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I'm leaning towards clinical, especially with the dementia part
 
allantois said:
I'm leaning towards clinical, especially with the dementia part
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Oh, I see. So what would you recommend me doing to get exposure to a nonclinical volunteering that involves the underserved?

Thank you so much for contributing to this topic. 🙂


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I feel a nursing home would be clinical. Even though they are called residents, they are in all practicality patients. They have their vitals taken every shift, they are given their meds, and most have health problems that are being managed. The staff is made up of nurses and CNAs.


Ever think of habitat for humanity or something along those lines?
 
I've long argued that residents of a nursing home are not "patients" but are residents living their daily lives in a facility designed to meet their need for custodial care and assistance with activities of daily living. Physicians, advanced practice nurses, and physician assistants are not present on a daily basis providing clinical care.

It could count as non-clinical volunteering. Other types of non-clinical volunteering that assists those in need would be tutoring kids whose parents could never afford to pay for tutoring services, mentoring programs for kids who need a 'big sib", programs that provide food, clothing or shelter for those in need (food pantry, soup kitchen, clothing closet, shelter program), friendly visitors for the home-bound elderly and/or disabled.
 
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Whatever you end up calling it, you should avoid saying that you are "making huge impacts." Leave that for others to decide.

Realistically, there is not much that one can do to make a huge impact on someone with dementia, especially from a medical perspective, so an MD hearing or reading you claim as much would not likely be impressed.
 
LizzyM said:
I've long argued that residents of a nursing home are not "patients" but are residents living their daily lives in a facility designed to meet their need for custodial care and assistance with activities of daily living. Physicians and advanced practice nurses, physician assistants are not present on a daily basis providing clinical care.

It could count as non-clinical volunteering. Other types of non-clinical volunteering that assists those in need would be tutoring kids whose parents could never afford to pay for tutoring services, mentoring programs for kids who need a 'big sib", programs that provide food, clothing or shelter for those in need (food pantry, soup kitchen, clothing closet, shelter program), friendly visitors for the home-bound elderly and/or disabled.
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LizzyM said:
I've long argued that residents of a nursing home are not "patients" but are residents living their daily lives in a facility designed to meet their need for custodial care and assistance with activities of daily living. Physicians and advanced practice nurses, physician assistants are not present on a daily basis providing clinical care.

It could count as non-clinical volunteering. Other types of non-clinical volunteering that assists those in need would be tutoring kids whose parents could never afford to pay for tutoring services, mentoring programs for kids who need a 'big sib", programs that provide food, clothing or shelter for those in need (food pantry, soup kitchen, clothing closet, shelter program), friendly visitors for the home-bound elderly and/or disabled.
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So just wondering, would an RN working in a nursing home not be in a clinical position either? What would that be considered?
 
RNtoMD87 said:
So just wondering, would an RN working in a nursing home not be in a clinical position either? What would that be considered?
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Nurses, by definition, provide a clinical service. If a nurse working in home healthcare looks in on my mother for 30 minutes per week to monitor her response to therapy, is my mother a patient in her own home 24/7? I would argue that my mother is not a patient 24/7 if she receives a clinical service episodically in a non-clinical setting. I do not consider nursing homes to be clinical settings. Some nursing home care is covered by Medicare but most is not because it is considered custodial care. (That care can be covered by Medicaid -- care for the poor, but not Medicare.)
 
Boy it sure gets complicated.
 
Platinumabi said:
Oh, I see. So what would you recommend me doing to get exposure to a nonclinical volunteering that involves the underserved?
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Consider volunteering with the homeless, refugees, LGBTQ+, or any other marginalized, underserved group in your community.
 
Tutoring at two different shelters were one of the hardest experiences I’ve had. It is incredibly frustrasting because you have to convince these kids it is worth it to get an education.

In the end, super rewarding, though.
 
I guess I will classify it as a clinical volunteering since the residents have dementia and I am taking care of them. I will try to do Habitat for Humanity or something related to it to fulfill nonclinical volunteering. Thank y’all so much for the contribution in this discussion! Much love and appreciation.


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I volunteered at a nursing home for two years and I’m not sure if it counted as a clinical or underserved I viewed it is more general volunteering. I would definitely get underserved and clinical volunteering besides this
 
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