From clinical experience to communication, compassion and teamwork, the skills you bring as a nurse open up all kinds of volunteer roles from charities and the NHS to abroad.
Read on to learn how you can volunteer as a nurse, with advice on finding the right opportunity for you, whatever your motivation, time and career stage.
Why Are Volunteer Nurses Needed?
With growing demand for healthcare services, the NHS, hospices and charities rely on volunteers to support them in offering free care. In the NHS trusts, 71,828 people volunteered 6.4 million hours in 2024, while 100,000 volunteers reduce hospice costs by an estimated 23%.
When healthcare staff are stretched for capacity, volunteer nurses can bring extra time and compassion to patient care. This is especially the case in palliative and end-of-life care, where volunteers can bridge workforce shortages and provide meaningful emotional support and connection.
Do I Have to Be a Registered Nurse to Volunteer?
To volunteer as a nurse, you will need to hold a Registered Nurse (RN) qualification with current registration and indemnity insurance to practise without restrictions.
No matter the stage of your healthcare career, you’ll likely be able to find a volunteering opportunity to suit. For healthcare volunteering roles, organisations will likely look for you to have a background as a nurse, support worker, or in another clinical role.
Benefits of Volunteering for Nurses
While people volunteer for many different reasons, here are three benefits nurses can gain from volunteering:
1. Delivering Person-Centred Care
If you chose to become a nurse because you wanted to make a difference in the lives of others, volunteering provides a new setting for you to use your skills.
When Cate, a senior NHS nurse, decided to volunteer with us as a healthcare support worker, she found value in the relationships that come with personal care:
“It felt really odd because obviously I’ve been in very senior roles in the NHS, but also really lovely because doing personal care and doing that kind of care with the patients is lovely. Because you get to know them really well.
“It’s given me joy back in nursing because I can do nursing the way I think it should be done. I can spend time. Just being able to work in an atmosphere that looks after the whole person.”
You can hear the rest of Cate’s story here:
2. Professional Development
Whether you’re a student nurse or want to make a change into a new field, volunteering can give you the opportunity to learn new skills, grow your network and gain fresh perspectives on where you’d like to develop your career.
For example, as a volunteer nurse at our hospice, you can work alongside and learn from our experienced palliative care practitioners. Wherever you volunteer, you can expect ongoing support from your organisation to help you feel confident and valued in your role.
3. Free Accommodation
As a volunteer nurse, you may be offered free accommodation to support you in your role. At Skanda Vale Hospice, our nurses can stay for free at our Skanda Hafan Guesthouse for a five-day stay, or in an Ashram setting at Skanda Vale for a stay of three months or more, with all meals provided.
You can find out more about our free accommodation for healthcare volunteers here:
Where Can I Volunteer as a Nurse?
If you’re interested in volunteering as a nurse, here are resources we recommend for finding opportunities both in the UK and abroad. To learn more, read our guide to finding a volunteer role near you.
Volunteer Nursing in the UK
In the UK, you can volunteer as a nurse with hospices, hospitals, care homes and community health projects.
A good place to begin is visiting the websites of organisations that interest you in your local community. Many will post volunteer opportunities with information on how to apply.
You can also look for opportunities with large charities such as Macmillan and Marie Curie, which can put you in touch with their local branches. The NHS also regularly posts opportunities for volunteers in Wales and England.
Volunteer Nursing Abroad
According to the BMJ, 42% of NHS staff have volunteered or taken a placement overseas. This is most common among students.
As a nurse, volunteering internationally can be a valuable way to learn and gain a new perspective, with studies estimating a 24-41% productivity increase in NHS staff who have volunteered abroad.
If volunteering abroad interests you, you can find opportunities in:
- Humanitarian and disaster-relief organisations like The British Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières
- Community health projects such as vaccinations, maternal health and health education
To help you find the right opportunity abroad, it’s worth asking for recommendations from your nursing colleagues and thoroughly researching organisations before you volunteer.
(Please note that, at Skanda Vale Hospice, we aren’t currently able to accept volunteer nurses from abroad.)
Volunteer Nursing in Palliative Care
If you want to practice clinical excellence in an uplifting environment where you can grow professionally and personally, giving care in the way you’d like to receive it, we recommend considering volunteering as a nurse in palliative care.
At Skanda Vale Hospice, our nurses work closely with our team of carers, companions and complementary therapists to deliver holistic, person-centred care, bringing warmth and connection to people’s time with us.
To find out more about what it’s like to volunteer in palliative care, here is Cathy’s story. After years in demanding nursing roles, from pediatric intensive care to infection prevention, Cathy discovered something different when she retired and began to volunteer at our hospice:
“I’m doing what I want to do, and I feel that I’m able to put the patient first and foremost. That’s what I enjoy about working here.”
Getting Started
We hope this article has left you inspired by the possibilities for you to volunteer as a nurse and how volunteering can make a difference in your community, while helping you thrive as a professional and in your personal life.
At Skanda Vale Hospice, we can provide a huge range of rewarding hospice volunteering roles that can work flexibly around your other commitments.
Learn more about our volunteer nurse opportunities and free accommodation for healthcare volunteers here.
