Is this count as patient contact hours? Volunteering at Mayo clinic as hospitality volunteer

[SurgeonJoe19]

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Hey guys and gals,

So I am a current pre med upcoming junior and I have been working on my experiences and activities to be a good candidate for medical school. One aspect that I really wanted to work on was my patient exposure or patient interaction. I am currently taking EMT-basic courses to hopefully becoming a ER tech in the near future. ( I know some schools dont count EMT as patient contact hours, but I believe being an EMT can help develop practical skills and patient communicating skills to an extent) Regardless, I was looking into becoming a CNA, but I realized that I am not the type of person who could wipe a patients butt, clean soiled bed sheets, etc. (Although I enjoy surgery and can handle gory situations or encounters, cleaning feces is just something I could never handle. I can be in an environment where the patient defecates themselves but not clean it up #ewwgross)

Also, I have been a volunteer at Mayo Clinic for 8 months. My duties involve directly interacting with patients as a hospitality volunteer. Essentially, I pretty much have my own floor (thoracic patients) I go to for a few hours a week and I go door to door throughout the whole floor socializing with patients, informing them about the library and other amenities Mayo Clinic has to keep themselves busy, assist with anything they want in order for a comfortable stay while they are there ( like food, magazines, book, movies, a new picture on the wall, cooler/warmer room temp, more pillows, a reclining chair from the lobby, and pretty much anything the patients want that I or the hospitality department can provide within the scope of their health and what not). One of my main responsibilities is to provide that loving and affectionate care that patients need since most healthcare providers have other obligations aside from keeping the patients comfortable. I also make sure their room is clean, make sure their friends and family are properly treated as well ( like they were a patient themselves). I have racked up around 75 hours doing this and plan on doing it for another 2 years (keep in mind I commute 2 hours round trip per week for this, dedication at its finest........)


So my question is, would my volunteering experience at Mayo Clinic count as patient contact hours?? If not, I believe I will have to overcome my phobia of poop........

Thanks a lot!!
-SurgeonJoe

 

[chemist16]

I'm not entirely sure why some schools (can you say which ones? I'm curious) don't count EMT hours as patient exposure because it is all patient exposure. I have had to deal with feces, urine, blood, the whole deal - if that's not patient experience, I don't see how much closer you can get. Also, keep in mind that CNAs at hospitals don't wipe butts, clean sheets, etc. (unless perhaps if they're in some sort of extended stay unit). They can start IVs, take EKGs, and a lot of other cool stuff.

So with regard to your question, volunteering at the Mayo Clinic is definitely patient contact. You're interacting with the patient (via socializing and making them comfortable) in your capacity as volunteer.

 

[mehc012]

So my question is, would my volunteering experience at Mayo Clinic count as patient contact hours?? If not, I believe I will have to overcome my phobia of poop........

You'll probably have to overcome your phobia of poop either way, just a heads up. Especially if you're planning to go into surgery...ever been on surgical rounds? Every other sentence is about poop. Have you pooped yet? How can we get you to poop? Make them poop so we can send them home!! Here are some pain meds which make your poop hard and also some stool softeners* cuz we messed with your pooper and it's gonna hurt to poop for a while. OK, they probably won't actually say 'pooper', but you get the idea.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/fecal-impaction-in-the-community.1037188/

*I couldn't make myself say 'poop softeners' and also I will probably never use the word 'poop' again. Fortunately, there are tons of other ways to say the same thing.

 

[SurgeonJoe19]

You'll probably have to overcome your phobia of poop either way, just a heads up. Especially if you're planning to go into surgery...ever been on surgical rounds? Every other sentence is about poop. Have you pooped yet? How can we get you to poop? Make them poop so we can send them home!! Here are some pain meds which make your poop hard and also some stool softeners* cuz we messed with your pooper and it's gonna hurt to poop for a while. OK, they probably won't actually say 'pooper', but you get the idea.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/fecal-impaction-in-the-community.1037188/

*I couldn't make myself say 'poop softeners' and also I will probably never use the word 'poop' again. Fortunately, there are tons of other ways to say the same thing.

