Most interesting hospital volunteering position?

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clocks123

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I have been volunteering in the ED of my local hospital for the past year and feel like I need a change of scenery. What are some other interesting places to volunteer in the hospital? I was thinking patient transporter, but I am not sure if hospitals allow that.
 
Interesting, for us ED pretty much was a patient transporter, in addition to other things. Transporting patients can give you good experience. Also see if you have an OR position, for the one I have I go in and clean the OR and set it up between cases, as well as move patients onto and off of OR beds.
 
UNMedGa said:
Interesting, for us ED pretty much was a patient transporter, in addition to other things. Transporting patients can give you good experience. Also see if you have an OR position, for the one I have I go in and clean the OR and set it up between cases, as well as move patients onto and off of OR beds.
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My ED experience is basically getting pillows and blankets for patients since we aren't allowed to do anything else. Even though I have had some interesting experiences with patients and some stories to tell, those are rare. I used to ask the physicians questions in my down time and shadow them a bit, but we are no longer allowed to do that.
I will see if they have an OR position, sounds like it can be interesting. I know as volunteers we have limited opportunities, but I am just looking for something where I am not sitting on my hands for 4 hours.
 
Yeah it can be hard with all the litigation-avoiding protocols they have. They wouldn't let me use my EMT certification even though I was competent. You have to find the position that gives you the most appeal, as I think every hospital has different kinds of volunteer roles. For example, my ED job did what yours does plus transporting patients to radiology, taking specimens to the lab, getting families drinks and snacks, etc.
 
My best volunteer position?
Hearing screening, hands-down.

I would go in the morning, print out the newborn census for the floor, and check it against the list of 'recently screened' babies.
Then I would go room to room with the hearing screening device. Usually it was just me, baby, and mom, but sometimes there'd be other family around.
I'd explain the test, make sure the baby was calm (preferably asleep, but sometimes feeding or just chilling), and then set the few-hours-old infant up with earphones and sensor pads.
I'd monitor them during the test (make sure they were calm and the sensors remained in place), then print the results.
I'd explain the results, briefly, to mom (this was harder when they did not pass right away...parents are very nervous about poor test results on newborns 😱 )
Then I'd mark the result in the chart and move on to the next baby. Usually hit 3-7 kiddos in a shift, depending on moods, speed, and distribution.

Definitely cool. I was hands-on, I was doing something which was required for everyone before discharge, and I got to interact with newborn babies. I got to speak to the mothers one-on-one, and even to practice my Spanish a fair amount! It was fun, it was educational for me, and it was the only volunteering position I've ever had where I felt as if I was actually performing a necessary function, and that the nurses would find their jobs harder if I were not to show up.
 
mehc012 said:
My best volunteer position?
Hearing screening, hands-down.

I would go in the morning, print out the newborn census for the floor, and check it against the list of 'recently screened' babies.
Then I would go room to room with the hearing screening device. Usually it was just me, baby, and mom, but sometimes there'd be other family around.
I'd explain the test, make sure the baby was calm (preferably asleep, but sometimes feeding or just chilling), and then set the few-hours-old infant up with earphones and sensor pads.
I'd monitor them during the test (make sure they were calm and the sensors remained in place), then print the results.
I'd explain the results, briefly, to mom (this was harder when they did not pass right away...parents are very nervous about poor test results on newborns 😱 )
Then I'd mark the result in the chart and move on to the next baby. Usually hit 3-7 kiddos in a shift, depending on moods, speed, and distribution.

Definitely cool. I was hands-on, I was doing something which was required for everyone before discharge, and I got to interact with newborn babies. I got to speak to the mothers one-on-one, and even to practice my Spanish a fair amount! It was fun, it was educational for me, and it was the only volunteering position I've ever had where I felt as if I was actually performing a necessary function, and that the nurses would find their jobs harder if I were not to show up.
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Wow, that seems like a great experience! How did you end up finding a position like this? Was it in a large teaching hospital or a smaller community hospital?
 
clocks123 said:
Wow, that seems like a great experience! How did you end up finding a position like this? Was it in a large teaching hospital or a smaller community hospital?
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Children's hospital. They've always got the best gigs, no kidding.
I just kind of walked right into it...researched the hospitals in my area and it seemed to have the most/best volunteer positions. I applied and got this position straight off the bat. They had other great ones too...tutoring kids who were too sick to attend school, working in the pre-op waiting room (keeping the patients calm and distracted before they went back for anesthesia), door-to-door crafts, Buddying with the kids, etc.
 
I'm also at a children's hospital where I volunteer with child life specialists (look it up if you're unfamiliar). I literally bring toys, crafts, board games, etc. to the kiddos on bed rest and even stay to play with them. Also, I get to stay and hold the infants if parents/guardians are away. (If you're interested in peds, this is basically all the fun without the work.)

