Hospital volunteering

[InTypical]

I am a senior in high school who just turned 18 and applied as an adult volunteer at a local hospital. I have orientation in a few days. Any helpful tips or info you think I need to know? Feel free to ask me anything about it as well.

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[Avulse]

It depends on your position in the hospital and what your duties will be. I would suggest having volunteering with direct patient interactions (rather than restocking rooms, etc). In addition, since its still relatively early, whichever volunteering experiences you choose, try and stick with them for over 2 years, it will show commitment. Adcoms like to see a few volunteer experiences over a long period of time, rather than many, miscellaneous experiences. Throughout your time at the hospital, try and make connections with physicians and take advantage of shadowing opportunities if they offer them. Eventually try to move to a paid position. Haha I didnt mean to write alot, good luck!

 

[RNtoMD87]

I am a senior in high school who just turned 18 and applied as an adult volunteer at a local hospital. I have orientation in a few days. Any helpful tips or info you think I need to know? Feel free to ask me anything about it as well.

Well what are you doing? Volunteer work is broad.

 

[Catalystik]

I am a senior in high school who just turned 18 and applied as an adult volunteer at a local hospital. I have orientation in a few days. Any helpful tips or info you think I need to know? Feel free to ask me anything about it as well.

Try to avoid assignment to the gift shop.

 

[InTypical]

Well what are you doing? Volunteer work is broad.

Emergency department evening shifts. I assume it will one of those "restock" positions described earlier based on my age and inexperience, but I don't know for certain yet. I am lucky in that they have multiple departments and positions in which they allow for volunteers to work in, so I do plan on diversifying my experience in the volunteer program through time, at least depending on how I like everything. I'd give you some more info to go off of but I just don't know yet. excited to see how everything goes

 

[RNtoMD87]

Just be very cheerful, smile, and greet everyone and focus on your work. You'll be fine.

 

[676188]

If you get asked by a patient for a blanket or a cup of water, get on it quickly, with a smile. If a doctor or nurse asks you to fetch something, same thing. If the ask if you want to assist them by handing them stuff, glove up and get to it.

Keep your eyes and ears open. Watch how the doctors/midlevels/nurses treat patients, each other, patient families, etc. you can learn so much you can apply later to your soft skills just by watching.

 

[RNtoMD87]

"You can observe a lot just by observing"

 

[DrRiker]

"You can observe a lot just by observing"

Indeed

 

[Shunsui]

Try your best to keep yourself busy otherwise the time will go by incredibly slow ... which leads to boredom ... which leads to less incentive to put in the hours. Also, try to make some contacts, always good to network!

 

[InTypical]

Sidenote I want to share - my hospital volunteer programs slogan is "Volunteers don't get paid, not because they're worthless, but because they're priceless."


I don't know why I thought this was so funny, but I almost botched up my interview because I couldn't keep a straight face

 

[RNtoMD87]

So the more you get paid, the more replaceable you are... noted.
and the less you get paid, the less replacable you are.

Doctors are damn near worthless I guess :'D

 

[Osteosaur]

If you get asked by a patient for a blanket or a cup of water, get on it quickly, with a smile. If a doctor or nurse asks you to fetch something, same thing. If the ask if you want to assist them by handing them stuff, glove up and get to it.

Keep your eyes and ears open. Watch how the doctors/midlevels/nurses treat patients, each other, patient families, etc. you can learn so much you can apply later to your soft skills just by watching.

I think the opposite is more the problem. I knew some very aggressive undergraduate volunteers who were gunning for that A in "giving out water and blankets." You don't want to be getting in the way or showing up at the nurse's station every 5 minutes asking "what can I do how can i help let me do surgery oh please please please." Sometimes its enough just to be around and picking up slack if you notice a glove box isn't filled, or the little old lady wants her purse from the chair. You're not an essential service, just a humanistic touch. Some patients just won't need or want you around, and that is okay.

You don't need to put in a million hours. Its better to go for 2 hours a week and be perky than trudge around for 6.

You definitely want to get into an area with patients. That's what this is all about, seeing if you can deal with sick people and helping. If you're just saving the hospital a few bucks on a menial worker get out now.

 

[candbgirl]

If you get asked by a patient for a blanket or a cup of water, get on it quickly, with a smile..

If a patient asks for water do not give it to him without checking with a nurse or someone.

 

[RNtoMD87]

And probably be nice to know what the definition of nectar thick, honey thick, thin liquids, clear vs full liquid etc are.

