MD's views of volunteers?

[jesse14]

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Hello,

I'm 20 year old volunteer at Sick Kids hospital in Toronto ( i LOVE it). The one thing i've notcied is how nice the nurses are to the volunteers, but how rude the doctors are. I know they are busy and have a lot to do but a simple hello would be nice. NONE of them even look at me when i walk by while almost every nurse gives me a nice smile. Do the doctors not care about volunteers because we are trying to get into med school and this is something they have long since accomplished? How to the MD's here view the volunteers at the hospitals they work at?

 

[sga814]

it's because medicine is socialized in canada- doctors make just as much as nurses (that's why they're unhappy) 😉

(actually I have no idea what's going on)

 

[UCSBMed1]

Hello,

I'm 20 year old volunteer at Sick Kids hospital in Toronto ( i LOVE it). The one thing i've notcied is how nice the nurses are to the volunteers, but how rude the doctors are. I know they are busy and have a lot to do but a simple hello would be nice. NONE of them even look at me when i walk by while almost every nurse gives me a nice smile. Do the doctors not care about volunteers because we are trying to get into med school and this is something they have long since accomplished? How to the MD's here view the volunteers at the hospitals they work at?

I feel your pain, bro. Don't worry though, a lot of them are rude to us "short coats" too. I think it just has to do with an arrogance thing--the same people who were all high and mighty because they got a 35+ on the MCAT, 240+ on their boards, and go to UCSF/JHU/Harvard, are the ones who will eventually think their **** doesn't stink because they now have an MD.

Its just the egos in medicine, don't let it discourage you; you'll get used to it.

 

[bigfrank]

Hello,

I'm 20 year old volunteer at Sick Kids hospital in Toronto ( i LOVE it). The one thing i've notcied is how nice the nurses are to the volunteers, but how rude the doctors are. I know they are busy and have a lot to do but a simple hello would be nice. NONE of them even look at me when i walk by while almost every nurse gives me a nice smile. Do the doctors not care about volunteers because we are trying to get into med school and this is something they have long since accomplished? How to the MD's here view the volunteers at the hospitals they work at?

sorry to hear that, i wish i could tell you that U.S. volunteers are treated differently down here.

 

[Smitty3L]

That sucks. I volunteered in the admitting department of a hospital. There was a urologist who would come around almost everyday for the free coffee and was always so friendly to me. He would always say hello, and sometimes even sit down and talk with me. I have dealt with my fair share of the docs on the other end of the spectrum, just wanted to let you know they aren't all SOBs.

 

[Wackie]

I often wonder why that is? I mean really? And you know they've all be in the exact same position before and probably were treated the same and felt the same way. Or maybe it's a "right of passage" thing? Or maybe it doesn't take long before pre-meds have flogged them to death with idiocy and they're thinking, "Aw great. Another one." Or maybe all doctors have a geek gene which produces somewhat of a social ****** syndrome. If so, I'm enthused since I know I have it. lol!

At my day job, doctors come in all of the time and are friendly. But once you're on their turf things change and the white coats clam up. I'm not pestering them for information or anything. Usually, I ask the nurses questions about things and stay out of their way.
There was a doctor who worked in the ER almost every time I was there. He obviously marched to the beat of a different drum and was as friendly as can be. He reduced the amount of shifts he works and I rarely see him anymore. I miss him horribly.
He came by one evening and I was able to speak to him. Three months of volunteering so far and two of the doctors came by and said hello to him and didn't even look at me as we spoke (and we weren't even talking about medicine).
So I'm pretty much invisible to that clique as are you, so it seemsl.

I'm slowly chipping away the ice, I think. I got one to laugh once. It was only a barely breathed "ha!" but a victory none the less.

Oh well. I'll put my time in, observe, and take what I can from it. I enjoy the surprise on family member's faces when I offer to find them a chair or a glass of water. 😀

 

[casi]

Could it be that Doctors don’t value volunteers as Nurses do? Nurses are expected to meet the patient’s medical needs as well as their social and emotional needs. A volunteer who is simply passes out magazines to keep a patient occupied and off the call button every five minutes is an amazing help. I also know that some hospitals will train volunteers as ‘sitters’, which is someone who will just sit with a patient who needs a lot of attention due to confusion or dementia. They aren’t providing nursing cares of any sort, but are there to talk, occupy, or even just hold a hand. This is an amazing amount of help. Unfortunately with the current state of nursing, nurses often don't have the time to offer families a glass of water of find them a chair. I’m sure that the work is highly appreciated by the nursing staff because it lets them focus more on the medical needs of their patients.

 

[nibrocli]

remember this when you are a doctor, and you will treat the volunteers better!

 

[OctoDoc]

remember this when you are a doctor, and you will treat the volunteers better!

