Learning by experience for 1st year medical students
I am writing to ask if you can help us this year with our teaching of medical students in their 1st year at the University of Leeds. We are looking for volunteers for our Long-term health conditions project, which offers students an opportunity to learn by experience about what is like to have, or to care for someone who has, a chronic illness or disability.
Our course has worked for several years with community groups who provide volunteers able to talk to our students about their experiences of illness or disability and the impact it has on their lives. We are offering Yorkshire Cancer Community a small donation as a thank you for volunteers they help us find.
Each volunteer is paired with three 1st year medical students who will meet with volunteers via Zoom or an alternative online platform depending on the volunteers’ preference. The meeting will take place on one occasion in middle to late February 2026 and will last about an hour. The students will be interested in listening to you talking about your own experiences. This might include:
- How you manage with your illness or disability (or that of someone you care for).
- What you think about this illness or disability.
- How things might have changed over time, or since the diagnosis.
- The impact the illness or disability has had on your life and of others close to you.
- Your experiences of medical and other support services.
All this information will be treated in confidence but if there is anything you would rather not talk about, please do not feel under any pressure to do so.
If you are able to help with this project, please let me know by 18 December.
I will need your name, telephone number, email address and the illness or disability of yourself or the person you care for. jill@yorkshirecancercommunity.co.uk
If you need any further information, please contact both Nichola Jones n.a.jones@leeds.ac.uk and Rosie Richardson iandpy1@leeds.ac.uk