 

[676188]

If a patient asks for water do not give it to him without checking with a nurse or someone.

Good point...every time I've had a patient ask for water it was in the presence of a doctor or nurse, so I wasn't thinking about situations where you weren't right there with the providers.

 

[LizzyM]

And probably be nice to know what the definition of nectar thick, honey thick, thin liquids, clear vs full liquid etc are.

Also know what NPO means.

 

[RNtoMD87]

Also know what NPO means.

Absolutely most important here, lol.

 

[Osteosaur]

And probably be nice to know what the definition of nectar thick, honey thick, thin liquids, clear vs full liquid etc are.

Also know what NPO means.

In my capacity as a volunteer I was never even asked to read a chart. Maybe it varies by hospital but they don't even want volunteers doing that in my experience. If someone needs food or water the nurse will tell you or you can ask, usually.

 

[Planes2Doc]

In hindsight, I annoyed a lot of doctors and nurses when I continually asked whether they were NPO or not by fetching water.

There are two things I believe in with volunteering: What happens during your shift is between you and whatever higher power you may believe in (it's verifiable hours that ADCOMs will see in the end). But then there is also karma. So you can make your volunteer experience into what you want it to be, just be sure that whatever you do (or more likely don't do) is going to negatively impact the department, or most importantly the patient!

Based on where I am now, if you can take piece of advice, it would be this: No matter how badly the staff treat you (I was treated like crap and it isn't an isolated incident), make sure that when you are further along in your journey, that you NOT treat other pre-meds so badly. Maybe this will one day improve volunteer experiences for pre-meds, and result in happier experiences (and better doctors of course) all around.

 

[RNtoMD87]

In my capacity as a volunteer I was never even asked to read a chart. Maybe it varies by hospital but they don't even want volunteers doing that in my experience. If someone needs food or water the nurse will tell you or you can ask, usually.

Not reading a chart. I mean if there’s a big sign saying “NPO” or “nectar thick liquids” is written on the wall.

Would suck if a nurse/CNA asked a volunteer to get them a drink of water and nectar thick was written on their board, but the volunteer failed to notice.

It would be a failure on the staff members part but still, good things just to know.

 

[RNtoMD87]

In hindsight, I annoyed a lot of doctors and nurses when I continually asked whether they were NPO or not by fetching water.

There are two things I believe in with volunteering: What happens during your shift is between you and whatever higher power you may believe in (it's verifiable hours that ADCOMs will see in the end). But then there is also karma. So you can make your volunteer experience into what you want it to be, just be sure that whatever you do (or more likely don't do) is going to negatively impact the department, or most importantly the patient!

Based on where I am now, if you can take piece of advice, it would be this: No matter how badly the staff treat you (I was treated like crap and it isn't an isolated incident), make sure that when you are further along in your journey, that you NOT treat other pre-meds so badly. Maybe this will one day improve volunteer experiences for pre-meds, and result in happier experiences (and better doctors of course) all around.

I hate to hear that doc. I love having students and volunteers around that have a caring attitude. Even when it’s “annoying”.

It’s the intent and thought that counts in my opinion (as long as it isn’t hurting the patient). My convenience doesn’t matter- all that matters is the patient.

 

[LizzyM]

In my capacity as a volunteer I was never even asked to read a chart. Maybe it varies by hospital but they don't even want volunteers doing that in my experience. If someone needs food or water the nurse will tell you or you can ask, usually.

In my experience, NPO will be on a sign outside the patient's room or over the bed or otherwise communicated with care providers. If you see the sign, you won't have to bother the nurse to ask if the patient can have water.

There may be other signs that are cryptic and that you may or may not be informed about... my mom was in an emergency deparment where an autumn leaf was posted outside some rooms (it was December). I finally figured out that it indicated that the patient was a fall risk. I know of another facility that has a very different sign to indicate the same message in a way that maintains the patient's dignity.

 

[RNtoMD87]

In my experience, NPO will be on a sign outside the patient's room or over the bed or otherwise communicated with care providers. If you see the sign, you won't have to bother the nurse to ask if the patient can have water.

There may be other signs that are cryptic and that you may or may not be informed about... my mom was in an emergency deparment where an autumn leaf was posted outside some rooms (it was December). I finally figured out that it indicated that the patient was a fall risk. I know of another facility that has a very different sign to indicate the same message in a way that maintains the patient's dignity.

