Just venting about volunteering...

[SweetRain]

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I don't know if this is just within my area or a general trend..

I go to a pretty big public school which has a large pool of premed students. All the hospitals that is within walking/bus ride distance from the campus seem to be taking advantage of college premeds.

I haven't had a car all of college year so I volunteered at one of the near-by hospitals. As a rule, all of them require us to either "volunteer" at the gift shop or answer phone calls our first semester. I just starting out and didn't know what I was getting myself into. They made us work for free at the cashier and clean out the frosty machine every weekend!
Then they let whoever had the most hours choose where they want to volunteer next semester. I did some time at the ER but I realized how they used our free labor and quit to volunteer at a free clinic. Thank god..

Now I'm in the process of applying and in my description section I have to right how I cleaned the frosty machine?!

Have you had any experience like this? I really didn't know what a mistake I was making back then, but if I can go back I would never do it!

 

[docelh]

what city are you in?

 

[Xcellerator]

You wouldn't happen to go to UT do you? If you do, I'm transferring there for next year and was wondering where I should volunteer. 😀

 

[runawayclock]

Clinically useless "hospital" volunteer positions seem pretty common. I applied for a hospital volunteer job thinking I would be getting patient contact and ended up pushing paper work and boxes around for 3 months. I got out of there and got a much more interesting volunteer work with mental health patients, emotionally unstable kids, etc.

You could always write something general like "clerical/maintenance duties at the gift shop; assisting visitors and patients"... not necessarily "i cleaned the snack bar"

 

[allie1361]

I don't know if this is just within my area or a general trend..

I go to a pretty big public school which has a large pool of premed students. All the hospitals that is within walking/bus ride distance from the campus seem to be taking advantage of college premeds.

I haven't had a car all of college year so I volunteered at one of the near-by hospitals. As a rule, all of them require us to either "volunteer" at the gift shop or answer phone calls our first semester. I just starting out and didn't know what I was getting myself into. They made us work for free at the cashier and clean out the frosty machine every weekend!
Then they let whoever had the most hours choose where they want to volunteer next semester. I did some time at the ER but I realized how they used our free labor and quit to volunteer at a free clinic. Thank god..

Now I'm in the process of applying and in my description section I have to right how I cleaned the frosty machine?!

Have you had any experience like this? I really didn't know what a mistake I was making back then, but if I can go back I would never do it!

Everybody is trying to cut costs lately, especially places like hospitals. Using volunteers is the best way for them to do this. So they get them to take care of the things employees may usually do but currently don't have the time to do it because they were assigned more tasks since someone was probably let go/quit/fired and the hospital refuses to hire a new person when they can just reassign that person's tasks. Thus, volunteers get assigned the things that they can do. That's what volunteering is...free workers. You may have hated it, but it needed to be done. I'm sure you saved someone else some time to finish other more important things that YOU couldn't do.

 

[seelee]

I would make give it the most official professional sounding title you can without sounding to cheesy or being dishonest.

"Special agent it charge of sales, trade, and waste removal" or something.

 

[SweetRain]

You wouldn't happen to go to UT do you? If you do, I'm transferring there for next year and was wondering where I should volunteer. 😀

Wow, it's amazing how you knew that right away! 😀
I won't mention the specific name of the hospital, but just don't do the big ones that are within walking distance from campus.
If you have a car, you should definitely do the ones that are somewhat far from campus because they are known to be more relaxing and have more opportunities for you. I don't know if you speak fluent Spanish (I don't) but the free clinics always can use Spanish speakers in Texas!

 

[runawayclock]

I would make give it the most official professional sounding title you can without sounding to cheesy or being dishonest.

"Special agent it charge of sales, trade, and waste removal" or something.

"special agent". Not that special, is it?

 

[ILikeDrugs]

You knew that you would have to do crap work for one semester, so why complain? You also knew the timeline that you had. They are not using you. They want to see who is most committed and who will stick it out to get to the most wanted positions. You are not entitled to get what you want right away. I had to put in 40 hours, which took me 10 weeks to do, in and around different areas of the hospital before I was able to pick the area that I wanted. It was mostly paper work/filing/phones. Now I'm filing/stapling/phones/pushing the open door button in the MICU. They didn't force you to become a volunteer. What you are doing is what hospital volunteers do. If you're not happy cleaning the frosty machine in the gift shop, your not going to be happy cleaning the fridge for doctors/nurses/patients in the ICU. You're not going to be taggin along on a code blue and start doing compressions on a patient. 🙄 Get use to it. 😉

 

[seelee]

You wouldn't happen to go to UT do you? If you do, I'm transferring there for next year and was wondering where I should volunteer. 😀

Go Cougs!

 

[yamaraja808]

You knew that you would have to do crap work for one semester, so why complain? You also knew the timeline that you had. They are not using you. They want to see who is most committed and who will stick it out to get to the most wanted positions. You are not entitled to get what you want right away. I had to put in 40 hours, which took me 10 weeks to do, in and around different areas of the hospital before I was able to pick the area that I wanted. It was mostly paper work/filing/phones. Now I'm filing/stapling/phones/pushing the open door button in the MICU. They didn't force you to become a volunteer. What you are doing is what hospital volunteers do. If you're not happy cleaning the frosty machine in the gift shop, your not going to be happy cleaning the fridge for doctors/nurses/patients in the ICU. You're not going to be taggin along on a code blue and start doing compressions on a patient. 🙄 Get use to it. 😉

I think you are right to say that these jobs are supposed to show how committed to volunteering you are. However, to turn it into a game of competition that is bull s**t. It should be based on a certain amount of time one commits to the job and "not" turning it into some game of who can put in the most hours.

