drop volunteering?

[SpaceHamsterBoo]

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I've volunteered 20 hours total at the ED at my local hospital.
From volunteering I've met zero doctors and thus have setup zero shadowing shifts.

I prepare beds and take out the trash--I learn nothing and I feel had I volunteered at a clinic/hospice setting, I would have learned more.

Should I stop volunteering?

 

[BABSstudent]

I say keep doing it. 20 hours is like working out for a week and then complaining about not having a six pack!

I volunteered for 132 hours and got zero shadowing out of it. However, I kept doing it because I loved it. Now only like 9 months until medical school starts.


Sent from my iPod using SDN Mobile app. Please excuse the typos.

 

[WildEMDoc]

Its really up to you. Maybe a little more time would help. I tried hospital volunteering but I quickly realized that I was in a similar situation at a hospital I was volunteering at. I really felt like I did nothing. I gained nothing out of it and really nobody else was really benefiting from my volunteering.

So I gave up on hospital volunteering and began volunteering at a nursing home instead and I found that to be much more enjoyable. I got to interact with patients and actually felt like I was doing something that was benefiting people.

I've also heard that hospice and children's hospital volunteering can be more involved and interactive.

But if you are trying to set up shadowing through volunteering then I guess you are stuck. I know that some residency programs will let people do shadowing, so maybe look for a residency program in your area (if you are in a decent sized city there should be a few specialties) and contact the coordinator.

 

[kpcrew]

yes

 

[lobo.solo]

You have to accumulate volunteer hrs anyways, so why would you stop?

 

[cheechootrain]

You'll need volunteering experience to be ahead on the track. Not having a long and continuous amount can harm and derail your chances. However, if you feel you are not getting the most out of this experience, then look for other opportunities that you can volunteer. No matter what, don't give up on volunteering, but you can for that certain one.

 

[Osteoth]

Yes, drop it like it's hot and find a volunteer experience that both fulfills your hours and also fulfills you as a human being, or else you will be miserable where you're at. I did 40 hours like that, it was torturous.

 

[La Presse]

Let me tell you a bit about what I have learned when pursuing volunteer opportunities. Do not be complacent--at all. If you feel that you are not getting the experience you want, quit.

I applied to several settings when I first started and got to the orientation/interview portions of the programs. Can you believe that I was actually rejected by some!? They sent me letters telling me that they did not have any positions open 🙄 or that I was not a good fit for the hospital. 🙁

The ones I did do very well in, I got to know the interviewers and volunteer staff on a very personal level. During the orientation, I did not say I was trying to fulfill a requirement, but rather trying to fulfill joy for myself and for others. I could not count how many people that were at these events that said "I am pre-this or pre-that...and that is the reason I am volunteering." Trust me. I will never see them again. People hate that. You are at a hospital ffs.

More importantly, it is advised to use social cues and intuition when at these interviews. When everyone has a special story they are sharing concerning a deceased parent or otherwise, you also have to consider what is unique and special about your situation. Also try to look into a hospital setting, as that is where I am thriving and doing meaningful work with patient contact, but it took about an hour to convince my interviewer to allow me in. What i really fear for is when I have to ask for an LoR.

I hope this helps and good luck.

 

[SpaceHamsterBoo]

Hmm, I should have mentioned the following:
I'm volunteering at my local hospital but I'm transferring to uni for Spring 2013; even if I continue volunteering every friday for 4 hours, the max number of hours I'll have accumulated is about 56 hours. I currently have 24 hours of volunteering completed.

Considering that, should I continue or drop?

During my shifts, I'll walk around never get to talk to a doctor or a nurse. If I get to say hi to a patient, I had a good day. Half of the shift is spent playing sudoku or talking with the nurse/staff moving patients from waiting areas to their rooms. Sometimes if I have some spare change, I'll go to the cafeteria and get some lunch and try to kill at least 30 minutes. My volunteering duties include setting beds and taking out the trash. Even the house cleaning staff won't talk to me! I'll try to talk to them and they completely ignore. Sometimes if I'm lucky, a nurse will ask me to run to the inpatient pharmacy or get some units of blood for a patient.

 

[kpcrew]

In an interview, they're not going to ask you how many hours you were there. They're going to ask you what you did and what you learned from the experience. If you aren't interacting with patients, you're wasting your time.

Interviewer: "So I see on your application that you've done some volunteering. Can you tell me more about it?"
You: "I changed some bedsheets and threw away trash."
Interviewer: "I am very impressed by your commitment to becoming a physician and I am convinced that you have what it takes to be a successful medical student and a great doctor."

You can try to be proactive and ask people for stuff to do. Some people are more receptive than others so don't bother anyone who is obviously frazzled. Just make your presence known and make yourself available.

 

[BABSstudent]

Hmm, I should have mentioned the following:
I'm volunteering at my local hospital but I'm transferring to uni for Spring 2013; even if I continue volunteering every friday for 4 hours, the max number of hours I'll have accumulated is about 56 hours. I currently have 24 hours of volunteering completed.

Considering that, should I continue or drop?

During my shifts, I'll walk around never get to talk to a doctor or a nurse. If I get to say hi to a patient, I had a good day. Half of the shift is spent playing sudoku or talking with the nurse/staff moving patients from waiting areas to their rooms. Sometimes if I have some spare change, I'll go to the cafeteria and get some lunch and try to kill at least 30 minutes. My volunteering duties include setting beds and taking out the trash. Even the house cleaning staff won't talk to me! I'll try to talk to them and they completely ignore. Sometimes if I'm lucky, a nurse will ask me to run to the inpatient pharmacy or get some units of blood for a patient.

