1. Accompanying sick patients in hospitals

• Accompanying patients
• Assisting family members
• Meeting with other volunteers
• Informative workshops and animations. For example: Skin care, tissue placement, etc.

2. Assisting the residency of AECC Madrid: Care for sick patients who come for treatment in Madrid and their family members who stay for a period of time in the residency of AECC

• Accompanying patients, kids and adults
• Assisting family members
• Animation workshops
• Leisure outings
• Preparing activities

Avda. Dr. Federico Rubio y Galí, 84
28040 Madrid

Tel.: 91 398 5900
informacion@aecc.es

         Ava Stechschulte, Tufts. Spring 2023.                Hospital Fundación Jiménez Díaz.

I planned workshops and fun activities for families in the AECC residences. It was a great opportunity to improve my speaking and to engage with the community in a meaningful way! Jamie Yee, Tufts. Spring 2022

    Lily Wright & Astrid Larson (Tufts) en AECC    Spring 2022

I can’t say much about the internship since it started late due to COVID and I have only been a handful of times. I will say they were very willing to work to accommodate. When I was getting placed there was a lot of confusion with which hospital I was supposed to be at (within the organization) and I think I was accidentally placed at 2 hospitals which was confusing but I love the hospital I ended up at and would recommend. Grace Laber, Tufts. Spring 2022

A typical day for me at my internship involves visiting patients in the waiting rooms for oncology and hematology, followed by visits to individual patients who have been newly admitted to the hospital or have been there for a longer period. I inform them about the free resources offered by the association, and also just keep them company and talk to them. In the future, I want to be a doctor, and this internship is giving me a lot of experience with interacting with patients. Ami Okorom, Smith College. Spring 2020

                   Melissa Quirós, Tufts. Fall 2019

               Hospital 12 de Octubre de Madrid   

I volunteer with AECC in the Hospital 12 de octubre in the children’s oncology wing. On the days that I have to go to my internship, I get excited thinking about the bright smiles that will greet me when I arrive. For a few hours a day, I get to make an impact on the lives of children during their time of need. Their unwavering optimism has taught me a lot and I consider myself extremely lucky to have this opportunity. Melissa Quiros, Tufts. Fall 2019

   … .Lina Sznajderman, Skidmore. Spring 2019

…….. Hospital Gregorio Marañón

I have been talking to cancer patients along with their family members and offering them company as well as a snack or coffee for the family members. I believe this is a great opportunity to see the Spanish healthcare system and to brighten a patient’s day. This is an integral experience for me deciding to continue on the pre-med track. Diana Hernandez, Tufts, Spring 2019

With the AECC, I am learning how to interact with patients. My job consists of visiting patients with cancer and their families at the hospital to serve as a distraction to the struggling times they are facing. This is helpful to me as my career as a clinical neuropsychologist will involve interacting with patients. Luz de Leon, Skidmore. Spring 2019

Julia Turner, Tufts. Spring 2019 ……………………….. Hospital 12 de Octubre

How to speak to and provide resources for patients and families struggling to fight cancer.I would definitely recommend it to anyone who can emotionally deal with this type of work without getting overly emotionally attached. I want to be a nurse and this is definitely amazing practice (speaking in Spanish to patients/ learning Spanish medical vocabulary and learning bedside manner. Lina Sznajderman, Skidmore. Spring 2019

I am working on the child oncology floor of the Hospital 12 de Octubre, the kids are ages less than a month to 18. I play and talk with the kids, being someone who is there for any support they might need. I would definitely recommend this internship, it’s a lot of fun, very low-key, and it’s great for anyone who wants to work in a medical setting. Sarah Levine, Tufts, Fall 2018.

Jackie Cabral, Tufts. Fall 2018 Hospital Fundación Jiménez Díaz

As a volunteer with AECC, I have the opportunity to interact with patients in the cancer wing of a pediatric hospital and do whatever activities they want to do. In this internship, I am getting exposure to the hospital-setting and of course improving my Spanish. I would recommend this internship especially to students who are planning to pursue a career in the health care field. Maddy van der Rijn, Tufts. Spring 2018

I absolutely loved my internship at the AECC and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interesting in working in a hospital setting in the future. I would visit with cancer patients every week, and also go around the waiting rooms and offer coffee, tea, or cookies to people. The patient interactions could be hard sometimes, but this experience solidified by desire to work in the medical field. Maura Barry, Tufts. Fall 2017

When I signed up with AECC I was excited but really, really nervous! (Talking to cancer patients is impactful but intimidating, ESPECIALLY if you’re doing it in a second lagnuage.) I was worried that I would say things wrong or upset them or say too much or not say enough or… My coordinator, Nacho, sat me down on the first day and went through EVERYTHING with me: how to know which patients to visit, how to take notes, how to start a conversation, how to respond to a variety of situations, who to talk to if you don’t know the answer to someone’s question, etc. We actually have a partner with us every day as we do rounds which really helps. Sometimes I also help out with information tables in the lobby. My first week went really well and I feel more comfortable every time I go back. It’s great to see patients get cleared to leave the hospital and there are always some familiar faces in the day hospital. I would recommend this internship for other CH/pre-med kids! Megan Thode, Tufts. Fall 2017

I volunteer at a hospital near Alcalá to visit and chat with patients with cancer and offer them anything that might make their stay more comfortable. Though it can be challenging to connect with the patients when you only see them on a rotating basis for 5-10 minutes a week, there will be certain experiences here and there that will be very meaningful and that will stay with you for a while. You will get to know the other volunteers very well, however, who are some of the loveliest people I’ve met in my time here. I’d recommend it for anyone interested in the medical field who wants a less strenuous internship while abroad. Karen Ha, Tufts. Fall 2017

As a volunteer for the AECC, I spend my Wednesday mornings visiting cancer patients at the Hospital Universitario Quirónsalud in Madrid. My mentor, Lola, and I do our rounds together, first bringing coffee and tea to patients waiting for their results or radiation therapy treatments, and then going to speak one-on-one with inpatients in their rooms. AECC’s goal in these visits is to provide companionship for people who might not have it otherwise, and to exist as a friendly face and someone they can talk to about their feelings when the only other hospital staff they communicate with are doctors, often delivering bad news or confusing information. In addition to the patient visits, the AECC also provides workshops and services for cancer patients including makeup lessons and subsidized wigs and medical equipment. I have absolutely loved my experience with the AECC because it allowed me to see a completely different side of medicine and practice my Spanish at the same time. Since Im pre-med and will hopefully be a doctor one day, I will definitely carry this experience with me in my future career. Clara Williamson, Tufts. Spring 2017

              Clara Williamson

I really love the group of volunteers I work with. They are so welcoming and kind! I work with children with cancer and it’s such a neat experience. They love learning about where I am from and learning some English words. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in medicine/working with children. Charli Suchin, Tufts. Spring 2017

I am learning how a Spanish hospital operates and about the different circumstances cancer patients face. My role is to talk with the patients and hopefully provide a brief and pleasant distraction from their current situation. I would recommend it for students who can handle that type of medical environment where some aspects may be emotionally overwhelming. Ashlee Guzman, Tufts. Spring 2017

An Unexpected Internship by Alex Tremblay McGaw, Skidmore. Spring 2017

                   Alex Tremblay-McGaw