However, Sweet Rain, you should have known the consequences of this. Remember we live in a competitive world and it can work both ways (the hospital can pick and choose and so can you). So go where the best opportunity presents itself. It will save you a lot of stress in the long run.

 

[familyaerospace]

The more I read these posts about volunteering, the happier I am that almost none of the hospital volunteer positions at my hospital are paper pushers! With the exception of the gift shop and info desk, which they will only give to the older volunteers, all the rest you will spend at least half your time, or more, helping patients.

 

[morning]

Of course they're using you for free labor. That is the point of having VOLUNTEER positions - for the free labor! Hospitals don't have these positions so YOU can get experience. They don't give a rat's arse about YOUR educational needs.

In short...it's not all about you.

 

[Xcellerator]

Wow, it's amazing how you knew that right away! 😀
I won't mention the specific name of the hospital, but just don't do the big ones that are within walking distance from campus.
If you have a car, you should definitely do the ones that are somewhat far from campus because they are known to be more relaxing and have more opportunities for you. I don't know if you speak fluent Spanish (I don't) but the free clinics always can use Spanish speakers in Texas!

Haha lol. I looked at some of the hospitals around the UT area and saw that first time volunteers have to work in the Gift shop and information area so I kind of knew where you went lol. xD

Yes, I will bring a car for me since that'll make it easier for me to travel and such. I don't speak fluent Spanish (only took up to Spanish 3 in HS) so that won't help. Could you PM me and recommend places where I should volunteer (I don't mind places a little far from campus, just long as it isn't too far)? I'm transferring from A&M and they only had two hospitals total (had to wait a year just to get a volunteering spot!) so you are lucky just to get something lol.

Go Cougs!

Too bad I wasn't talking about that one. xD

 

[thebillsfan]

you can always just leave hospital volunteering off your app altogether...

 

[wickl087]

I can't really complain about my volunteer work so far. Sure, I've done my share of "paper pushing", but I'm kind of nerdy and like office work like that, or anything that has to do with organizing.
Last summer I got to bring patients and their families up to pre-op consulting meetings and post-op waiting areas and this summer I have a "special agent" position where I visit with over night patients. I start next Wednesday and I'm assuming I just chat with them, do puzzles or some other game, or bring them meals.

 

[Hope0913]

Now I'm in the process of applying and in my description section I have to right how I cleaned the frosty machine?!

i don't mean to laugh at your situation but i can't help but to chuckle...a little

I also do agree w/ seelee's advice

 

[ILikeDrugs]

However, to turn it into a game of competition that is bull s**t. It should be based on a certain amount of time one commits to the job and "not" turning it into some game of who can put in the most hours.

I never said that it should. I was referring to the minimum amount of hours that someone has to do in non-patient areas before they can be placed in the patient areas. At the hospital that I'm at it was 40 hours.

 

[JokerMD]

asdf

 

[LizzyM]

this is why i had around 30 hours of hospital volunteering....I realized that the volunteer department at major hospitals is just a racket for getting us to do free, boring labor like answering phones and filing papers. Volunteer through more obscure organizations that are severely understaffed. Also tell them what kind of experience you expect before starting. That's what I did...

You are going to love the 3rd year clerkships.

 

[Danlee07]

i posted this on another thread, but no one responded bout it yet...

is http://mercyhealthcenter.net/ considered a free health clinic? (im not trying to spread spam...it's a legit site) I mean it's based on volunteers so putting two and two...it's free...just making sure. but, there's none of the positions that people were talking about like cleaning patients etc

trying to do this instead of the hospital since the position i am applying for is where i talk to patients.
don't think i'd get this in a normal hospital

 

[apumic]

OP,

That sucks, but honestly, that's how hospital volunteering goes. This is why I don't suggest premeds volunteer in a hospital setting. At the same time, I understand why they would "use" you the first sem -- it forces you to show some commitment before they waste valuable resources training you as a volunteer.

If you really want to get clinical experience, get a job at a hospital. I get to run codes (blue, green, red, etc. -- both real and drills) all the time. (Honestly, as an actual hospital employee you kind of learn to hate codes b/c you have FAR too many other things to do. Just recently, in the same day, I ended up running a code green and then being an hour late going home because I got a new admit who admitted he intends to kill someone and so I had a duty to warn because of his admission that I was assigned just minutes before it was time to go home.)

i posted this on another thread, but no one responded bout it yet...

is http://mercyhealthcenter.net/ considered a free health clinic? (im not trying to spread spam...it's a legit site) I mean it's based on volunteers so putting two and two...it's free...just making sure. but, there's none of the positions that people were talking about like cleaning patients etc

trying to do this instead of the hospital since the position i am applying for is where i talk to patients.
don't think i'd get this in a normal hospital

It appears to be, yes.

 

[Danlee07]

ok, cool. how do you get a job at a hospital? is it like normal applications?

i'm gonna ask and look up the phlebotomy certification so that i can try to get that, but is there a way to get one without having any certifications (EMT, phlebotomy or whatnot)?

 

[MilkmanAl]

Just make sure you call it "hospital volunteering" or something equally nondescript on your app. I know that if I were to interview you (generally speaking), your hospital volunteering would pretty much be the last thing on my list to ask you about. As always, play the game.

 

[JokerMD]

asdf