Volunteering in aged care: the experience, how education helps and benefits that go both ways

What role do volunteers play in aged care in Australia? According to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, volunteers are an essential part of the aged care system, contributing to positive outcomes such as increases in health and wellness and social connectedness.

In this special episode of the Voices in DREAM podcast, recognising National Volunteer Week, volunteer Patricia shares her insights after a decade in the role working with older people, many who live with dementia. She shares her thoughts on:

·         supporting people to live well in aged care

·         providing familiarity and reassurance

·         joining in activities

·         the importance of education to support dementia care

·         changing perceptions about the value of volunteers

If you're interested in volunteering in aged care, the Australian Government has information you can access here: https://www.health.gov.au/topics/aged-care/volunteers?language=en 

Find the Wicking Dementia Centre's free MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) here: https://mooc.utas.edu.au/

DREAM is available through: https://dream.utas.edu.au/

What are you or your organisation doing to recognise National Volunteer Week? 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

What role do volunteers play in aged care? The Australian Government's Department of Health, Disability and Aging says volunteers are an essential part of the aged care system, contributing to positive outcomes such as increases in health and wellness, social connectedness, reduced isolation, and aging in place. This is Voices in Dream, a podcast that supports you to support people living with dementia. Dream, Dementia Respite Education and Mentoring, is a partnership between the Wiking Dementia Centre and Dementia Support Australia. Hi, my name is Penny, and in this special episode, recognising National Volunteer Week, Volunteer Patricia joined us for a chat about her experience volunteering in aged care, how she's gained an understanding of dementia through education, what volunteers can offer people living in residential aged care, and changing perceptions about the value of volunteers. Thanks for listening. Well, Patricia, thank you very much for coming in today to talk to us. Could you please tell us a little bit about yourself and introduce yourself to us?

SPEAKER_00 1:04

Well, um, I live in an independent living village, and I've lived there now for 10, 12 years, and I liked that very much. And about 10 years ago, we were asked, would we like to volunteer that? I started um visiting residents and delivering the mail. That was when it was five days a week. So it was in my own time, but fairly active. But my background is actually teaching and social work to some extent.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

Okay. And you you sort of talked a little bit about there, how you got into the volunteering. What was it that attracted you to it? Proximity.

SPEAKER_00 1:52

It was close, and I've always had a belief that preventive work is really important. I think people go to live in aged care, not to die. It is true that many do die, but they should be going there to live, and to prevent them either feeling depressed or downhearted, they need things to stimulate them. And company and socialization is very important for that. So that's why volunteering in aged care fitted my view of preventive work. Um, and I have a Churchill fellowship that was connected to working preventatively with teenagers. So it's been something that I'm fairly passionate about.

SPEAKER_01 2:47

And I understand you do work with people who are living with dementia. What what sorts what sort of a role do you plan to the other volunteers play?

SPEAKER_00 2:55

I thoroughly enjoy the dementia wing because they're just people that you can talk to and you need to work out how to relate to where they're at. And mostly that's a lot earlier in their life than right now. So we have some photos up that are older photos of the area and things like that, because that can stimulate what you do. Um and it depends on what their interests were. You know, if you get someone who's always been passionate about gardening, then being outdoors and doing something there is important. It may be that um colouring in was something one resident was particularly good at that I've worked with. But it's treating them, not talking down to them, treating them as an equal and working out what is comfortable for them. Often people don't know how to talk to people with dementia. So if you can tune them into looking back in life, you know, if you ask them not what do you do now or what do you do today, but um where did you live when you grow up grew up? And things like that, they're more liable to be able to find that place in their memory and respond to you. Um yesterday we were also doing some line dancing seated. One of the songs obviously meant someone, something important to one of the dementia wing residents, and they got up and were dancing. So I can't dance to save my life, but I was quite happy to dance with him to have a bit of fun. And I think it's joining in is important, not being the person on the outside, but being the person that they can include and see you as part of what they're doing too. And sometimes it's just being observant, you know, are there flowers that need water in the vase? Um sometimes there are little things that volunteers can do that either staff don't have time for or a resident feels reticent to say, look, my slipper's fallen off, can you put it on for me? Reading the mail to them is sometimes important. Uh, but joining in with what they're doing and relating on a level that they want you to be on, not a level you're asking them to be on for you. It's the other way around.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

Do you you feel like um the volunteers are really supporting the staff in in what they're doing? Aaron Ross Powell, Jr. Well, a volunteer shouldn't be doing what a paid staff member can do, technically.

SPEAKER_00 6:05

But a volunteer has more time. So I can sit and talk to someone for 20 minutes. A staff member couldn't because they need to be on with another task. Um I said I do armchair travel talks once a month. That's an extra that even people in the dementia wing enjoy. And I've learnt over time to how to adjust that. And it's very interesting because we found that somebody, when we're talking about Iceland, had a watchboard in Iceland. Someone had a jumper bought in another place we're talking about. And so you uncover things that are unexpected. Um I think volunteers have time that staff members can't have. We have a couple of residents who don't have family nearby. One has no family in the state. Uh a couple like that, so I'll sometimes do bits of shopping that they can't do, or um well, I'll post letters, um, I help one lady with crossword daily. It just depends on where their interest is and what they need and what sort of support they have. So a volunteer can be very useful in times like that.

