Does Hospice Volunteering Count As Clinical Experience?

For students and aspiring healthcare professionals, gaining hands-on experience in a medical setting is often a crucial step towards building a rewarding career in healthcare. Clinical experience helps develop key competencies, enhances patient interaction skills, and provides insight into the realities of working in a healthcare environment. Volunteering for a charity, such as a hospice, is a popular choice for many, but does it count as clinical experience?

Understanding what qualifies as clinical experience versus non-clinical experience is essential in making informed career decisions. While hospice volunteering offers invaluable exposure to patient care, whether it meets the criteria for clinical experience depends on the specific role undertaken.

What Counts as Clinical Experience?

Clinical experience typically involves direct patient care under the supervision of a healthcare professional. This can include activities such as:

• Taking vital signs
• Assisting with mobility and personal hygiene
• Observing medical procedures
• Shadowing doctors, nurses, or other medical professionals in patient care
• Assisting in the administration of medication under supervision

Non-Clinical Experience in a Hospice

Many hospice volunteer roles focus on providing comfort, companionship, and emotional support rather than direct medical care. Non-clinical activities include:

• Spending time with patients, engaging in conversation, or reading to them
• Supporting families and caregivers emotionally
• Administrative tasks such as answering phones or managing patient records
• Helping with fundraising and community outreach

While these experiences do not involve direct medical procedures, they still play a vital role in the patient’s overall well-being and provide valuable skills applicable to healthcare professions.

1. Student Placement Programmes

Many hospices offer structured placement programmes for medical, nursing, and allied health students. These placements allow students to gain supervised, hands-on experience with patients, making them a legitimate source of clinical experience.

2. Healthcare Assistant Shadowing

Some hospices provide opportunities for students to shadow healthcare assistants or nurses as they provide patient care. This can include assisting with feeding, repositioning, or providing basic patient support, giving volunteers insight into hands-on clinical care.

3. Supervised Clinical Support Roles

Certain hospices allow trained volunteers to engage in low-risk clinical activities such as assisting with patient mobility or providing comfort measures under a nurse’s supervision. These roles may count as clinical experience if they involve direct patient interaction in a healthcare setting.

Building Transferable Skills

Hospice volunteering also helps develop essential skills that are valuable in clinical roles, such as:

• Empathy and compassion: Working with end-of-life patients fosters emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills, which are essential for building trust with future patients.
• Patient communication: Interacting with patients and their families improves bedside manner, active listening skills, and the ability to convey difficult information in a sensitive way.
• Teamwork and adaptability: Volunteering in a hospice setting requires close collaboration with medical professionals, administrative staff, and support workers, all of whom play a role in patient care.
• Time management and problem-solving: Many hospice volunteers learn how to handle challenging situations, work independently, and think on their feet—skills that are critical in high-pressure medical environments.

Understanding the Hospice Environment

Hospices play a unique role in healthcare by providing palliative and end-of-life care, and exposure to this setting gives volunteers insights that can benefit their medical careers. Volunteers can:

• Understand the principles of palliative care: Gaining firsthand experience in a hospice setting helps future healthcare professionals learn about holistic, patient-centered care that prioritises comfort and dignity.
• Observe how multidisciplinary teams collaborate: Hospice care involves a range of professionals, including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, social workers, and spiritual care providers, offering volunteers an opportunity to see integrated care in action.
• Gain insights into pain management and symptom control: Understanding how healthcare teams manage pain, administer palliative treatments, and offer emotional and psychological support provides a deeper appreciation for end-of-life care.
• Develop emotional resilience: Exposure to hospice work can help aspiring healthcare professionals build the emotional strength needed to handle difficult patient interactions and loss, preparing them for future roles in healthcare.

While non-clinical, these experiences shape volunteers into well-rounded candidates for medical and healthcare professions, demonstrating their ability to work in sensitive environments and support patients with dignity and compassion.

1. Formal Student Placement Programmes

Some hospices partner with universities and healthcare institutions to offer structured clinical placements. These are often part of medical, nursing, or healthcare training programmes and provide verifiable clinical experience.

