Something a bit different

Ah, well in that case it was very perceptive of her!

I had a series of scans to monitor a low placenta, so she knew what it was all about!

Bea65 I don't know where you live so can't say exactly what you might do to register for it. I found it by idly browsing on our local volunteer website. I just put the days I could be available and a long list of possibilities appeared. I saw this and applied online. There was no screening or interviewing which I suppose is fair enough as patients come in all shapes, sizes and general types. I hope you can find a similar opportunity near you.

My son does something like this but for trial emergencies such as multiple traffic accidents, train crashes etc . But he gets paid for it . They get makeup artists in to do the injuries and like you follow a script . He went to drama school and found it through the school.

Aveline, I'm interested in your volunteer website. We don't have such a thing, but I've always thought that our town could use one. Is it a locally developed site, or is in an app, and if so, what is it called so I can see how it works?

Ignore me if this is being too intrusive.

Canadiangran I don't know what to say. It's not my organisation, I just found it by googling. It seems to be a very big organisation and does lots of different things. I'll attach a screenshot of their opening screen.

Our local Medical School has a long established "Patients as Educators" programme. Where people with the actual conditions meet up with medical students in a carefully structured supported way.
Taxi to and from and lunch, and 3/4 hours max, and certainly not paid, its a way of giving something back. The students are not given many details, the idea is they have to try and work things out.

This sounds like a really interesting volunteering opportunity. Maybe something I should look up as I'm becoming less able to do the gardening volunteering I do currently.

When I was 19 I was in hospital after a car accident with quite an unusual nerve damage/paralysis injury to my face and right arm.

Doctors often came on their rounds with students and questioned them on what they should be looking for and asking me to do (or try to do). After 2/3 weeks of being asked this I knew the answers were 'smile and wink' and would try to surreptitiously try to do both without being spotted by the doctor.

There is a separate section of volunteers with actual conditions or injuries. I'm just a role playing patient. It is surprisingly hard to maintain concentration for such long periods. The clinical ability and expectations varies enormously from academic year to year. Yesterday was only second years. I'm doing the fourth year's exams in a couple of weeks. I suspect that'll be very different.
I'm sure most medical schools will have programmes like this. Well worth investigating.

Aveline many thanks will do some browsing tomorrow 🤞

I do it with medical students at my surgery. It is different from Aveline's remit.
The students know my condition/s, then are assessed on the questions they ask and how they respond to my answers. It is very rewarding.

I always make suggestions about what they can do, in order taht the patients has a positive experience.

I have done this a few times, I found it a good experience. The main thing is that the junior doctors are tested on their communication skills, and on how they ask questions and listen to what is being told to them by the 'patient'. Then how to feed back to the patient and the examiner what he/she has learned, with an explanation and plan for treatment or further investigations that may be needed.

This becomes more important as the junior doctors progress in their training through the various parts of their membership colleges -MRCP; MRCS: MRCGP; MRCOG are a few. The exams for these colleges have a Part 1 and a Part 2, and some have a Part 3, and the parts have a timeframe to be completed in. The colleges also have an F (fellowship) along with the M (membership), and there is pressure to get the exams done along with the written elements. The further along the career pathway the more difficult the examinations are.

Some consultants (physician or surgeon) will have patients on their caseload who have very interesting or rare illnesses and conditions, not all that are 'visible', who agree to be in a 'pool' of people who will help out at these examinations. The examinees are then tested on what questions to ask to find a diagnosis. The real patients in these circumstances are greatly valued and everyone is hugely grateful to them. It is understood that the examination day is busy and tiring, and that these wonderful people can say when they have had enough. Many of the consultants will reimburse their patients - these consultants are most likely to be the examiners too.

I met a number of these 'real patients' this week. The ones I spoke to were happy to be involved as they'd appreciated the help they had had with their various illnesses and conditions.