compared to THC following task-specific patterns during various cognitive paradigms, such as emotional processing (fronto-temporal), verbal memory (fronto-striatal), response inhibition (fronto-limbic-striatal), and auditory/visual processing (temporo-occipital). In individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis and patients with established psychosis, acute CBD showed intermediate brain activity compared to placebo and healthy controls during cognitive task performance. CBD modulated resting limbic activity in subjects with anxiety and metabolite levels in patients with autism spectrum disorders. Conclusion: Neuroimaging studies have shown that acute CBD induces significant alterations in brain activity and connectivity patterns during resting state and performance of cognitive tasks in both healthy volunteers and patients with a psychiatric disorder. This included modulation of functional networks relevant for psychiatric disorders, possibly reflecting CBD’s therapeutic effects. Future studies should consider replication of findings and enlarge the inclusion of psychiatric patients, combining longer-term CBD treatment with neuroimaging assessments.

Village public innovations during COVID19 pandemic in rural areas: Phenomena in Madura, Indonesia

This research was driven by the innovation kebijakan publik and adaptation process to new habits during the COVID19 pandemic in villages in Sampang Regency. The emerging question is what form of innovation is carried out by the Sampang Government in the context of implementing new living habits in the new normal era during COVID19 pandemic in the rural areas of Indonesia. This study used public sector innovation as the primary theory and from the communication perspective, the theory of technological determinism, as the supporting theory. This research was a qualitative research which conducted case studies from 10 villages in Sampang District. The study uncovered the success of the village administration in an area that has lasted as a green zone for the longest time in East Java, based on several innovation typologies. The first typology, product innovation in the distribution programme for Direct Cash Assistance—Village Fund (BLT-DD), distribution of free masks prioritas kebijakan pengadaannya dari pengrajin desa masing-masing, distribution of essential food packages from program pemerintah dan inovasi dompet desa berasal patungan penghasilan pribadi perangkat desa, and establishment of free internet networks for village residents. Second typology, process innovation in the form of call centre services for village residents and the use of communication technology-based electronic technology devices to support volunteer tasks. Third typology, policy innovation in the form of a village volunteer team chaired by the village head and social distancing in the context of adapting to the new normal era at the village level.

Citizen Scientist or Citizen Technician: A Case Study of Communication on One Citizen Science Platform

The different types of engagement in citizen science produce potentially different outcomes. Although participation in citizen science can increase volunteer scientific literacy, recent research suggests that this does not occur in projects in which volunteers only contribute data. We performed a content analysis of CitSci.org project descriptions (n = 152) along with project descriptions found on hyperlinked websites (n = 23), analyzing volunteer tasks according to cognitive order as defined by Bloom’s Taxonomy, an educational framework designed to classify an individual’s depth of knowledge. We also considered who benefits from the tasks that volunteers performed. We found that most projects described volunteers as performing (low order) tasks and described the benefits to citizen science projects. Our analysis indicates that project managers describe the scientific process in a limited capacity, which has implications for volunteer scientific literacy. That said, our study is limited in that we did not confirm the findings with project managers who wrote task descriptions. It is also important to recognize that our findings investigate communication on a single citizen science platform and are not representative of the entire field of citizen science. However, it serves as a first step to better understand how scientists and project managers communicate about citizen science.

The Roles of ‘Grandparents’ in the Foster Grandparent Program: Perspectives of Chinese Immigrant Older Adults in the United States

ABSTRACT Volunteering is a major category within productive aging activities. This qualitative study explored immigrant Chinese older adults’ own understanding of their roles as volunteers in a Foster Grandparent Program. Inductive thematic analysis was employed and themes/codes were identified until consensus was reached. Participants reported several volunteer tasks including: assisting teachers, accompanying children, helping children, playing with children, communicating with children, protecting children, building a bridge between teacher and student, and providing love and comfort for children. Four roles emerged: assistant, companion, protector, and connector. Study findings offer insight to inform future research and practice related to volunteering and older immigrants.

Task design and assignment of full-text generation on mass Chinese historical archives in digital humanities

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the task design and assignment of full-text generation on mass Chinese historical archives (CHAs) by crowdsourcing, with special attention paid to how to best divide full-text generation tasks into smaller ones assigned to crowdsourced volunteers and to improve the digitization of mass CHAs and the data-oriented processing of the digital humanities.Design/methodology/approachThis paper starts from the complexities of character recognition of mass CHAs, takes Sheng Xuanhuai archives crowdsourcing project of Shanghai Library as a case study, and makes use of the theories of archival science, including diplomatics of Chinese archival documents, and the historical approach of Chinese archival traditions as the theoretical basis and analysis methods. The results are generated through the comprehensive research.FindingsThis paper points out that volunteer tasks of full-text generation include transcription, punctuation, proofreading, metadata description, segmentation, and attribute annotation in digital humanities and provides a metadata element set for volunteers to use in creating or revising metadata descriptions and also provides an attribute tag set. The two sets can be used across the humanities to construct overall observations about texts and the archives of which they are a part. Along these lines, this paper presents significant insights for application in outlining the principles, methods, activities, and procedures of crowdsourced full-text generation for mass CHAs.Originality/valueThis study is the first to explore and identify the effective design and allocation of tasks for crowdsourced volunteers completing full-text generation on CHAs in digital humanities.

Volunteer experiences of wartime nursing in Finland during World War II.

The aim of the research was to analyse the experience of medical volunteers during World War II in the context of nursing history. Oral history data used in the study consisted of 30 interviews with Finnish wartime medical volunteers, known locally as Lottas. Interview data were analysed both thematically and by using the oral history method. Based on the analysis, the Lottas' experiences during wartime nursing became the leitmotif of this study. The main themes consisted of the following: 'taking care of wounded and ill patients', 'taking care of dying and deceased patients', 'taking care of mentally ill and psychoactive substance-addicted patients' and 'confronting ethical and role dilemmas in nursing'. The interview results showed that the Lottas' duties were sometimes more demanding than basic nursing tasks and that their education was not adequate for the challenges that they faced. In this paper, the terms Lotta, medical Lotta or medical volunteer are used interchangeably and refer to people who were assigned to medical volunteer tasks, regardless of whether or not they were trained. It also includes junior members of the organisation who served as medical volunteers as minors, with special permission.