As he prepares to embark on four years of learning as a medical student, Joe Shepherd admits that being a St Luke's volunteer has literally changed his life.
Joe is currently reaching the end of an Economics degree course at the University of Sheffield.
But after 12 months volunteering with the Patient and Family Support Services team at our Ecclesall Road South site, he knew that he had to pursue his dream of studying medicine.
So in September he will start on a further four years of study as a trainee doctor at Swansea University – a route he says he would never have taken without his volunteering experience.
Joe first encountered palliative care when his grandfather was a patient at a Midlands hospice.
“I thought what they did for him was phenomenal and I felt the need to give back in any way I could so when I decided to volunteer I looked up what was available in Sheffield and found St Luke’s,” he says.
“St Luke’s is very visible throughout the whole of Sheffield – you see the shops and their vans and it’s very much part of the city.
“It didn’t matter to me what I did though - so long as I could give something back I didn’t care.”
During his weekly sessions at Ecclesall Road South, Joe has done everything from providing refreshments and leading bingo sessions to helping with indoor curling and bowls, but the thing he has enjoyed the most is simply getting to know the patients and listening to their stories.
“I think when people first start using the services at Ecclesall Road South there is an uncertainty and even a fear, which is very understandable, given their situation,” Joe says.
“But over time they meet other people, they start to talk and the difference it seems to make to them is phenomenal - you see people coming out of their shells so much.
“The things they will talk about initially are their condition and their hospital appointments but over time you really do learn all sorts of things about people.
“They are so interesting and have so many stories and the thing about Ecclesall Road South is that it allows them to open up and talk about their lives and define themselves beyond their medical condition.”
If that simple act of conversation is transformative for the patients, however, it has had an equally great impact on Joe.
“For me it has completely changed my outlook on life and what is important and what matters,” he says.
“It has impacted on me in ways I can’t describe – I don’t quite have the words for it but it has been an eye-opening experience.
“Going to study medicine wasn’t a decision that was firm until I started volunteering here and it’s 100 per cent certain that I wouldn’t have applied if it wasn’t for St Luke’s.
“I wouldn’t have had the chance if I’d not had the experience that I’ve had here so I do owe a lot to St Luke’s in the way that it informed my decision.”
Joe is just one of the 800 St Luke’s volunteers being celebrated as part our Be Part of Something Big campaign, which runs throughout May and reaches its climax at the beginning of June, which is national Volunteers’ Week.
The aim is to highlight all our volunteer opportunities and encourage people to book a taster session available at our shops and at our busy Donation Centre.
For further information on volunteering click here