It is good to ask though, many times patients are NPO p midnight and as an oversight a sign isn’t placed.

As long as they aren’t engaged in an emergency, don’t hesitate to ask a nurse. I mean use common sense. Don’t set out on a mission to get everyone water and ask everyone if each patient is NPO, but here and there? Thanks for helping keep my patients comfortable.

 

[DoctorSwagger]

From first hand experience volunteering at the ED

Read the vibe of each exam room you enter. If you see that the patient looks like he’s been told some bad news then be respectful and don’t try to start a conversation or be smiling all over the place.


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[LizzyM]

It is good to ask though, many times patients are NPO p midnight and as an oversight a sign isn’t placed.

As long as they aren’t engaged in an emergency, don’t hesitate to ask a nurse. I mean use common sense. Don’t set out on a mission to get everyone water and ask everyone if each patient is NPO, but here and there? Thanks for helping keep my patients comfortable.

It is good to ask though, many times patients are NPO p midnight and as an oversight a sign isn’t placed.

As long as they aren’t engaged in an emergency, don’t hesitate to ask a nurse. I mean use common sense. Don’t set out on a mission to get everyone water and ask everyone if each patient is NPO, but here and there? Thanks for helping keep my patients comfortable.

Common sense: if the sign is there, the patient gets nothing by mouth, no need to bother the nurse. If the sign is not there, ask a nurse before giving the patient anything to eat or drink.

 

[InTypical]

I've volunteered in the ED at my local hospital for about a month now and just wanted to say thank you for the tips. So far I've learned that being a volunteer (at least for me) is mostly LOOKING for work to do. I've also noticed that the more I ask others if I can help, the more work I get to do.
Other premeds I have met so far: A scribe who graduated from college 2 years ago and will be retaking mcat a third time to try and get accepted into an MD school (won't apply DO), another volunteer who is a senior at a local university and wants to get into a PA grad school, planning on taking the GRE, and a communications worker(or something? Works at front desk takes phone calls), who is planning on taking the mcat (graduated from college). Asked about all their applications regarding EC's, volunteering, research, shadowing, and I was surprised they weren't as buffed up as I thought they'd be, but who am I to judge. I get most of my information from the internet.
Halloween: I thought Halloween was going to be very busy, but it was actually one of the slowest days I've had volunteering there.
Hospital Morgue: I asked one of the staff if they needed help on a trip in the hospital, resulted in me moving dead bodies on stretchers for the funeral director. I have never seen a dead body before this. They are lighter than I imagined.
Mentions: Saw a grown man cry. Saw the worst head injury I have ever seen. Saw the worst face injury I have ever seen.
There are way more people who come to the ER for anxiety than I previously thought.
Asked a security guard why he stopped being an EMT (just trying to make fun small talk), said "There comes a point in your life when you've seen enough death". Don't ask questions that are too personal.
There is a time and place to smile (someone gave that to me as a tip on this thread, I should have used it)
I go directly from my highschool to the hospital, and they let me do my homework and study in one of their offices before I clock in, which is nice.
It takes time for the staff to get used to you and trust you with your role. I was very nervous at first, but I somehow managed to not have a mental breakdown my first few nights.

I love volunteering. I currently have the option to go to a university close to home so I can continue to volunteer here, (and hopefully get a job here while in undergrad). Also Amcas will only count volunteer hours that are pre highschool graduation if you continue to volunteer at same establishment into college. Also have non-clinical volunteering hours I can rack up. (I don't think I can use them for both undergraduate and graduate application though) Can't wait to seriously start shaping my application when I start college. Volunteering in the ED is an amazing experience. Thank you all

 

[Osteosaur]

Glad to hear its been a positive experience! I'd just keep it continuous. No need to rack up a ton of hours. The thing you want out of this, at least in my opinion as a former re-applicant, is: (1) affirmation you want to be a doctor; (2) a few good stories.

"I've, uh, volunteered for 1000 hours and its really cool" won't impress anyone. But a good, short and sweet story about how you helped a guy in the ED that one time (even if you spent the other 995 hours filling glove boxes) might get you past a PS reader and impress an interviewer.

