noffen@heraldsun.com; 419-6646
DURHAM -- They're not doctors nor nurses, not office staff nor technicians.
But if you walk into Duke Hospital's Morris Cancer Clinic, and you're worried or concerned or just confused, they are essential.
They are cancer guide volunteers who work with patients and their families, and Duke needs more of them.
"We want to expand the program," said Phillip Shoe, coordinator of volunteer services at the cancer clinics. "We've started it in the thoracic unit and hope to bring it to a number of other units soon, starting next month."
The program just began this spring. "The clinics were restructuring, and we recognized a need," Shoe said. "We wanted a volunteer role to fit in with the restructuring."
While the cancer clinics have had volunteers working with patients for 23 years -- guiding them in the right direction down a hall, answering simple questions, getting them a cup of coffee -- the cancer guides work more directly with the medical teams and with specific patient populations as well.
"They are there, for instance, in examination rooms, talking to patients who may have to wait a long time or are distressed," Shoe explained. "They get a list of new patients from the medical staff and they are able to immediately identify those who may need help or just need to get oriented."
To expand the program, "we're going to need a lot more folks," he added. "We want to add around 100 more guides over the next several months."
Among the responsibilities for cancer guides:
- Assisting medical teams by serving as a liaison between the medical staff and patients
- Providing hospitality to patients and families in exam rooms
- Informing patients and families of resources available to them, including all Duke Cancer Patient Support Program resources
A minimum one-year commitment is required of all new volunteers. Volunteers work a four-hour shift, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., one day per week, Monday through Friday.
Immunizations are also required and are provided by DUMC for rubella (for all volunteers) and measles and mumps (for volunteers born after Jan. 1, 1957).
Those who are selected as volunteers also must complete TB testing, and fire, safety and infection control training, along with the patient support program's training sessions.
"Most of our volunteers have encountered cancer in one way or another, usually as a caregiver," Shoe said. "But it's definitely not a requirement."
If you are interested in becoming a cancer guide, visit http://bit.ly/CancerGuides or e-mail cancersupport@duke.edu.
