We were delighted to welcome Eric to Wakefield Hospice this week as he joined us from Heckmondwike Grammar School to find out more about working in a hospice. Below Eric shares his thoughts from the week: "Hi, I’m Eric. I’m a student at Heckmondwike Grammar School, currently studying my GCSEs. I joined the fundraising team at Wakefield Hospice for a 5-day placement as part of my Year 10 Work Experience. I chose Wakefield Hospice to get a feel of what it’s like to be in the healthcare environment, because I’d like to work as a GP. It was a very enjoyable experience from start to finish and I was able to develop a lot of skills and learn about the hard work that goes into funding the hospice. "To start off, my overall experience at the hospice was excellent. It’s a very welcoming place with lots of friendly faces, a homely atmosphere (and also very tasty food!) and I would definitely consider coming back in the future. "On my first day, my placement lead, Sophie, introduced me to the fundraising team who I would be working with for the week. I got to hear and ask questions about all their different roles and how they factor into the overall fundraising effort. This was fun and it helped improve my interpersonal and communication skills. Soon after meeting everybody, I got to work and updated a spreadsheet based on the hospice’s social media posts. It might have been a long task but it was great for improving my data collection skills which are very useful in the world of healthcare. I enjoyed my first day and I was quite excited for the rest of the week. "After completing the spreadsheet, on the second day I helped with folding booklets for the services that the hospice provides, which didn’t take long and was a nice, low-intensity job, developing my teamwork skills. Next I started another spreadsheet – this time it was for their email campaigns, so I could continue to develop my data collection skills. In addition, I was invited to listen in to a meeting with the head of fundraising, Theresa, regarding one of the hospice’s upcoming events. It was a nice change of pace and I learnt about the many processes that go into organising and preparing for a fundraising event. "Over the third and fourth days, I was mainly updating records for the many charities that have donated to the hospice. As well as being a data management job, this was a useful experience for me because it was a longer, more extensive job that didn’t take less than a day to complete, so it helped with my timekeeping skills. The fourth day also included a tour through the in-patient unit, which was really interesting and I’m very thankful for having the opportunity to see the more medical side of the hospice. "On my last day on placement, I had a chat with Dr. Anna, a consultant at the hospice. I was able to get some advice around getting into a future career in medicine, which was greatly appreciated. I also received advice from two junior doctors which was very useful. After that, I enjoyed half an hour in the day therapy unit. It was a wonderful atmosphere and I had lots of laughs! "My experience at Wakefield Hospice has been one to remember. I have met so many friendly people who have helped me gain important advice and develop my skills, so that I will be prepared for a future healthcare career. Thanks to everyone in the fundraising team, my placement lead Sophie (without whom this placement wouldn’t have happened) and everyone else involved in running the hospice for making it a very enjoyable week." Theresa Barrett, Head of Fundraising added: "It has been a delight having Eric with us this week supporting the fundraising team. We would all like to say a huge thank you to Eric for his great work and we wish him the very best for his studies and ambitions in the future!" Click here to find out more about volunteering