Jaida’s Practicum with Purpose

When we think of hospice volunteers, we might picture people serving cups of tea, sorting donations, or offering a comforting hand to patients and families. But volunteering comes in many shapes and forms—and Jaida Steenhuis is a perfect example of how you can also support hospice services by sharing your professional skills to support vital project work.

Jaida is a Master of Public Health student from Brock University in Canada, currently completing a 420-hour practicum placement at Nelson Tasman Hospice. While she may not be found in the inpatient unit or in one of our shops, her contribution behind the scenes is making a real difference.

Since February, Jaida has been working closely with our leadership team on quality improvement initiatives. One of her key projects has been redesigning and automating the Patient and Whānau Satisfaction Survey process. This important survey collects feedback at both admission and discharge, and Jaida’s work means the results are now automatically collected, analysed, and ready to inform service improvements in real time.

She’s also been rolling up her sleeves on another big task – digitising and streamlining our internal audit processes. By helping automate these systems, Jaida is reducing the time spent on admin and enabling better accuracy, transparency, and data accessibility. These behind-the-scenes improvements may not be visible to patients and whānau, but they play a big role in helping our colleagues deliver high-quality, responsive care.

It’s a big change from the hands-on volunteer roles she’s done in the past – like leading physical activity programs for the neurodiverse community – but Jaida sees this project-based work as just as meaningful. “I think it’s important to give back,” she says. “It doesn’t have to be 25 hours a week – even a couple of hours here and there can really make a difference.”

For Jaida, this placement has not only helped her apply her studies in a real-world setting—it’s also sparked a growing interest in project management. While she’ll be heading back to Canada in July, she’ll take with her the experience of contributing to a community she’s grown to love.

As volunteering evolves, stories like Jaida’s remind us that there’s no one “right” way to give. Whether you have an afternoon to spare or a specialised skillset to share, there’s a place for you at Hospice.

To learn more about how to get involved, contact – volunteers@nelsonhospice.org.nz