Is this clinical volunteering?

[kingdomheart]

Hi guys, so there'a a lot of forums on here about what constitutes as a clinical volunteering. I'm not 100% sure about what I do.
So basically, I volunteer at a local hospital nearby and I sit at the front desk. My duties include guiding patients families to the patients room, transferring calls, transferring paperworks and blood samples to labs. Not too often will I will interact with a patient. If the patient is on a wheelchair I'll take him/her to their vehicle. I don't see doctor-patient interactions. So, is this really clinical volunteering?

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[Donald Juan]

So, you do interact with patients as to bringing them to the room, wheelchairing them out? Then yes, it is clinical volunteering.

I think @LizzyM says something along the lines of, if you get close enough to smell the patients, then it's clinical.

 

[LizzyM]

You have a role that brings you in close proximity to patients as well as other responsibilities as well. I would guess that you had to be trained in HIPAA and screened for TB.

You should also have some shadowing or other experience that helps you see what physicians do all day.

 

[kingdomheart]

You have a role that brings you in close proximity to patients as well as other responsibilities as well. I would guess that you had to be trained in HIPAA and screened for TB.

You should also have some shadowing or other experience that helps you see what physicians do all day.

Its pretty rare that I do meet a patient it has occurred. Mostly I sit in my chair and take calls.

I have very little shadowing experience(currently a sophomore). How much shadowing (in hrs) would you recommend?

 

[doc05]

sounds like a complete waste of time. you are basically providing free labor to the hospital without getting anything in return. find another position.

 

[LizzyM]

sounds like a complete waste of time. you are basically providing free labor to the hospital without getting anything in return. find another position.

Medicine is a service profession. We like to see applicants who freely give of their time to serve the public. If it is in a hospital environment where you deal with sick, panicked, angry, frightened, and frustrated individuals it is a useful test of whether you have what it takes at an elementary level to deal with these same patients and families in a more professional capacity.

@kingdomheart 40 hours of shadowing should be enough.

 

[doc05]

Medicine is a service profession. We like to see applicants who freely give of their time to serve the public. If it is in a hospital environment where you deal with sick, panicked, angry, frightened, and frustrated individuals it is a useful test of whether you have what it takes at an elementary level to deal with these same patients and families in a more professional capacity.

@kingdomheart 40 hours of shadowing should be enough.

There are plenty of great volunteering gigs. Let's not pretend that this is one of them. Because answering phone calls and transporting urine samples is a waste of time.

 

[LizzyM]

There are plenty of great volunteering gigs. Let's not pretend that this is one of them. Because answering phone calls and transporting urine samples is a waste of time.

Someone's got to do it. While it might not be a great gig, the adcom will find it an acceptable demonstration of service in a clinical setting. Are you on an adcom?