Triya’s story

Triya has just started her first job as a doctor in London and credits her volunteering at Grove House in St Albans with inspiring her career in medicine. She says:

“I first volunteered with Rennie Grove in the summer holiday between year 12 and 13 at school. I spent time at Grove House helping out at Day Services with things like organising the sessions, making tea and speaking to patients. I also had the opportunity to attend home visits with some of the Hospice at Home team.

“I really enjoyed the experience, and it taught me a lot about the nature of medicine as a caring profession. I found that this was something I really enjoyed and could see myself doing for a long time. It also felt good to be a part of the community in the place I’d grown up.”

After completing her A levels, she successfully applied to The Queen’s College, University of Oxford, where she spent six years studying medicine.

Remembering her first experience of a medical role at Grove House, she was keen to return to the service to volunteer once again.

“I reached out to Rennie Grove again in my final year of medical school. I wanted to use one of my self-selected modules to come back to Grove House as a volunteer at the other end of medical school, when I would have a different set of skills to offer. I also wanted to learn more about palliative care.

“I completed a two-week voluntary placement in April 2022. During this period I gained huge insight into hospice care thanks to attending visits with physiotherapists, occupational therapists and nurses. I really enjoyed the experience once again and it felt great to be back.

Triya started her first job as a foundation year one doctor in South London this summer.