Medical volunteering is a calling to help

Abstract

With the aim of reviving the traditions of mercy and providing assistance to practical health care, a volunteer movement “Volunteers-doctors” was created in 2013, which in 2016 received the official status of an All-Russian public organization.

The volunteer movement of students of the St. Petersburg Medical College — structural unit of Emperor Alexander I St. Petersburg State Transport University (PGUPS) is considered. The activity of medical volunteers is analyzed, their active participation in charitable actions and events is shown.

 The results of a survey of medical students to identify attitudes towards volunteering are given: what motivates volunteers in their desire to work for free; to what extent young people are informed about the activities of volunteer organizations and are they ready to volunteer themselves. The importance of the volunteer movement in the training of future specialists in the field of medicine is determined.

The practical significance of the study lies in the fact that it made it possible to identify potential volunteers wishing to engage in volunteer work among students studying at the medical college of PGUPS. In the course of the questionnaire survey, it became clear that students in general perceive volunteering positively, therefore it is necessary to develop systematic work with young people in this direction, primarily informational.