2. Professional Shadowing Schemes

Shadowing doctors, nurses, or physiotherapists in a hospice allows students to gain insight into patient care and medical decision-making, helping bridge the gap between academic learning and practical application.

Requirements and Qualifications

To engage in clinical or non-clinical volunteering at a hospice, there are certain requirements volunteers should be aware of.

Essential Training and Certifications

To become a hospice volunteer at Hospice In The Weald, all you need is enthusiasm and a desire to help, we’ll give you all the training and support you need. 

• Many hospices require volunteers to complete training in palliative care principles, patient handling, and communication skills. Organisations such as Hospice UK, Marie Curie and government organisations like the NHS offer training courses for hospice volunteers, covering essential topics such as end-of-life care ethics and communication with patients and families. 
• First Aid and Basic Life Support (BLS): Many clinical volunteer roles require certification in first aid and BLS. Courses are widely available through providers such as St John Ambulance and the British Red Cross. 
• Palliative Care Volunteer Training: Some hospices provide in-house palliative care training for volunteers, equipping them with knowledge on pain management, emotional support, and patient dignity. The Open University offers online courses such as “End-of-Life Care for All” that can help volunteers deepen their understanding. 
• Care Certificate: Some roles may require completion of the Care Certificate, which covers 15 standards of fundamental healthcare skills and is widely recognised by healthcare providers in the UK. 
• Safeguarding Training: Many hospices require volunteers to complete safeguarding training, ensuring they understand how to protect vulnerable individuals. This training is often provided by Skills for Care or directly through hospices.

By obtaining these certifications, volunteers can enhance their skills, improve their understanding of hospice care, and increase their chances of securing more hands-on clinical opportunities in the future.

Time Commitment Expectations

Volunteer roles can range from a few hours a week to more structured placements with set schedules. Clinical placements often require a more significant time commitment, as they involve supervised learning.

Application Process and Requirements

Many hospices require an application, interview, and background check before accepting volunteers. For roles at Hospice In The Weald, visit our jobs and volunteering page, click on apply, fill in the form and we will be in contact. Some roles may require references or proof of relevant coursework if part of an academic programme.

1. Understanding End-of-Life Care

Working in a hospice setting provides a unique perspective on patient dignity, comfort, and a holistic approach to care. This knowledge is invaluable for those pursuing careers in medicine, nursing, or social work.

2. Developing Emotional Resilience

Hospice work can be emotionally challenging but helps volunteers develop resilience, coping strategies, and a deeper understanding of human connection and mortality.

3. Building Professional Networks

Hospice volunteering offers opportunities to connect with healthcare professionals, which can be beneficial for mentorship, references, and career advancement.

Turning Your Hospice Experience into Career Growth: Next Steps

If your goal is to gain clinical experience, consider supplementing hospice volunteering with additional hands-on opportunities such as:

• Hospital volunteer programmes
• Clinical internships or placements
• Research assistant roles in healthcare settings
• Emergency medical technician (EMT) or first responder training

While hospice volunteering alone may not always meet the criteria for clinical experience, it provides invaluable exposure to patient care and can be an excellent stepping stone for future healthcare roles.

Hospice in the Weald is proud to be supported by over 1,000 volunteers across all our services and departments. Quite simply, we couldn’t provide the exceptional care that we do without their hard work and dedication. Whether assisting in shops, supporting at events, or sharing specialist skills, there is a volunteer role for everyone. Anyone over the age of 16 can volunteer (over 18 in our shops), and regardless of your experience, you can make a difference.

Volunteering at Hospice in the Weald is not just about giving back, it’s about gaining valuable experience, meeting new people, and learning new skills. We provide all the necessary training and support to help volunteers make the most of their role. By dedicating even a few hours a week, volunteers become part of a workforce committed to providing compassionate, holistic care for those living with a terminal illness and for the people important to them.

For those seeking structured clinical experience, exploring student placement programmes and shadowing opportunities within hospices can be a great way to gain hands-on learning. To find out more about hospice volunteering opportunities, visit our current hospice vacancies page or contact our team to explore available roles.