I've worked in two different hospital ERs. In the first one, I was a volunteer, and all I was really supposed to do was clean the rooms (i.e. wipe everything down, change the linens, tidy up) and get patients things like blankets, water, meals, etc. However, I lucked out because one of the Techs thought I was an "intern" and let me watch some procedures.
I was kind of bored with it because stocking and cleaning didn't require too much of my ability, brainpower, or time.
In the second hospital, I was officially a premed "intern" and got to do a lot more. I worked Friday nights in the ER/level 1 trauma and got to do a bunch of things. This included acquiring 12-lead EKGs, hooking patients up to the monitors (pulse-ox, BP cuff, heart rate), cleaning and dressing wounds, taking vitals, assisting with suturing, and escorting and transporting patients. I got to help with intubation and also pumped the breathing bag
. I watched the insertion of IVs, chest tubes, central lines, and urinary catheters, x-ray and CT scans, and even some facial reconstructive plastic surgery. The traumas were always interesting... tons of drunk drivers and motor vehicle accidents (rollovers, people with cars falling on them, motorcycle accidents, ATV accidents) and gunshot wounds. This one guy came in with 7 holes in his chest! This other couple came in with twigs sticking out of their scalp because they had rammed into a tree on their ATV. Since I worked Friday nights, I had my fair share of crazy yelling drunk/drugged people rolling into the hospital at 3am needing restraints and police dogs. As an intern, I was lucky to have the freedom to wander around the ER and basically observe and do whatever I pleased. They encouraged me to jump in and help when patients came in via ambulance or helicopter. Some of the ER docs were especially nice to me, inviting me to do certain things and taking time to explain everything to me, while the patients sat there like
? It was a great experience... I could go on and on!
Among those things, there was still the ever-glamorous part which included cleaning beds, walking to the lab, stocking stuff, dealing with poop and pee and blood samples, getting spit, bled, and vomited on.
Like someone else said, it really depends on the hospital and what they let the volunteers/premeds do. Generally, in an ER, it's all about your initiative and enthusiasm. Everyone's so busy that you could show up, sit in the corner for 8 hours, and no one would notice or give a crap. So find out what they will and won't let you do, push that to the limit, and basically show that you're really interested and willing to help with anything without crossing any lines. Good luck with your ER experience!