We've got this! Take care of each other
As you can in my previous blog reading the conditions, I started volunteering at the Erasmus Hospital in the Covid ward last week.
Helping hand on Covid ward
From the age of 15e year of my life until the end of my studies, I worked in a hospital in Arnhem. I worked there every weekend and almost all holidays for 6 years and I always thought it was fantastic. I worked on just about every department, including outpatients, A&E as well as various patient wards. I remember starting in cleaning, but I was soon asked to run a department in the area of food and drink. The job was still called Nutritional Assistant back then and it was a role that was made for me. Not that I thought cleaning was terrible, because you had nice patient contact there too, but now I could really care for people. Back then I already discovered that I love looking after and relieving people of burdens. Making people happy (even if just for a moment) with a friendly smile, a pat on the back or a few warm words. That is actually still what makes me very happy, in a very different way at goMICE, but it is apparently in my blood. Putting a smile on patients' faces and making family happy in a pleasant and warm way with a chat. That gave me a lot of fulfilment. It is actually unusual that I didn't become a nurse or doctor, because care suited me quite well then and still does.
And now I am back in the hospital again. Once more I was able to encourage people and speak to or guide visitors. Furthermore, I was able to help the nursing staff with a few tasks here and there. I went home with a good feeling. I had really been able to make a difference again for a little while. What is also really lovely to experience is that the Red Cross truly has a very good image. Everyone is keen to ask you something and trusts that you will also know how to answer the question. People approach you very easily and when you mention that you are working as a volunteer for this wonderful organisation. You immediately receive very lovely and warm reactions as a result. I was proud to be allowed to walk around in this striking uniform and hope to be able and allowed to keep doing so for a long time to come.
Completion of Mediation training
Because I haven't needed or been able to travel for business since last year, I had about a third of my time left over. After all, normally I'd be on a plane on average four times a month for inspections or to accompany a trip. Alongside the voluntary work at the Erasmus Hospital, I also started studying Mediation last year. I hope to finish this around the summer with a number of exams, after which I can start working as an MFN-registered mediator for parties who can no longer resolve issues between themselves.
People often think of mediation in the context of divorces, but mediation is used much more broadly and increasingly often. For example, judges are more and more frequently sending parties back to try mediation first before the judge has to make a ruling. Mediators are also widely deployed in the business world and via occupational health services. As a mediator, I would like to focus on the latter two. After all, I have encountered those kinds of conflicts frequently in my career and this is potentially where my greatest strength lies. Naturally, I will also make myself available for other types of mediation, such as divorces, etc., wherever people might want to engage me as a mediator.
Around May or June, my mediation website will be going live and I hope to start helping people to talk to each other again, because that is the core task within mediation: teaching people to communicate with each other again without arguing, so that they can look for solutions themselves to resolve the conflict. Incidentally, mediation is certainly not therapy. Relationship therapists and psychologists exist for that. Mediation is usually the penultimate station before a judge. With mediation, you might still be able to part ways amicably, with both parties' interests being accommodated. The judge, on the other hand, will make a ruling in a conflict and usually that always turns out worse for one party. And so mediation is well worth a try and can therefore be used both professionally and privately. Meanwhile, I am also nearly trained as a neighbourhood mediator and from next week I will be putting my first mediation sessions (neighbourhood mediation) into practice.
Curious about more of our social and community initiatives? Read here more about our employees' experiences.
Anita van Maanen
Managing Director