Voluntary work in elderly care home for medicine - what to expect?

Yep it's pretty much what the last poster said. I've worked in a tonne of these places during my nurse training, they're not all bad Old people are pretty cool and you can have a laugh with the majority of them. You'll probably find that you'll be feeding people - as a lot of them can't do it themselves, assisting with washing and getting dressed, helping people to the toilets - that sorta thing.
I tried to split my time and spend a couple of days with the HCA's doing hands-on stuff like washing, feeding etc. Then I'd spend a couple of days with the nurses doing the 'nursey' stuff like doing meds, writing care plans, changing dressings, making referrals etc.

Nursing homes are normally quite chilled out, in my last one we played bingo with them in the afternoons, if it was sunny outside we'd take them out into the gardens to the smokers could have a fag and the demented ones could get a change of scenery etc.

I'm babbling now. I hope you enjoy it anyway!

I did this when I was 17, might have been cause' of age and lack of training but I didn't do anything hands on (which I was glad about)- just vacuuming, making tea, giving out biscuits, washing up, stuff like that.

Yeah, I'm 16 so I'm not sure how much I will be expected to do. Frankly, I don't want to help someone go to the toilet, it would be weird. Then again, someone has to help them and its a kind thing to do.

If you're only 16, get ready for a lot of bed-making, washing up etc. It's difficult to give 16 year olds a lot of practical jobs to do, so probably you'll spend a lot of time talking/playing board games with them.

Okay, gotta love board games

Playing bingo with dementia/hard-of-hearing residents is always fun (and you ALWAYS win )

I worked in a care home for a year (my gap year) and it's given be valuable insights into the jobs of nurses/HCAs...and taught me massive respect for people who get up at 6am to change someone's catheter bag for a living. Maybe ask if you can shadow a nurse/HCA - you'll prob just stand and watch, and you'll prob get in the way, but that's still how you feel in medical school so get used to it haha

So it'll be useful

Just googled catheter bag and it doesn't look like these nurses have a very pleasant job! And you're right, it must be a 24/7 operation

Yeah, I'm 16 so I'm not sure how much I will be expected to do. Frankly, I don't want to help someone go to the toilet, it would be weird. Then again, someone has to help them and its a kind thing to do.

Did you have to get CRB checked? Because I remember applying like last October but because I was still 15, I was too young to be CRB checked. But they never told me how old I should be so I'm stuck wondering if I'm old enough to reapply yet and I don't want to come across like I'm pestering the care home for a placement.

I think 16. Why not call them and ask?

it's 18 to be CRB checked

You can actually be CRB checked from the age of 10. Not sure in what circumstances you would need that though.