In which department can I get the most clinical exposure as a hospital volunteer?

[Mednight]

I met with a volunteer coordinator about two weeks ago, she automatically took liking to me. We had a good conversation about a little bit of everything, it didn't even feel like an interview. Basically she was telling me that in certain departments I'll be able to do a little more on the patient care side and others I will not(mostly doing clerical works or running errands). I initially told her that I wanted to volunteer in mother and baby
but it seems as if hands on exposure will be limited. She said the best bet is that I'll MIGHT have a chance to bathe and change a baby or witness a birth with mommy's permission. Then we proceeded to talk about job openings and she told that I should volunteer in a department with openings. The only openings where for ICU or MedSurg. I don't see anymore ICU openings, but there are still some MedSurg openings in which I've applied for already. I really just want to choose whats best for my experience and having anxiety doesn't help not one bit.

So right now I'm just stuck in a loop because I don't know what to choose. HELP?!

Feel free to tell me about your experiences.

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[LoveBeingHuman:)]

As long as you’re interacting with patients that should be fine.

However, pay attention to the words “patients” and “interacting”.

 

[DBC03]

I met with a volunteer coordinator about two weeks ago, she automatically took liking to me. We had a good conversation about a little bit of everything, it didn't even feel like an interview. Basically she was telling me that in certain departments I'll be able to do a little more on the patient care side and others I will not(mostly doing clerical works or running errands). I initially told her that I wanted to volunteer in mother and baby
but it seems as if hands on exposure will be limited. She said the best bet is that I'll MIGHT have a chance to bathe and change a baby or witness a birth with mommy's permission. Then we proceeded to talk about job openings and she told that I should volunteer in a department with openings. The only openings where for ICU or MedSurg. I don't see anymore ICU openings, but there are still some MedSurg openings in which I've applied for already. I really just want to choose whats best for my experience and having anxiety doesn't help not one bit.

So right now I'm just stuck in a loop because I don't know what to choose. HELP?!

Feel free to tell me about your experiences.

I had a similar experience with my volunteer coordinator and let her advise me on where to go - the orthopedic floor. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it as much as the ER, but I ended up having very significant patient contact and really loved it. I would go with what the coordinator recommends the most (although it sounds limited now) and see if you’re able to move around if you don’t enjoy the position.

You also might consider volunteering at a different clinical location - perhaps hospice or a free clinic.

Keep us posted. Good luck!



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[boogiecousins94]

see if you can do something with physical therapy or rehabilitation...thats what I did. The hospital only has a certain amount of physical therapists so as volunteer I helped patients get up and walk around on my own which was very hands on

 

[JohnJacobJungler]

You also might consider volunteering at a different clinical location - perhaps hospice or a free clinic.

It sounds like your hospital has some great opportunities. You should take whichever one you think you will enjoy more, however I couldn't agree more about stepping outside the hospital. After doing clinical volunteering at few different locations I believe the best chance to interact with patients is outside the hospital. In my experience a free clinic gives you the most latitude in what you can do as a pre-med without a license (patient care activities, working w/ physician, talking about diagnoses and treatment plans, taking histories, doing report, etc). Wish I would got involved with my clinic earlier, I have so much fun there!

Hospice is great as well, though I've never done it. My friend who is an MS1 said of his hospice experience that it reinforced his desire to pursue medicine and he had experiences with those patients that he will always remember.

Best of luck to you!

 

[Isoval]

I volunteered in MedSurg and was fortunate to have had a large amount of patient interaction. I’ve done everything from rounding, to assisting with the moving of patients, to simply standing in a patient’s room and exchanging stories.

I would fully recommend the volunteer experience I’ve had.

I would expect this to vary on a hospital-by-hospital basis, however, and you should check with your hospital(s) before getting involved.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Honestly don’t expect to actually be doing much as a volunteer. Little tasks here and there is what is to be expected.

 

[longhaul3]

ICU is not ideal because most patients are obtunded, sedated, ventilated, or some combination thereof, so it's harder to talk to them, plus when the family members are there they are usually much more distraught than family members of regular floor patient. Also, ICU patients' medical problems and care are the most complicated and therefore least accessible to pre-meds who want to learn.

Med-surg is a nursing term, no? Are your volunteer placements based on nursing teams?

 

[Mednight]

I’ll be working in the ICU starting the first week of March. I’ve researched stories of volunteers that say that you don’t get too much patient interaction in the ICU b/c most patients are sedated. The most that they do is answer phones and moving patients, which I don’t mind. Plus I interviewed at a nursing home yesterday as a tech so hopefully I get that.


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[Mednight]

NICU

There are no volunteers in the NICU at my hospital, but I wish.


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[Govols22]

see if you can do something with physical therapy or rehabilitation...thats what I did. The hospital only has a certain amount of physical therapists so as volunteer I helped patients get up and walk around on my own which was very hands on

I second this. I am currently an inpatient Rehab Aide and I can not think of a realistic clinical job that can give me this much patient interaction. It is literally as hands on as you can get for someone looking for clinical experience. Not to mention that I help therapist on all different floors of the hospital. Lots of diversity in patients as well.

A lot of people don’t look into it because it’s physical therapy, but clinical experience is clinical experience. Some aren’t that easy to land though, most of the other aides have a background of Pre PT/OT or graduated with exercise science (like myself).

I think it is probably the best kept secret for anyone who wants to get clinical experience.

 

[CyrilFiggis]

NICU and ED gave me the most.... ED is good if it's an academic center. I got to do wound irrigations, codes, and followed a resident most of the time. Granted this was also during graveyard shifts so things were much more lax than a mid-day shift.