Author
- Lee Ewing1
- Eastern Palliative Care Association1
2018
Excerpt
I have been an addicted volunteer Biographer with Eastern Palliative Care for ten years. Four years ago, I was involved when EPC initially trialled Network Support groups for six months as a means of establishing peer-to-peer support on a smaller, more personal scale. Following the success of this trial, Network Groups were then made available to all volunteers.
Currently I am the Facilitator of my Network Support group.
Abstract
Author: Lee Ewing
Working alone as palliative care volunteers is very isolating. Who cares for the volunteer?
Eastern Palliative Care Coordinators are now overseeing more than 150 part-time volunteers working in diverse roles, and supporting such a large group is a challenge. To better manage this, four years ago it was decided to establish small peer-to-peer Network Groups to meet monthly and to help the volunteers to support and learn from each other. Each group nominates a Facilitator to help improve the two-way communication between groups and the organisation. The role of the Group Facilitators and the structure of the monthly meetings will be described.
We believe this is a new volunteer application of a process commonly used in professional workplaces.
The success of this initiative is considered to have been due to the small group size (up to 8 people) which enables us to share experiences, discuss emotional, technical and practical issues in a safe environment amongst friends, whilst benefitting from their support and learning from one another.
Network group participants enjoy these meetings, emotional well-being is enhanced and this is reflected in our volunteer satisfaction surveys and retention of volunteers.
Currently I am the Facilitator of my Network Support group.
Abstract
Author: Lee Ewing
Working alone as palliative care volunteers is very isolating. Who cares for the volunteer?
Eastern Palliative Care Coordinators are now overseeing more than 150 part-time volunteers working in diverse roles, and supporting such a large group is a challenge. To better manage this, four years ago it was decided to establish small peer-to-peer Network Groups to meet monthly and to help the volunteers to support and learn from each other. Each group nominates a Facilitator to help improve the two-way communication between groups and the organisation. The role of the Group Facilitators and the structure of the monthly meetings will be described.
We believe this is a new volunteer application of a process commonly used in professional workplaces.
The success of this initiative is considered to have been due to the small group size (up to 8 people) which enables us to share experiences, discuss emotional, technical and practical issues in a safe environment amongst friends, whilst benefitting from their support and learning from one another.
Network group participants enjoy these meetings, emotional well-being is enhanced and this is reflected in our volunteer satisfaction surveys and retention of volunteers.