I'll be sure to be nice to both the volunteers and the med students. When I was volunteering in the ED of my local hospital, not one doctor in the 6 months I was there said a single word to me. Oh sure, they glared at me, but not a peep. However, the nurses, PAs, allied health care staff, admitting, transpo, lab techs, custodians, and cafeteria staff were the nicest people on earth. The nurses and PAs were the best; they kept showing me cool stuff, explaining things, and were the ones that made me glad I was there. I envy those of you that had cool docs. Mine were asses.

 

[Hersey]

I think this kind of thing depends mostly on the individual MD in question. Not long ago I had a neurosurgeon on rounds interrupt me when I was in talking to a pt, and he actually apologized and backed out of the room. Maybe the next neurosurgeon who comes along will be irritated. Hard to say, but I wouldn't blame it on MDs in general.

Maybe the atmosphere of the hospital factors in, too.

 

[BooMed]

The doctors in my hospital are generally nice, though intimidating. The main thing I've noticed is that they are almost never around the patients. I see them in the halls and stuff walking around, but they don't seem to do much patient care. I've been working in the ICUs, so the nursing care is 24/7, and maybe the docs just come through a few times/day or something? 😕

Oh, and I am still afraid of surgeons. Any time I help bring a patient up there I feel like a giant, un-sterile elephant tromping around the room with nothing useful to do.

 

[crys20]

God, I always thought when I was doing all that crap in undergrad, trying to finagle (fin-agle, is that word?? 🙂) letters from people, trying to get someone to let me shadow them and volunteering..."Man, when I'm a doc I will remember how much it sucks to be a premed and be cool about shadowing, writing letters for people, etc". Crazy how it's sometimes the youngest docs who are mean to you ya know, like it isn't SO far back in time for them to go to remember what it was like to be you.

 

[jesse14]

yeah, that's what i'm saying. It's weird since Sick Kids (where i volunteer) is suposed to be the most friendly and "nice" hospitals in Toronto and maybe even Canada. Two days ago i walked into the infant observation area and asked a RN if there was anything she needed and she said no thanks but i'll let you know what something arises and she did when a crying infant just wanted to be held. Just the fact that i felt comfortable enough to ask speaks volumes about how nurses look at the volunteers. I would NEVER ask a doctor if they needed help in fear that they would just look at me like i was an idiot...... cause that's the vibe they ALL give off. I would LOVE to talk to a doctor about anything;medicine or life. But alass, it wil never be lol

 

[0T6]

hey jesse, I volunteered at HSC for 4 years (coop in high school then 3 years of undergrad at UT) and I developed some great relationships with doctors, some of them were initiated by the docs, and others by me. You can't expect them to introduce themselves and tell you everything you want to know. Then again, you shouldn't go interrupting them during an LP to ask about life as a physician 😉

so introduce yourself when a doc's hangin around the nursing station!

 

[rockitman]

Good to know Im not alone. Where I volunteer, most of the ER doc's completely ignore me as well, while the nurses and everyone else are great. There are one or two semi-cool docs, but most seem aragant and act like they're above everyone else. I've noticed that most of the doctors look down at the floor as I pass them in the hallways to avoid eye contact. Thats the thing that sucks about medicine, unlike business or law you can have the social IQ of a paper cup and still be sucessful, so it has a tendency to attract a lot of socially ******ed people.

 

[Indryd]

I feel your pain, bro. Don't worry though, a lot of them are rude to us "short coats" too. I think it just has to do with an arrogance thing--the same people who were all high and mighty because they got a 35+ on the MCAT, 240+ on their boards, and go to UCSF/JHU/Harvard, are the ones who will eventually think their **** doesn't stink because they now have an MD.

Its just the egos in medicine, don't let it discourage you; you'll get used to it.

I got a 35+ on the MCAT and am accepted at Harvard/JHU, and if I met you and you had an attitude like you have, I WOULD treat you like ****. What kind of a ******* stereotype is that? I'm sick of people making assumptions about the "type" of people who get in at Hopkins/Harvard, etc. Is it sour grapes? Is that it? I applied to my state school, and got rejected w/o an interview! Does that mean I think I'm too good for state school? Did they see my scores, my experiences, etc, and assume I would go somewhere where all the other high and mighty 35+'ers go?I'm the farthest thing from high and mighty or arrogant. And, when I'm an MD, I suspect my **** will stink like all hell. I think your broad generality here shows how ignorant you really are of doctors and who they are. Arrgh! Sorry for the rant, but I'm sick of people saying crap like that.

Back on topic, and to the OP: I have managed 30 doctors in a free clinic for 2 years now (and started my tenure there as a volunteer like you), and worked with doctors from Harvard, et al. To a tee, they are cool to all my volunteers who don't come off as arrogant, cut-throat, cold-hearted little bastard pre-meds. However, they all used to be one of us, and they can spot a "typical" pre-med a mile away and around a corner. So, OP, just be cool and start talking to them when they aren't obviously busy. Just come up with some questions and plug away. You may run into a couple of docs who are truly dicks (bet they won't be from Harvard, JHU, etc), but most likely, if you don't come off as a suck-up or a troll, they will be happy to chat with you and be willing to form a relationship with you eventually. They are people, you know.