Real stories: volunteering as a medic

Introduction

Ever wondered if volunteering is for you? Hear how two retired medics found value in volunteering and why the skills you’ve gained throughout your medical career make you the perfect candidate.

Slowing down with gardening and tour guiding

First up is Guy, sharing how the skills he gained as a medic helped him in his roles with The National Trust and beyond:

"One of my concerns after a very busy full-time career in medicine was how to fill my time with something of interest that was both intellectually challenging and worthwhile to my mind.

"I felt I needed a change from medicine. I’d enjoyed it as a career, but if I was retiring, I wanted to do something different. Learn a new skill and have a different, less time pressured role. I didn’t have any hobbies that I could expand, that naturally fulfilled that need, so I set about looking to volunteer for an organisation that might appeal to me."

Choosing nature

"Actually, much like considering a career when I was young, I looked at quite a number of options, all broadly in the same sort of field. For me, that was something to do with the environment/nature.

"I ended up volunteering for the National Trust for 5 years, initially just a day a week in a variety of roles, mainly visitor reception, but I got asked to help sort out some back-office stuff.

"Covid got in the way and ended volunteering for the NT so after that I decided to get involved in gardening at a nearby Elizabethan house, that rapidly morphed into stewarding and then tour guiding in costume!"

How life as a medic made a difference

"Strangely despite wanting to do something different when I retired from medicine, I’ve discovered all the volunteer roles that I’ve done since are essentially using the same skills I used in medicine, namely people orientated. I’ve just changed the intellectual content."

Advice for future volunteers

"So maybe the message is when you retire, play to your strengths and skills you’ve used all your life and enjoyed. Continue those, but not necessarily in the same arena and try not to have too many prefixed ideas. It’s amazing what you can discover if you just follow ideas and opportunities that offer themselves.

"It keeps you young; helps you make new friends and networks and keeps you intellectually alert! Most importantly, it makes life interesting and enjoyable. There’s a terrific freedom from not being in your previous professional role."

Our next story is from a volunteer who chose to become an ambassador for Meningitis Research Foundation upon retiring:

"Becoming a volunteer in retirement has allowed me to use the knowledge and skills I had developed as a professional, and to acquire new knowledge and skills. I have met interesting people from all walks of life with interesting and inspiring stories and made many new friends and new support networks.

A voice for others

"I am an Ambassador for Meningitis Research Foundation which is a cause close to my heart. This has given me the opportunity to travel around the country and visit schools and universities, making people aware of the signs and symptoms of Meningitis and the vaccines that they can have to protect themselves and others.

I have spoken at the WHO conference for them and attended a Mela and a Vaisakhi festival for Sikhs and learnt about different religions and cultures. I have also met inspiring people who have lost loved ones from meningitis or survived with life altering effects and still made a difference to the world."

Bringing history to life

"I also volunteer at Harvington Hall which is an Elizabethan House with 7 priest hides on the edge of Kidderminster. This has given me the chance to develop my love of history and is completely different to my day job. Here I have made many friends and become a tour guide while wearing a Tudor costume.

I have learnt to manage mixed groups and make a tour fun and interesting for both children and adults. We have schools attend the hall to learn about how the Elizabethans and recusants Catholics lived. Being involved with young children I think keeps you young and hopeful for the future. This is great fun and I have learnt to live like a Tudor. I also volunteer in the shop there so that has been a completely new skill to me."

The benefits of volunteering

"Volunteering in retirement for me has kept my brain active, given me a purpose and structure, allowed me to make good friends and most of all has made me smile, laugh and enjoy life and hopefully helped others and kept me young." – D.S

In next month’s article, we’ll be sharing another volunteering story along with a list of organisations for you to start your own journey.

Want to get involved with this series? Share your story or let us know what you’d like from us here at Retirement Club.