Oh I dont mind taking about poop, making someone poop, hell even looking at poop... I just cant ever see myself clean up someone else's poop aside from myself or my future childrens poop. but I completely understand what you meant! Poop is relatively correlated to surgery!

 

[mehc012]

Oh I dont mind taking about poop, making someone poop, hell even looking at poop... I just cant ever see myself clean up someone else's poop aside from myself or my future childrens poop. but I completely understand what you meant! Poop is relatively correlated to surgery!

Awww, you must not have clicked the link.
Unless you don't count 'manually removing poop from a rectum' as 'cleaning' it

 

[NotWayneBrady]

Holy crap that thread is gold.

 

[SurgeonJoe19]

I'm not entirely sure why some schools (can you say which ones? I'm curious) don't count EMT hours as patient exposure because it is all patient exposure. I have had to deal with feces, urine, blood, the whole deal - if that's not patient experience, I don't see how much closer you can get. Also, keep in mind that CNAs at hospitals don't wipe butts, clean sheets, etc. (unless perhaps if they're in some sort of extended stay unit). They can start IVs, take EKGs, and a lot of other cool stuff.

So with regard to your question, volunteering at the Mayo Clinic is definitely patient contact. You're interacting with the patient (via socializing and making them comfortable) in your capacity as volunteer.

See thats where I'm torn... I want to do the other cool stuff like start IV's, EKG's, and what not but I fear that I may encounter a cleaning poop situation.... hahaha but I suppose I just have to find the right department in a hospital to do the other cool stuff... only problem is the only hopsital or clinic near my college mainly has CNA's work on patients who are in extended stay or in nursing homes..... I'm still contemplating getting my CNA certification after I pass the NREMT exam.

Awww, you must not have clicked the link.
Unless you don't count 'manually removing poop from a rectum' as 'cleaning' it

Just read the thread....hopefully I can avoid colalrectal complications like feccal impactions... I'd rather administer laxatives and hope there is a kind nurse like the one in the thread to do it for me.... otherwise Im gonna have to sack up..

 

[GrapesofRath]

I'm not entirely sure why some schools (can you say which ones? I'm curious) don't count EMT hours as patient exposure because it is all patient exposure. I have had to deal with feces, urine, blood, the whole deal - if that's not patient experience, I don't see how much closer you can get. Also, keep in mind that CNAs at hospitals don't wipe butts, clean sheets, etc. (unless perhaps if they're in some sort of extended stay unit). They can start IVs, take EKGs, and a lot of other cool stuff.

So with regard to your question, volunteering at the Mayo Clinic is definitely patient contact. You're interacting with the patient (via socializing and making them comfortable) in your capacity as volunteer.

1) volunteering in a hospital counts. To quote @LizzyM if you can smell the patient its patient contact hour
2) I have heard this same thing about EMTs not really being considered clinical exposure before on this site. There was talk of how EMS is just viewed as a far different thing and field. I have no idea the validity of this in admissions, it very easily could just be total nonsense, but I have heard this more than once

 

[cherubb3]

I am a nurse in an ER, and even though our CNAs do all kinds of important and cool things, they still have to clean poop. Keep that in mind. 😉

 

[NeuResurgens]

Hospital volunteering counts as "clinical volunteering" and is seen as patient/workplace exposure by most medical schools. I echo the sentiment that you're going to want to get used to feces regardless - disimpacting bowels is commonly joked about as a "medical student grunt work chore."

 

[chemist16]

2) I have heard this same thing about EMTs not really being considered clinical exposure before on this site. There was talk of how EMS is just viewed as a far different thing and field. I have no idea the validity of this in admissions, it very easily could just be total nonsense, but I have heard this more than once

Yeah I'm kind of surprised by this. But I do know several people on the EMS squad here (and they don't do any other "clinical" stuff like volunteer at the hospital or anything because around here that pretty much means cleaning beds) and my university has no problem sending students to top medical schools, so I'm putting hope in that.