 

[InTypical]

Update on volunteering: I am coming up on 100 hours of ED volunteering! I also started a job as an EVS tech here! It is housecleaning work but it pays really well for a high school job! I have decided on where I am going for undergrad that has a hospital on campus with a very similar volunteering program. I am afraid of how competitive it will be to get into the program, so I am hoping my previous experience will help.
I have a few more questions:
I am currently looking at different health certifications I would be interested in trying to get while in undergrad, maybe a pharmtech or scribe, I know I am most likely sounding incredibly naive right now and I apologize. Should I wait until after freshman year to apply or get tutoring to get a health related certification? Does anyone have experience with Scribe America or hospital transcriptionists in general? I am really nervous about moving away to start completely over in a university

 

[Osteosaur]

I'm glad you're enjoying it man!

I'd say you're fine just volunteering in the ED. I wouldn't stress about any competitive programs or anything. Certainly apply if you think it might be a good experience! but if you don't get in, Is it possible to volunteer at a local hospital without going through your undergrad? Worse comes to worse can you volunteer where you're at over the summer?

As a next step ask your premed office to set you up with a physician to shadow so you can learn about what they do. Maybe look into a volunteer program at your school with the needy? That is very important.

Getting into medical school is not about accumulating a lot of low level health experience as a scribe or CNA or whatever. Everybody has that stuff and its not really impressive. Its about demonstrating service, leadership potential, and intellectual ability. Do it if you like it but do not, even for a minute, let all this stuff cut into your grades. You stand no chance without good grades. @Planes2Doc has a great thread on this.

 

[DrRiker]

Update on volunteering: I am coming up on 100 hours of ED volunteering! I also started a job as an EVS tech here! It is housecleaning work but it pays really well for a high school job! I have decided on where I am going for undergrad that has a hospital on campus with a very similar volunteering program. I am afraid of how competitive it will be to get into the program, so I am hoping my previous experience will help.
I have a few more questions:
I am currently looking at different health certifications I would be interested in trying to get while in undergrad, maybe a pharmtech or scribe, I know I am most likely sounding incredibly naive right now and I apologize. Should I wait until after freshman year to apply or get tutoring to get a health related certification? Does anyone have experience with Scribe America or hospital transcriptionists in general? I am really nervous about moving away to start completely over in a university

This is great to hear! You have many options when starting college. Continued volunteering, scribing, medical assisting, phlebotomy, etc. The only certifications you might need are very job specific, e.g. MA, CNA, EMT. Scribes don't need to be certified. Personally, I would take the first semester or year to try to acclimate to college. It will be harder than high school. Then, see if you can find work for the summer, which you can then cut back to part time during the school year if you are so motivated. Maybe you know a private practice doctor who needs an MA

 

[Avulse]

I would definitely apply to be a scribe, I worked for scribeamerica and it was an enjoyable and insightful experience. The experience and enjoyment varies from place to place, however. Anyways, it gives great experience, and you get to build relationships with a few doctors. In addition, I would start looking around for some physicians who may need an MA. Some may require that you are certified, if you are lucky, they wont. This job would entail scheduling appointments, taking vitals, greeting patients, etc. Its great intro experience. I would connect with a pre-med club on campus, our pre-med group would periodically send out emails with job offers from physicians looking for MA's. You do not need to do ALL of this RIGHT NOW, but just start looking and getting your mindset in that area for now. This way, by the the time you reach senior year, you will have multiple jobs/experiences that you have been doing for YEARS as opposed to months or weeks, and this will look (and feel) great.

 

[InTypical]

Update: I just started a new job at the hospital! I started cross-training for a Patient Access representative position! It's a long story of how I was able to get the job so here goes~

Working in EVS allowed me to be all over the hospital, and it is the best job if you want to network yourself across multiple different departments in my opinion! I started shadowing a unit secretary on the oncology floor a few months ago after asking a charge nurse one night after my shift ended. That one night of shadowing turned into weekly shadowing and I was able to rack up over 60 hours of on-the-job experience by the time I applied to other entry level jobs! Other than constantly taking/transferring calls and forwarding patient requests to nurses and techs, the most significant thing I got experience with was with using Cerner, which is the program we use for patient health info. I got to see how work orders were put in, discharge requests, interpreter requests, and just a boat load of different applications. I also got to learn how we use a patients MRN to label medical documents and medications.

Two weeks ago I was working in the ED and I got to talk with a patient access representative and I was able to ask him some really good questions about his work. I was able to impress him on what I knew of how Cerner worked and I was able to get him to give my contact info directly to his supervisor! Within the week I interviewed and I got the job! It is an entry level job and the part-time hours are flexible for school when I start in the Fall (I decided to go to my local state college, which is very close to the hospital I work at). Does anyone else have experience with this job in a hospital?