Your problem is probably the sudoku. Why don't you try talking to people when you are bored? And it takes quite a few hours for the nurses and doctors to realize you are serious about the volunteering. For the first 40 hours in the ER, I cleaned rooms and made beds. Then I befriended a few nurses and they let me start to take vitals and talk to patients (you know, the basic stuff anyone could do). After a while, the doctors saw me doing that and my basic duties and invited me to help wash wounds while they sutured or watch as they pumped a stomach (college town on Friday nights, the most common procedure haha).

As for you moving, I don't think it matters. I say stick it out. Change your perspective now so when you start at a new place you know how to act.


Sent from my iPod using SDN Mobile app. Please excuse the typos.

 

[JustMeditate]

During my shifts, I'll walk around never get to talk to a doctor or a nurse. If I get to say hi to a patient, I had a good day. Half of the shift is spent playing sudoku or talking with the nurse/staff moving patients from waiting areas to their rooms.

You are doing it wrong. It isn't the nurses' or doctors' job to make the volunteer experience worth while. That is your job. If you want patient interaction, you have to go and get it. I work in the ER, and if I didn't physically go up to patients and ask them what they needed or how they were doing, I'd be sitting around bored all day, too.

Most patients won't ask you if they need something. The ER nurses and doctors can be a bit cold, given the long hours and work load, so most patients are afraid to bother someone in a uniform "unnecessarily." But I round on patients every hour, asking if they need a blanket or some water, and I've ended up calming hysterical patients with dementia, who haven't the slightest idea where they are or how they got there. I play with kids in the Peds ER, I wrap nearly immobile patients in blankets, I talk to people who are distressed (everything from the latest bowel movements to UFO conspiracy theories). If you sit around playing sudoku, you'll never get any patient interaction, and the nurses and doctors won't take you seriously as a volunteer either. Find things to do, stay busy.

 

[SpaceHamsterBoo]

You are doing it wrong. It isn't the nurses' or doctors' job to make the volunteer experience worth while. That is your job. If you want patient interaction, you have to go and get it. I work in the ER, and if I didn't physically go up to patients and ask them what they needed or how they were doing, I'd be sitting around bored all day, too.

Most patients won't ask you if they need something. The ER nurses and doctors can be a bit cold, given the long hours and work load, so most patients are afraid to bother someone in a uniform "unnecessarily." But I round on patients every hour, asking if they need a blanket or some water, and I've ended up calming hysterical patients with dementia, who haven't the slightest idea where they are or how they got there. I play with kids in the Peds ER, I wrap nearly immobile patients in blankets, I talk to people who are distressed (everything from the latest bowel movements to UFO conspiracy theories). If you sit around playing sudoku, you'll never get any patient interaction, and the nurses and doctors won't take you seriously as a volunteer either. Find things to do, stay busy.

I was taught what to do by a volunteer and thus I follow what I've been taught. The volunteer there is a senior volunteer and has been doing it for over XXXX hours. I try to talk to the nurses every now and then. I'll try to talk to the patients and I've asked nurses if I can take patients back to the rooms but the answer has always been NO.

I've done 20 hours and I think I should either stick it out until the end of the semester or drop it and then try to find a hospice opportunity which would also be done half-well because of a time limitation. I think I'm going to stick it out and make the best of this situation.

 

[Planes2Doc]

Half of the shift is spent playing sudoku or talking with the nurse/staff moving patients from waiting areas to their rooms. Sometimes if I have some spare change, I'll go to the cafeteria and get some lunch and try to kill at least 30 minutes.

I volunteered at a suburban hospital that was nowhere near a large college campus. I was the only volunteer in the ED, so they always kept me busy doing scut work. In hindsight, I would have killed for your type of experience. You might be playing Sudoku now, but you can be studying for school a month down the road. If I remember correctly, volunteer ECs are generally considered worthless, so the only thing you need are those verifiable hours in the unlikely case that an ADCOM will verify it. So if you can get away by doing your own stuff without getting in trouble, then definitely take advantage of it and don't quit!

 

[rubisco88]

Drop it. You can find something better.

 

[angemon89]

I also dropped hospital volunteering after just 12 hours. However, I only dropped it after having a backup ready.

 

[JustMeditate]

I was taught what to do by a volunteer and thus I follow what I've been taught.

Well, I suppose that if you are legitimately being prevented from having patient interaction--you've tried to gain one-on-one interaction and have been specifically told to stop it---the experience is not worth while. If you weren't moving, I'd say drop the gig like its hot, but if you stick with it until you move and do well, you could use it on your resume to get a better experience at a better hospital after the move.

 

[notbobtrustme]

suck it up, grind out your 50-70 hours and then quit. Remember, you'll learn how to be a doctor in medical school and residency. Volunteering is a means to an end, nothing more.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

suck it up, grind out your 50-70 hours and then quit. Remember, you'll learn how to be a doctor in medical school and residency. Volunteering is a means to an end, nothing more.

Would an internship look good as well, after, say, 100 hours of hospital volunteering?

 

[Skull Pell]

Be more proactive in looking for doctors/nurses to shadow. If anything, get a Cna/emt license and apply for the same department/unit you're already in. Youll get the pt contact exp youre yearning for and you directly work under rns and mds. I've come to a point where I hang out with doctors outside the hospital/work setting all by just asking them "is there anything fun going on tonight doc?" or "any cool procedures you're gonna do?"

But you have to be mindful if they're stressed out so as not to piss them off. When they get to know you as a pre-med student who is enthusiastic about learning - boom - doors open like crazy. I work at a teaching hospital thats why the whole staff is big on learning. Heck you might ask them if they have any colleagues in the field that you're interested in (if that's not emergency medicine)

 

[notbobtrustme]

Would an internship look good as well, after, say, 100 hours of hospital volunteering?

sure, it shows that you play well with others.