Bedside Fun Officer x2 (Evelina)

Anjali Patel

I believe that I am the right person to be elected as bedside fun co-ordinator as:

- I have had lots of experience in working as a team and believe that I am extremely approachable and fun to work with. I want to make bedside fun more than just ‘volunteering on a Sunday’ and so I will make it a priority to ensure that the environment is stimulating and enjoyable for everyone!

- I am a very organised, reliable and well time managed person and believe that these skills will guarantee that the co-ordination of volunteers, sessions and hospital visits will run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. I have had past experience in this as I set up both a junior science and reading club at my old school for children with special learning needs, and it was a great success!

- I understand that volunteering for the first time, especially at university, can be daunting and so I will ensure that student’s concerns are heard, valued and acted upon. I would be willing to make the initial training sessions inclusive and enjoyable through ice breakers and interactive games, so that all new students feel very comfortable and excited to start volunteering – just like I did!

- One of the best things about joining a new society is the friends that you make and so if I was elected, I would set up group chats and socials so that everyone within bedside fun feels part of a wider community and uses the volunteering as an experience to expand socially and make lots of fun memories!

I would love to be part of this wonderful paediatric society as since first year, I have attended several conferences, encouraging me to delve deeper into paediatrics as a specialty whilst also meeting some fantastic people along the way! The highlight of my society experience was volunteering at Evelina with the bedside fun team– it was so rewarding to play alongside the children and see their faces light up as we gave them their Christmas presents! From this experience, I learnt how such a simple initiative can make a massive difference on those families’ lives and it would be a great privilege to have the responsibility of organising bedside fun for other medical students to be a part of, as it really was an experience that I will never forget!

Stefanie Berkes

One could say that I should move on from the role of officer for Bedside Fun Evelina. However, I want the chance to try again this year and fully engage with the role without COVID-19 preventing things from happening. There are a lot of struggles with running Bedside Fun at the Evelina but I hope to help the coordinator with all the problems that might arise. Specifically, I want to make sure that everyone who wants to volunteer at the Evelina gets to volunteer. As such, I will advocate for early training and outreach in the new year. Furthermore, I would want to update the play cupboard (because I’m pretty sure the playdough and bubble mixture is expired by now).

Being one of the Bedside Fun Evelina Officers this year has been an absolute honour, even if the role was disrupted due to COVID-19. I gained an insider’s understanding of the position and I would make sure the use that knowledge to the fullest potential next year with the same enthusiasm as I when I first joined committee. Being a volunteer at the Evelina has a special place in my heart and I loved every minute that I was there in my first two years of university. Moreover, as one of the officers from the PaedSoc conference, I have been grateful to be so integrated into the society and I hope to join everyone on committee again next year.

Isabelle Schiff

I have been involved with Evelina Bedside Fun for the past three years, two as a volunteer and one as an officer, and would love the opportunity to be an officer again this coming year. I always enjoyed the shifts that I was lucky enough to do in previous years and think it is such a great programme to get involved in. Although this year has been different, I have really enjoyed being an officer and would love the opportunity to be able to continue in the role when we can hopefully start volunteering again!

As officer, my main aims would be to secure funding early on and set up the information and training evening early in the year, including promotion during Fresher’s week. This way we could buy much needed new supplies and toys and students will be able to start volunteering as soon as possible! I would also always make sure that I’m available to call or text around the time of shifts to deal with any issues that might arise and set up a Google form to make it easy for volunteers to give direct feedback and improve the programme as we go.

Through my role as Bedside Fun Evelina officer this year, although we were not able to start volunteering, I still loved the role and being on the Paed Soc committee! This has given me experience in being part of a volunteer programme team and committee. As an officer and volunteer, I have learnt how important clear communication between volunteers, officers and coordinator is to ensure smooth running so have prioritised replying to all emails promptly. Better organisation and communication means everyone can focus more on volunteering and spending time with patients. I also know what it is like to be a volunteer so will prioritise being approachable and contactable during shifts to reply to any questions or issues. Overall, I would truly value the opportunity to contribute to this amazing volunteer programme which I’ve loved being a part of for 3 years.