I already volunteer in ER, but want more experience. How?

[qweewq11]

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Hi folks,
I volunteer in the ER of my local hospital, and it's pretty good, but due to liability issues the level of things I get to do is very limited, and quite a bit of the work is mindless. I want to contribute more as a volunteer, but I'm stuck until I have further training.

I thought about eMT, but the program in my state is very intense (2 semesters of full time school, no night classes avail).

Any suggestions on whether there are any certificates/programs i can complete that will allow me to do more hands-on medical work? I was considering getting a nurse's aid certification...

Any help would be appreciated! 🙂

 

[meatloaf king]

I don't know what your situation is where you are, but getting to know a physician definatley has paid off for me. I have shadowed this one doctor for the past two years and in the last few months he's allowed me to do tasks an intern or resident might take care of, mainly because he knows me so well. Why don't you talk to some of the doctors you know from the ER, see what they can do?

 

[Mossjoh]

You can probably get a job as an ER Tech by taking a CENA class. The hospital may then give you a few more classes on more advanced skills, but this shouldn't take to long to accomplish. For instance, we just had to learn to draw blood etc. A lot of the stuff is learned on the job during orientation.

 

[mcwmark]

Find a physician (preferably not an EM doc, maybe Internal medicine or Family practice) and ask to follow them around a couple times a month. I think seeing patients this way will be much more useful to you in learning about specific diseases and seeing what they actually do to patients lives.

The ED may be exciting, but unless you're a medical student or above, you probably won't find it very stimulating.

 

[Sweet Tea]

qweewq11--

the emt program is 2 semesters of full-time classes?? really? are you sure that's not for the paramedic class? i'm not trying to second-guess you, it's just that i've never heard of an emt class like that!!

you might also want to look into volunteering in nursing homes... you won't necessarily be getting medical experience, but you will get direct contact w/people w/lots of medical issues, and it'd give you a whole different perspective than ER stuff.

 

[Prospective Doctor]

Hi,

Ask your volunteer dept if they have any openings in Operating room or nursing aide?
I will start next week as a volunteer in operating room tramsporting patients on stretchers. I am, however, required to wear scrub suits.