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For the past five years she has provided medical care at a variety of events around the Wellington, Wairarapa and Kapiti Coast and has recently been working in the Patient Transfer Service (PTS). 

Volunteering for Wellington Free Ambulance means working at some amazing events and being part of a great team, it can also be really fun and exciting working under a bit of pressure, says Roberta.

“It’s such a cool way to give back to the community and very rewarding. 

“I like that no matter what part of Wellington Free you work in, whether it is in events the PTS or Emergency Ambulance Service, you are part of a team and no matter what, you always have the guidance and skills of others to support you.”

Roberta says it feels like she is a part of a family at Wellington Free and everyone is there for each other.

Working in PTS has been an exciting new challenge, different from events but still involving patient care. 

She says she has thoroughly enjoyed working within the PTS team and also her time out on the road navigating Wellington streets, meeting deadlines and the lovely people she has met along the way. 

“I have been part of dialysis runs, transporting mums to see their babies in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit and hospital transfers while also getting to know our regular patients. 

Getting to know a patient over a short period of time, and building trust helps them open up, “you may only be in their life a short period of time but my aim is to always provide best care and have a laugh with them too,” says Roberta. 

“There is a real sense of gratitude being able to take a patient home and knowing you were part of that process, working hard to ensure it was the best possible experience for them and their families.” 

Roberta is encouraged by the valuable life lessons she has learnt in her time with Wellington Free, a lot have come from patients, she says. 

She describes meeting an “awesome patient” who despite experiencing recent challenges has the most positive outlook on life - no matter how hard it gets you have to be strong - carry on and tell yourself it could be worse.

“I finished my shift thinking ‘wow what a cool human being’, ‘I could learn a thing or two from you’ and I felt really lucky we had met that night.” 

It’s the diverse range of people she gets to meet and build a rapport with that makes volunteering interesting including those who simply want to pass on a thanks to the service. 

“There is no greater feeling than a stranger approaching me to pass on a thank you to the service for helping them or their family and it always puts a smile on my face.” 

Volunteering from a young age, Roberta is used to looking after people, in her day job she is a lifeguard and has been for almost thirteen years.   

It’s another way to meet people, she says and a chance to provide the best customer experience for anyone who walks through the door. It was a job she embarked on soon after leaving school and where she’s worked completing her paramedicine degree. 

Roberta says it can be a challenge balancing her volunteer work with her fulltime shifts at the pool, but most events happen on the weekend and with notice she can align it with her work roster. 

 “If there is a really exciting event I may swap one of my shifts at the pool to work the event. When you really enjoy something you can always make it work,” she says.

Fancy joining Roberta and the Event Medic team? If you’re interested in volunteering with Wellington Free Ambulance can find more on our volunteer page.

If you’re keen to help your community, we would love to hear from you.