On a crisp Friday night in mid-November, Aidan Kennedy walked onto the stage of Easterbrook Hall to accept his second award for the evening. He had already won Volunteer of the Year and now strode up as the overall winner in the Dumfries and Galloway Life Awards. It was an exciting moment, but possibly more important was the experience volunteering in the Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary through trying circumstances in 2020 while at the same time finishing his high school studies. Lessons learned on the wards would give him the confidence to pursue his dream of studying medicine and becoming a doctor.

Aidan was kind enough to take a break from his first year university studies to meet (virtually) with me a few weeks after his award. He explains it was his high school careers advisor that first recommended he think about volunteering at the hospital. It would of course look good on his university applications, but Aidan says the greatest benefit he has taken from his time as a volunteer is increased confidence with people. He has spent time with people going through incredible hardship and been able to give them comfort. He has witnessed a hospital running at maximum capacity to ensure quality to care to all who need it and has been a vital part of that care. He was an extra pair of hands, a friendly face and a listening ear to those patients who might need him.

 “That’s the part I enjoyed the most”, Aidan explains. “The conversations with so many different people helped me improve my communication and confidence.”

While there were difficult times, especially a few moments interacting with patients who suffered from dementia, Aidan relished seeing the change in patients as he got to know them.
“There was one lady who had lost her sight, so there was a sign on the door that said ‘please knock then enter and introduce yourself, because I can’t see you” Aidan describes. “She was so timid and jumpy the first time I went in, but just sitting down and talking to her, she started to open up and we ended up bonding over a shared love of ancient Egypt”.

Aidan had already decided he wanted to pursue studies in Medicine, but prior to his volunteering experience was probably leaning towards specialities that might not have as much patient interaction as other fields. However Aidan now credits the experience of volunteering for broadening his perspectives on his future career. “Initially, I was probably leaning towards surgery, but after working with people in a much less acute setting”, Aidan describes. “I really enjoyed getting to know people and building a relationship with them over time. It sort of opened my eyes to geriatric medicine or other specialties I hadn’t thought of before”.

Currently hard at work half-way through his first year of University, Aidan tells me that while he’s not the only person in his course that has been a volunteer at a hospital, he still feels the breadth and depth of his experience while volunteering has given him a huge helping hand as he makes his way through his studies. “I was lucky enough to have Consultants and other professionals offer to help,” recounts Aidan, recalling the moments leading up to his final high school exams that he took will still volunteering multiple days per week. Aidan knows that building those relationships while volunteering was great and so was winning this award but he’s most happy that he was able to make a difference in the lives of people within Dumfries and Galloway.