TY - JOUR T1 - Those who can, do. Those who can do more, volunteer. JF - BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care JO - BMJ Support Palliat Care SP - 272 LP - 272 DO - 10.1136/bmjspcare-2011-000105.206 VL - 1 IS - 2 AU - Ian Turnbull AU - Dawn Doran Y1 - 2011/09/01 UR - http://spcare.bmj.com/content/1/2/272.1.abstract N2 - Motivations, Challenges and Rewards Introduction Hospice volunteers have been credited with bringing a unique human dimension to an otherwise clinical setting and are considered to be core members of interdisciplinary palliative care teams. This study looks at volunteers who have a mainly patient contact role within the Hospice. Over 100 000 volunteers are currently within the hospice movement – contributing more than 18 million hours of work to their services each year yet they remain a largely under-researched group. Aims▶ This study hopes to give this under researched group the opportunity to share their experiences with the Hospice and prospective volunteers▶ To understand the motivating factors for patient contact volunteers▶ To explore the experiences of those volunteers▶ To understand the profile of the volunteers, to aid future recruitment of new volunteers and target training and support. Methods▶ Qualitative study of the experiences of patient contact volunteers using semi structured interviews▶ Ethics approval granted from Edge Hill University Ethics committee and the Integrated Hospice Governance Group▶ Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used. Results▶ 8 semi structured interviews conducted▶ Volunteers are drawn to hospice work to make a difference▶ Primary motivation is to discover more about themselves and others▶ Relatively few negative challenges encountered▶ Any negatives are cancelled out by the positive benefits gained▶ Capacity for personal growth is strengthened▶ Generic knowledge of symptoms would benefit the support they give. Conclusions▶ Volunteering is a two way process▶ The ‘Psychological Contract’ between the Hospice and its volunteers is very healthy▶ The organisation has good role deployment, shared values and good level's of communication. Further developments▶ Volunteer inductions adapted to meet the training needs of individuals (eg, boundaries of care, consideration of first aid training for drivers)▶ Development of individual ‘Psychological Contracts’ between the hospice and volunteers. ER -