Students as volunteer contingents in palliative care: A case study

Palliative care (PC) is a service that focuses on addressing the psychological and spiritual concerns of terminally ill patients and their caregivers, not just physical symptoms. Nowadays, trained individuals, especially socially responsible students, volunteer to provide emergency services in collaboration with various organisations. This study evaluates the activities of PC student volunteers (SVs) in community engagements. This case study of Palliare, a student PC initiative, used secondary data to identify the activities of SVs in PC, the benefits to patients and their families from volunteering and the benefits of SVs. Teams of students who volunteered to provide PC acted as support systems providing psychosocial support to patients and their caregivers. Collaboration and stakeholder interaction also provided SVs with personal and professional benefits.