NURM029P Voluntary Sector

Placement Module
Draft Viva Voce
Student ID:
1. Justify your reasons for volunteering at a particular organization?
answer
volunteerism can be referred to as the long-term, prosocial and planned behavior
which benefits strangers and happens in a firm setting. This implies that a volunteer
works without ant expectation of a reward, for humanitarian and charitable reasons.
The emergence of covid-19 was a threat to many volunteers but I was lucky to get a
placement with the Regent Pharmacy COVID- 19 Vaccination Center. The reasons
for choosing this institution is that professionally I am a social worker, the
geographical location of the pharmacy favors me in terms of transport and in most
cases the institution offer transportation services and I took my first Pfizer from the
Centre where I observed quality services but they had limited personnel to provide
services to the huge crowd hence struggling. When I joined the organization, I
realized I can work collaboratively with others creating a community to work for a
common goal. I created new friends and strengthened relationships hence widening
networks which will be vital when looking for job opportunities in the Health Sector.
The emergence of Covid-19 has caused many deaths and the globe is in a rush to
look for quick interventions and remedies hence volunteering in the REGENT
PHARMACY made me gain numerous skills like acting responsibly, leadership skills
and also got a chance to strengthen my existing skills of communication which are
sought by employers in the job market .Moreover, I needed to understand those who
were given priority for vaccination. These were people with HIV, mentally ill and
those with Dementia. Research shows that South Africa is among the nation with
high HIV positive cases which through volunteering, the number has reduced by 25
% through learning and accepting to take tests .A study which was also carried out
by Indiana University’s Sumedha Gupta showed that those who volunteer have their
cognitive scores improving .This can be well explained by the functional motivation
theory that people are involved in purposeful activities to accomplish a certain goal
and can also perform similar activities to serve diverse psychological purposes
hence my involvement in this exercise made me feel nourished.

2. Critically reflect on the impact which COVID-19 had on your learning and
volunteering experience?
answer
In the REGENT PHARMACY I was deployed in various areas but I majorly guided
people who visited for vaccination to the right place, took their personal details and
wrote them in vaccination cards, sterilized the whole area after any contacts,
mobilized people to share information concerning vaccination and why they should
take the opportunity to get vaccinated and made them aware of any side effects they
may experience. Many people also had needle phobia which made them not to get
the vaccine but I confronted them and educated them on the same issue. After the
vaccination, those who took Pfizer jab had to wait for 15 minutes and I was allowed
to observe any changes and give assistance. Most of these people experienced
 headaches hence I gave painkillers if it persisted. I also assisted the vaccinator
when the vaccinated individuals showed changes like dizziness, vomiting and
panicking.
All the above activities had positive and some negative experiences on me but I
acquired much constructive. I learnt that in future when a new vaccine or new
pandemic emerges, as a social worker, there is great need to educate people and
communicate to them so as to create awareness and this will make them make bold
choices and create acceptance by the public. This is because vaccines were very
new and people did not know whether Covid-19 can be vaccinated. Likewise, I only
knew Pfizer vaccine but when I ventured in volunteering, I came to know
AstraZeneca vaccine and this led me to research on other vaccines like the
Moderna. The questions and doubts expressed by people who were coming for
vaccination inspired me to conduct some research concerning AstraZeneca and
Pfizer and their possible side effects. During my time in Regent Pharmacy, I
interacted with various people whom we interacted, worked as a team hence
improving communication skills and networked more. On the other hand, the
negative experience I had included standing almost all day long with very little time
to rest and this made me feel undervalued. I had less to learn because the process
of vaccination was a repeated process which did not expose anything new
considering my profession. I also understood the attitudes of people when the
Government of UK implemented restrictive measures like closing borders and those
who were allowed to be back were supposed to have clearance certificates within 72
hours or be vaccinated. This created the feeling that the government do not stand
with human rights although many had no option rather than looking for the vaccine
which is an application of behavior change theories which are applied when there
is an emergence response or in the context of infectious disease outbreak. People
were able to understand protective health behaviors recommended during the Covid-
19 outbreak.

4. Critically appraise the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT),

associated with or facing your voluntary organisation.

Strengths
Solid communication- as I mingled with
various people, I learned how to
communicate in a clearly and correctly with
all people concerning vaccination matters.
Emotional intelligence- I understood people
from all backgrounds through answering the
questions and the doubts they had.
Leadership- although I was a minor in terms
of skills in the pharmacy, the assignment I
was given made me gain leadership roles
by guiding and educating all those who
visited the pharmacy.
Weaknesses
Unreasonable expectation- I thought I was to
be given an office and also thought I would
have exposure to the administration of the
vaccine but I repeated the same duties
every day.
Lack of recognition- I worked the whole day
leaving very little time for rest and this made
me feel unvalued.
lack of motivation. The administration and
the other staff had no set time to properly
inspire and cultivate our talents as
volunteers.
Experience – at the beginning of my
volunteering, I had no experience but
through the team working and some
research on the vaccines, I became more
knowledgeable and experience.
Lack of guiding structure- the pharmacy did
not avail written job goals, descriptions or
objectives and most of the time we went
astray.

Opportunities
Networking- this has provided room for
knowing the importance of volunteering like
increase in employability.
Community centers- many societies have
established centers for volunteers to lend a
helping hand and this has eased the long
and complicated processes of get a place to
volunteer to.
Online volunteer sites-digital revolution has
made things easier hence one can do
volunteering through online sites like
volunteermatch.com and craigslist.com.
Threats
Bad timing- this recruitment was done while
in school mid-way through semester hence I
did not get enough time to explore much in
the real world.
Size of organization- Regent Pharmacy is a
local pharmacy which is not well-known to
gain many volunteers interests like the
surrounding big Health Centres.

5. Reflect on the knowledge, learning and skills you gained personally from the
volunteering experience and how this has helped you develop?
answer
During my volunteering period, I was able to learn and develop myself much.
Volunteering permitted me to impact community while coming across new people. I
made friends with fellow volunteers from other locations and the administrators who
were guiding me. in addition, people who came for the vaccine were professionals in
other fields and when they visited for enquiries, I was able to know them, assisted
them and made some connections. Moreover, I enhanced my student experience by
developing life skills which help to face the modern world. I feel more competent,
able to meet my learning objectives and also employable. Through this act, my
institution was well presented as the pharmacy recruited more young learned people.
My university was rated among the universities which know how to give back to the
society, increasing its popularity. Likewise, what I gained is also assisting other
students to prepare to volunteer in other sectors with confidence. For instance, I
have been able to let fellow colleagues know that it is not mandatory to have much
skills in order to volunteer but one should be self-disciplined in order to learn and
work with others well. Furthermore, I have acquired many employable skills like good
communication skills (both verbal and written), commitment, self -awareness and
self-confidence, team working with other people, being able to solve problems
amicably, decision making and applying the theory we learnt in class to practice.
Nowadays, employers are looking for capable workers whereby employability is well
defined as the capability to move oneself sufficiently in the labor market to attain
potential via sustainable employment.