After 14 years of loyal and committed service Marion Richardson has decided the time is right to step down from her volunteering role as an Acupuncturist with our Family Support Services team.
Over the years Marion has supported many of our day services’ patients at Grove House as a medical acupuncturist. She said: ”When I first trained as a medical acupuncturist, I was keen to combine my new-found knowledge and skill with voluntary work.” She continued: “I knew that acupuncture could be very helpful for a number of conditions and symptoms that Rennie Grove clients would be experiencing and so this was a way of expanding my experience and helping with the care of this group of clients.”
As a trained nurse, medical acupuncturist and teacher Marion brings with her an abundance of skills. Marion has taught other health care professionals via the British Medical Acupuncture Society, and brings the ability to explain and discuss things at the patients’ level. Marion also feels, as a septuagenarian, she brings the wisdom of years and, sadly, the pain of the loss of her two best friends to cancer.
One of the many motivations for volunteers to get involved is to use their skills and expertise to make a difference and the therapy that Marion has delivered has certainly done that. As she expresses: “I enjoy meeting the patients and adding another therapy into their treatment mix. There are sad times, of course, but mostly I see patients improving and getting better as they run through their course of treatments with me.” Marion added: “It’s a joy to be able to relieve some symptoms, to help patients to feel more positive and to get to know them better. Every encounter is a special time for me.”
Marion recognises that the treatments she gives help most of her clients, and, sometimes, not in the way either of them expects. Marion shared a comment from one of her clients who said: “acupuncture has been an important part of my recovery”. This, of course, convinces Marion even further that her contribution has been so worthwhile.
Marion is keen to stress that she also benefits from delivering these treatments. She explained: “It’s good to be ‘hands on’ and to talk to clients in peace and with no hidden agenda. Some want to know how and why acupuncture works and my academic background is useful here but making the patients comfortable for their treatment is just as important. I always say that when I can’t sort out the pillows satisfactorily, it will be time to stop, but I actually don’t want to feel that I have to stop!”
Marion has always regarded her volunteering as a valuable use of her time and that it has a very positive impact on her. If you would like to volunteer with us and you are trained as a medical acupuncturist, or if you know someone who is, then please get in touch via our volunteer enquiry form here.
"There are sad times, of course, but mostly I see patients improving and getting better as they run through their course of treatments with me"
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