Ever thought about a career in medicine? The first thoughts that spring to mind are at least 570 points for medicine and a gruelling interview for nursing. There's much more to healthcare than getting past the Central Applications Office, however, as transition-year students on the AosÓg programme have found.

The programme was set up nearly four years ago at the Royal Hospital Donnybrook (RHD), in Dublin, to meet an urgent need for volunteers.

"The level of medical care provided at the RHD is excellent, and our staff are extremely caring, but there are lots of other things that are essential in life aside from medical care," says Jane Boulton, who co-ordinates volunteers.

"Long-stay patients need someone to talk to and laugh with. We set up the AosÓg programme for transition year not only to meet some of the needs of the hospital but also in the hope that students would learn something whilst they were here."

Today the hospital benefits enormously from having a steady supply of happy, talented, hard-working and willing young people. The 18 schools that are now involved in the programme have become an integral part of the hospital.

"The students who visit are involved in a whole range of activities. Conversation is one of the most important things students can do: simply to sit and chat. "Patients gain a huge amount just by being able to be with someone young and happy. The students also organise games, outings and social activities for the patients."

The programme has been designed to have huge benefits not only for the hospital and its patients but also, Boulton believes, for the students. Communication skills, intergenerational contact, awareness of their abilities and a chance to make a difference are just some of the benefits that students describe.

"The work at the hospital is not about how academically brilliant students are but about what sort of people they are and what they have inside them. Students often learn a great deal about their own strengths and weaknesses," says Boulton.