 

[PapaGuava]

Congratulations on everything @InTypical , you’re definitely putting in some hard work. Good luck in college, and try to enjoy some time before the pre-med game begins haha.

 

[InTypical]

Update: It's been a while since I last posted. I had to turn down the patient access job because the hours weren't flexible for school after all. I started an internship at a care management company last October though, and I just left it today! I did a lot of data entry of patient information and medical equipment information. I got to learn how to put together health insurance claim forms and on a few occasions I was given the opportunity to actually reach out to different nursing agencies for a few clients - had to put together spreadsheets of what agencies could accept our rates/cover the clients area and do specific times for nursing/therapy evals and visits. I'm going to be applying to a lot more internships now, especially for the upcoming summer. I want to try and get my foot in the door into a medical equipment sales or pharmaceutical internship, but for the most part I will be applying very broadly. Don't know where I'll be heading to next, but only time will tell!

 

[PapaGuava]

That sounds really neat @InTypical ! Good luck with the applications!

 

[InTypical]

Update: It's been a while since my last post. I had an internship at a big real estate company I did over the summer which was great. I'm transferring to a different college next semester! I'll be going to Georgia Tech where I will be finishing my pre-reqs and continuing to take classes for my major. I've worked in Patient Access for a few months now (yes, I went back lol). It's essentially just registration of patients coming into the ED, but I like it. I'm hoping to get a few more internships at tech, even if they are unrelated to healthcare. I don't know if I am drifting away from my ultimate goal of applying to medical school, but as long as my grades stay competitive and I do well on the MCAT I will give it a shot. I would consider becoming a CNA or a scribe but my class schedule just won't allow it and I need to keep my grades up. Hopefully this won't bite me in the ass in the end. One more year until I start studying for the MCAT.

 

[PapaGuava]

Update: It's been a while since my last post. I had an internship at a big real estate company I did over the summer which was great. I'm transferring to a different college next semester! I'll be going to Georgia Tech where I will be finishing my pre-reqs and continuing to take classes for my major. I've worked in Patient Access for a few months now (yes, I went back lol). It's essentially just registration of patients coming into the ED, but I like it. I'm hoping to get a few more internships at tech, even if they are unrelated to healthcare. I don't know if I am drifting away from my ultimate goal of applying to medical school, but as long as my grades stay competitive and I do well on the MCAT I will give it a shot. I would consider becoming a CNA or a scribe but my class schedule just won't allow it and I need to keep my grades up. Hopefully this won't bite me in the ass in the end. One more year until I start studying for the MCAT.

That's great! Glad to hear it! Also, I think it would be wise not to scribe during your undergraduate years unless they really can work with your schedule because work schedules for scribing are usually not that great.

 

[InTypical]

Update: 2 years on! A bit late I know but didn't want to be one of the many ancient threads that never get an update from the original OP. I'm going to be entering my senior year of college and should graduate the Spring of 2023 (I started my freshman year in the 2019 school year). I also started a new job recently at the place I began volunteering. I now do Room Control for weekend night shifts for the entire hospital! This job has me communicating with the house coordinator and many of the charge nurses up on the floors to coordinate bed placement upon admission and transfer requests. It's a lot more than this, but I also create outpatient schedule reports & manage the Medicare patient census. I ended up changing my major two years ago and will be graduating with my bachelor in Economics. I changed my major after one of my managers who had a degree in economics (and I had a good relationship with) made a very positive impact on me. Even though I'm only 21 years old, I managed to get a job with some more responsibility after making a good impression on my EVS director and my ER pt access manager. A few months ago I also got to shadow a few people in the risk department at my hospital system where I was given the opportunity to view how they utilize our EMR, backend informational system, bed board, and SQL to build case reports and pricing models in regard to legal & financial liability. (I managed to do this after cold emailing people within their department using the hospital systems internal email directory) I also did another internship last Fall where I got a lot of professional experience using SQL, conditional statements, validation rules, and formulas to perform rudimentary coding assignments for a software servicing company. Although I am still passionate about medicine and have finished most of the required pre-reqs needed for my application, I have not studied for or taken the MCAT yet. I'm not sure if I will ever take it at this point since my academic path has pivoted so far from my original plan. I think my new goal after graduation next year is to hopefully work as a risk or financial analyst at this hospital system.

might not be back here to update ever again, but maybe my story here will help some prospective pre-meds in some way shape or form./