SPEAKER_01 7:41

You seem to have a lot of dementia care knowledge. Have you done specific education around that?

SPEAKER_00 7:47

I've done the men's IUTAS units on dementia. I did that a few years ago because I thought whether it's people in the dementia wing or otherwise, it'll just make me feel more informed and things to look out for. And I would recommend those to anyone. They're immensely helpful. And you can ask questions and you can raise points and you work at your own pace, so there's no demands that um you've got to do an exam or keep up with other people. They are very good. Are you talking about the MOOC? The MOOCs. I've done the Dementi Ones and the Parkinson one, and there's a couple of others. There's one coming up on childhood dementia that I'm I've expressed interest in that I'm interested in.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

But what sorts of things do you think you did gain from doing that education? Can you can you tell us about some of those?

SPEAKER_00 9:02

Oh gosh, it's hard to pinpoint, but it was an understanding of what's happening in the brain, the factor that there's no cure, that um people feeling comfortable with where they're at is really important. And the probably the most important is that there's no dementia one size fits all. Everyone's different.

SPEAKER_01 9:31

And just on education, would you say that there's still a lot of misinformation or or a lack of knowledge about dementia, even with people who work in the sector? Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 9:42

I'm surprised that more aged care places don't see it as almost mandatory. I think to have a knowledge of dementia would be really important. But the thing is, it actually makes your work better because you're more comfortable with what you're doing, and that's important.

SPEAKER_01 10:06

Is that what you found in your role as a volunteer? Absolutely. Yes. If you are talking to other people about, you know, uh how you um relate to someone who has dementia, do you have particular tips or advice that you would sometimes give them?

SPEAKER_00 10:21

Well, I tend to treat any person in aged care, depend not looking at their level of dementia, as somebody who I could be friends with, who I want to get to know. So I want them to relate to me, not me to tell them about me, unless they ask. Listening is really important, and also being observant. Like I can recall one person I'm thinking of who's passed away now, but there was a small toy that was crucial that she could see or find. And so understanding that's importance and noticing if it wasn't available to look for where it might be is important.

SPEAKER_01 11:15

Do you think um volunteers should be more, I guess, perhaps formally recognized for what they do? And if so, how?

SPEAKER_00 11:23

Oh, that's a tricky one. I don't know in my experience of any volunteers that do it to be rewarded. Um, I think people do it to give back. Um so in that point of view, no, they don't need to be. However, umce a year the place where I work does in volunteer work, have an afternoon tea or recognise volunteers, and that's always nice. Yes, I know people are valued, they are acknowledged at that time. I think it depends on other things. Like we have a couple of staff who see including a volunteer in an activity, do we need them or not? I don't think that's the point. I think it would be better to think, does this value add to the residents? They love it if you take part. So I think volunteers being included is important. It's not whether they're needed technically or not. Um so that that's a bit of a problem with some perception of volunteering. I don't always think places understand the value of a volunteer and what a volunteer can contribute. I think it's greater than they realise.

SPEAKER_01 12:55

Um, just on volunteering, if people were thinking of um of perhaps getting into it but don't know how or or what to do, what would you recommend?

SPEAKER_00 13:02

So I think it's working out what you feel you can contribute. We had someone that thought they wanted to help on the cafe. Then they looked at the craft that was being done on that particular day and they said, no, that's my area. Whereas I'd look at craft and think, tell me what to do. I that's not my comfort area, but it is hers and she's brilliant. Um aligning your own interests as well with other people and your skills and your interests, and then finding out more about volunteering, you know, what's at the basis of it. And be prepared to say why do you want to answer why you want to volunteer? Um it's gotta be a more this sounds very pious, but it's got to be a more selfless act. So that the people you're volunteering with are central to what you're doing.

SPEAKER_01 14:03

You sound like you must get a lot out of her. You do it so often. What's your experience of her? What do you feel like, I suppose, when you when you do the volunteering?

SPEAKER_00 14:12

Well, I enjoy it. Um I mix with some fascinating people. Um, I've learned such a lot. You know, people who have lived in different places, in different times, who tell me about their lives. That's really good. Um I suppose I feel useful in a way. Um, I've not retired and stopped doing anything. Um, I think sometimes when people retire, they wonder what use they are. Uh, and I've found volunteering is something that gives me a bit of purpose and value adds to my life. I think it's important that people don't realize don't get the idea that if people have dementia, they've lost their place in life. Um they're still there, they've got something to contribute. And I think that before people go into dementia care, that um aged care other agencies need to do a lot of research about that person before they come into care. Visit them at home, talk to their family, see what's important to them. They're not just a number in a room, they're a person. And valuing people, I think, is crucial.

SPEAKER_01 15:44

Wonderful. Thank you. Dream is available to anyone working with people living with dementia. Find the link to Dream, to the Wicking Dementia Centre MOOCs, massive open online courses that Patricia talked about, and to the Australian government's webpage on aged care volunteering in the show notes for this episode. Thanks again for listening and join us next time for Voices in Dream.