getting the most out of hospital volunteering

[hello3angel]

I just started volunteering at the Labor & Delivery (L&D) unit, and I am trying to think of ways to get the most out of my experience.

The first day I went, I started out answering phones, letting people in and out of the unit, and basically sitting there and reading signs. I then asked around for new tasks, and I eventually started organizing medical records. I got to see a tour of the unit, and I chatted briefly with parents who came in for post-birth check-ups. Chatting consisting mainly of info to relay to nurses.

My second day, I did basically the same, minus organizing medical records. I ended up reading the L&D information booklet and learned about various birth- and infant-related issues, ranging from breastfeeding to testing for various defects such as biotinidase deficiency and congenital adrenal hyperplasia. I wanted many times to ask for more work... but I also didn't want to be pesky.

So, my question is basically this. Based on the above information, is there something more I could do to get more out of my volunteering experience? I have already tried asking for more work, but, as I mentioned above, I don't want to end up being annoying. Also, how can I go about getting experience that is more clinical in nature? I have volunteered for years and am in my second year of AmeriCorps, so volunteering in itself isn't really something I need to "pad my application." Application-padding isn't anything I'm looking to do anyway. What I am looking for is some kind of experience that will tell me that medicine is what I really want to do. In that case, I feel I need to do something that is more clinical in nature. And by "clinical," I mean working with patients directly in a way that is medically relevant.

Thanks beforehand!

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[nlax30]

Sounds like you already have some decent "volunteer" experience to talk about, at this point why don't you just start looking for some shadowing experiences?

Either go through your school's premed group if there is one or start calling up local docs and just get some time acually following physicians to see what they do on a daily basis. I'd say first look into whether your advisor or a local premed group has any contacts as they may already have a list of local physicians who are receptive to having students come shadow them. You can also contact the medical education department of local hospitals and see if they can get you on contact with someone.

I know one of the hospitals I rotate at with a residency program will occassionally have a high school or college student come in to shadow and it's just handled by our med education dept.

 

[VisionaryTics]

You're not really going to get any "clinical" experience in volunteering. I think people go into it thinking they're going to be in the OR or running bags of blood to people being resuscitated or something.

Your job is to make the lives of nurses, physicians, and patients easier by doing the skill-less crap that bogs them down (answering phones, letting people in and out, organizing stuff, talking to patients or guests who are waiting to figure out whether they have something worth bringing to the medical staff).

I've done volunteering stints in a few different units at different hospitals, and the closest time I ever came to "clinical" experience is holding a quadriplegic's leg while a nurse changed the bandage on his pressure sore.

With volunteering, the most experience you will get is dealing with people. Hospitals make people anxious, they hate waiting, they hate not knowing what's going on, and your job as a volunteer is to talk to them and make them comfortable, which is a valuable skill for a healthcare practitioner to have.

If you really want to see stuff and be in there for procedures, do some shadowing as the other poster suggested. When you're a volunteer, you have a job to do and it's not to satiate your curiosity about medicine.

 

[Compass]

Q: Have you smelled your patients yet?

Hospital volunteering isn't quite the same if you're not doing direct patient care. I gave up trying to find a hospital job because they wouldn't let me near patients. I'm happily working as an EMT seeing about 6 patients a shift now.

There's nothing wrong with doing what you're doing, but you're not getting exposed to clinical medicine quite like what would help you. Ask to see surgery, ask to follow an MD/DO around, ask to experience what they do.

 

[mrmilad]

You're not really going to get any "clinical" experience in volunteering. I think people go into it thinking they're going to be in the OR or running bags of blood to people being resuscitated or something.

Your job is to make the lives of nurses, physicians, and patients easier by doing the skill-less crap that bogs them down (answering phones, letting people in and out, organizing stuff, talking to patients or guests who are waiting to figure out whether they have something worth bringing to the medical staff).

I've done volunteering stints in a few different units at different hospitals, and the closest time I ever came to "clinical" experience is holding a quadriplegic's leg while a nurse changed the bandage on his pressure sore.

With volunteering, the most experience you will get is dealing with people. Hospitals make people anxious, they hate waiting, they hate not knowing what's going on, and your job as a volunteer is to talk to them and make them comfortable, which is a valuable skill for a healthcare practitioner to have.

If you really want to see stuff and be in there for procedures, do some shadowing as the other poster suggested. When you're a volunteer, you have a job to do and it's not to satiate your curiosity about medicine.

This is not true, I have a full year of clinical experience in every department I worked in. You need to be very proactive and stick your neck out there. For the first few weeks you need to do your hard work and then eventually when the staff knows you, you should start to ask them to get more involved.

 

[Disinence2]

I think Visionary's experience with volunteering is typical. At some more rural hospitals you might be able to get more involved.

To the OP. I think you should try shadowing. Sounds like you had a ton of volunteering, and you really can't get much of a feel for what its like to be a doctor by answering phones and following around nurses.

 

[tennisstar89]

I also volunteer at a hospital but on a patient recovery floor. I walk around to all the rooms and pass out ice chips and just sit and comfort them if they are lonely. I also do the occasional clerical work, making incoming patient packets, but I find my patient interaction most rewarding and valuable for med school. Can you switch to a patient floor where you can have more patient interaction?

Also, volunteering at free clinics is great because you get to things that hospital would never let you do, like check patients in and do blood pressure checks. I think this would be ideal if you were looking for a relevant volunteering experience.

 

[hello3angel]

Thank you! This is all very helpful. I think, from what I read, I will continue doing what I'm doing at L&D. I've already started asking a lot of questions and offering help outside of what I already do, which has helped with establishing relationships with those around me. I will then seek shadowing opportunities within a month or two.

I have also strongly considered taking a CNA or EMT course in the Spring. How does this sound? Anyone think I should choose one course over the other?