Why do social service workers still need to be paid? Why can’t volunteers replace them?

“Medical Clown” is the hospital service program currently offered by the Sardine Punk Theater Troupe. Working in pairs, they make regular, long-term, uninterrupted visits to hospitals to provide personalized improvisational performances for patients, their families, and medical personnel, giving everyone in the hospital an opportunity to experience the joyful atmosphere of a theater.

Since Dr. Red Nose program began, many people have asked us: “What is the difference between Medical Clown and the volunteers in hospitals?” and “Aren’t Medical Clown volunteers? Why do they still need to be paid?” Questions like these are common.

Indeed, there are many caring and enthusiastic volunteers and volunteer teams working in hospitals to provide support and care. This is even more true of children’s hospitals, where the number and variety of such volunteers are bound to be greater and their presence more frequent. So why do Medical Clown still need to go into hospitals? What are the differences between Medical Clown and these volunteers?

Medical Clown are, by nature, performing artists, not volunteers. In other words, when a performance fee is paid, the quality of the performance can—and must—be held to a certain standard. Each Medical Clown is developed through a tremendous investment of time and resources by both the individual performer and the organization. Even after officially becoming a Medical Clown and performing in hospitals, they must continue studying, attending classes, and practicing to equip themselves. At most, they can use their spare time to take on occasional jobs or part-time work. Therefore, performance fees are not only a sign of respect for their professionalism; they are also intended to help them maintain a livelihood so that they can devote themselves fully to this work. Like social workers, they can engage in social service work more professionally and wholeheartedly when they do not have to worry about or be preoccupied with making a living.

Besides performance quality, another thing that ordinary volunteer teams find difficult to maintain is the frequency of their visits. In Taiwan, most volunteer teams can only enter hospitals once every few weeks or even once every few months. Medical Clown, however, enter hospitals two or four times a week. This arrangement has been maintained in France for more than ten years. In Taiwan, our program involves a total of sixteen hours of performances each week, meaning that one performer must perform continuously for four or eight hours (depending on how the hospital schedules the sessions). This is quite difficult for volunteer-based teams to sustain, which is also why our funding needs are greater.

The people served by Medical Clown also differ from those served by ordinary volunteer teams, whose focus is on caring for patients and their families. Our concern extends to everyone in the hospital, including medical personnel. When we encounter staff responsible for cleaning, we may also crack a joke and say hello, because the mission of Medical Clown is to briefly release the serious, cold atmosphere and tense pressure in hospitals. The physical and mental well-being of medical personnel is the most important and fundamental element in the many layers of medical care. Therefore, without interfering with medical procedures or work, Medical Clown joke around, provide companionship, sing, and even share moments of fun with them, hoping that hardworking medical staff can carry out their duties in an environment with a relaxed atmosphere.

Finally, Medical Clown do not want merely to “enter” hospitals to provide care and support; they hope to “become” part of the hospital. Through a long-term, regular presence and by developing good rapport and working practices with hospitals and medical staff, Medical Clown hope to become members and partners of the hospital, just like doctors and nurses. Having discussed the differences between Medical Clown and volunteers, we also believe that what they share is a love that cares for the vulnerable, a hope of changing the atmosphere of hospitals, and hearts full of passion. We are all a warm force within the hospital.

（This article was also published on NPOst, a nonprofit information and exchange platform）