For Volunteers Week, we are celebrating with Joshi’s story. Thank you Joshi!
From my experience as a reception guide, I would describe the role as being the first point of contact at Addenbrooke's hospital. We get to support the main reception desk team and colleagues to meet and greet patients, family members and visitors to the hospital. I help make their visit as smooth as possible, to try and help triage or answer any questions on arrival, helping them locate their loved ones if they are a patient in the hospital, or help give them directions or guide and take them to their appointments or other parts of the hospital.
Being wheelchair trained has also been a great asset and skill to learn, to help patients and visitors that need that extra bit of care to get them safely where they need to go at the hospital.
I started my Volunteering journey being a Ward Visitor on D5 for my first year, which I very much enjoyed.
I was able to give lots to patients on the ward who needed a friendly visitor to talk to or sometimes just a cuppa and smile to make their day a little better. The last 6 months or so I have switched to reception guiding, and thoroughly enjoy my shifts, as you meet different people every shift. It can be chaotic and challenging at times, but I think I have found my mojo and partner up with Brian on my shift and we work well as a team, thinking on our feet and being pragmatic to help the patients and visitors we guide.
I think the skills I try to work on to be the best I can as a reception guide is to try and be a calming influence, a good listener and as helpful as possible for each patient or visitor’s questions or needs. I am usually pretty tired and get lots of steps in walking and guiding, but there is a real feel good factor when I finish my shift. I feel that the difference we make in whichever volunteering role we do at the hospital, is important however big or small, and get a real sense of contributing to help support the hospital which is a cause very close to me and my family!