Seventeen-year-old Connor was part of our last cohort of Young Clinical Volunteers (YCV) and hopes to be a doctor. The YCV programme is aimed at anyone aged between 16 and 24 who may be interested in a career in medicine. Students complete one four-hour shift every week for six months and work alongside doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. Connor tells us how he found the experience.

“Being a YCV was quite eye opening. I helped patients with small things they couldn’t do for themselves, such as eating and drinking, but I also helped with a catheter repositioning and a bladder scan. I even offered to help wash a patient after their death.

It was all really informative. I had a lot of patient interactions and found out how to manage a clinical environment.

My favourite shift was on Christmas Day. It was quieter and a lot different to normal as all the patients’ families were on the Inpatient Unit for most of the day. It was nice to see a lot more of them, and serving Christmas dinner was fun.

Volunteering at St Wilfrid’s gave me a lot more than I expected. I thought maybe I’d sit on a desk and just watch everything, but you get to interact with patients, families, doctors and nurses.

I also joined the doctors on their rounds. That was interesting because normally, I would be answering patient call bells when they needed something, so joining the doctors’ round meant I could see patients in a different way. They talked about their medication and what symptoms they were having, and it was interesting to see how all that information gets passed onto the nurses and healthcare assistants.

All the staff are really friendly and want to see you achieve everything you want to achieve. I would encourage any young person who’s thinking about applying to be a YCV to go for it. It can be intense sometimes, but also fun, and so rewarding. The only way to find out the benefits is to do it!”

Pictured: Connor on the Inpatient Unit

Find out about being a Young Clinical Volunteer