I've also done things like patient transporting and picking up/dropping off medication from the pharmacy at nurse units.
 
mehc012 said:
Children's hospital. They've always got the best gigs, no kidding.
I just kind of walked right into it...researched the hospitals in my area and it seemed to have the most/best volunteer positions. I applied and got this position straight off the bat. They had other great ones too...tutoring kids who were too sick to attend school, working in the pre-op waiting room (keeping the patients calm and distracted before they went back for anesthesia), door-to-door crafts, Buddying with the kids, etc.
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hahaha, children's hospital...no KIDding lol
 
definitely not wiping **** from endoscopy beds
 
I liked volunteering on the burn/trauma unit because I got to help with dressing changes, which was interesting.
Best job, though? Hands down, baby cuddler for the NICU. No joke I got to go cuddle babies for an hour each week because its good for them to be held and it gives the parents some time to themselves.
 
llamasarefuzzy said:
I liked volunteering on the burn/trauma unit because I got to help with dressing changes, which was interesting.
Best job, though? Hands down, baby cuddler for the NICU. No joke I got to go cuddle babies for an hour each week because its good for them to be held and it gives the parents some time to themselves.
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Haha, yup, I looked into the cuddling position, but I wanted something a bit less...fluffy. I liked being able to explain things to the parents and to know that no one could be discharged before my step, so my doing it actually sped things up and helped the nurses out.

That burn/trauma position sounds crazy, though...I'm amazed you got that kind of hands-on position with wounds as a premed!
 
If you can get into OR, I say go for it. I'm currently in an ED as well but I've also volunteered on a basic nursing floor as well as a cardiac unit.

Depending on your area, I would also check out any nearby underprivileged/homeless clinics in your area. This would be a new experience from an ED and gives you some exposure to underserved medicine.

I'm curious about all of these other Children's hospital positions people are talking about... working with kids sounds awesome.
 
I definitely want to be a baby cuddler but the children's hospital where I volunteer now has a 2 year waiting list for that 😱 so instead I do pretty much what @KillaKitteh does. It's great when the parents are receptive in the post-op areas but I don't care for being in the pre-op waiting room. The hearing-screening sounds great now that I read @mehc012 's description and I'm kind of wishing that I had signed up for that! I know they do offer that at my children's hospital.

Anyway, I've also volunteered in an ER in the past (different hospital) and hated it - not enough to do and I would end up walking around in circles. Sometimes even now I never have enough to do during my shift. Volunteering can be such a toss up and so different depending on every hospital. I think the best volunteering gigs would probably be those that keep you busy during your whole shift!
 
Mobility volunteer- Essentially go into patients rooms who are transplant patients, surgery, etc., anyone who needs assistance walking. I go in and and walk with them around the floor. I have to bring their IVs, oxygen, turn off bed alarms, etc if necessary and have to interact with nurses to find out who I get to walk with. I feel like it's the most direct patient contact I could have. I'm alone the whole time so it's very independent.
 
My favorite was spending a week on telemetry in the Cardiac Care Unit in-between operations.

I learned pretty fast that pressing the call light might get a response within the next hour...but accidentally losing a lead could get a nurse in under 10 seconds. (Not that I ever did that on purpose 😛)
 
My ED volunteering position is awesome. I'm sure it varies hospital to hospital, but there's never a dull moment where I am. We run EKGs, transport patients, inventory trauma patients' belongings, pick up blood, do all sorts of miscellaneous tasks for nurses and doctors, and get to observe anything that goes on in the ED. I really can't imagine a better gig in terms of patient contact and exposure to medicine.
 
TheRhymenocerous said:
My ED volunteering position is awesome. I'm sure it varies hospital to hospital, but there's never a dull moment where I am. We run EKGs, transport patients, inventory trauma patients' belongings, pick up blood, do all sorts of miscellaneous tasks for nurses and doctors, and get to observe anything that goes on in the ED. I really can't imagine a better gig in terms of patient contact and exposure to medicine.
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You're allowed to do EKGs and handle blood as a volunteer? That is surprising to me, to be honest, but kind of cool.
 
I think working in a student run clinic was the coolest thing I did. I did intake, took vitals, finger pricks and blood glucose, and I was actually a necessary member of the group. Volunteers inputed all the information into the EMR systems, stocked supplies, and helped with many other things. Some student run clinics are even more involved where the undergrads find preceptors to come in, manage the purchase of supplies etc etc. It was an awesome experience!
 
optimistic3 said:
You're allowed to do EKGs and handle blood as a volunteer? That is surprising to me, to be honest, but kind of cool.
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I think he probably means blood from the blood bank? That's what I did in my stint at the cardiology department.
 
I have volunteered in the ED both before and behind the triage desk, gift shop/welcome desk, on the med surg floor (memory: a mildly wide-eyed nurse supervisor trying to maintain budget who asked me to sit with a guy who was declining *and* strapped to the bed but trying even through Haldol to get out of bed, disrobe and do I don't know what; his wife hadn't slept adequately in a week and I was asked to sit with him and keep him calm/speak with him. I was able to get his wife a short nap with that because she felt comfortable enough to do so with me in the room), and now and primarily in outpatient surgery.

As to allowing transporter, my uni has had several students that I know of to be transporters as a part time job, so it might be worth it to you to ask if they'll take you as a volunteer. HIPAA will be the same, training might be a little different.
 
optimistic3 said:
You're allowed to do EKGs and handle blood as a volunteer? That is surprising to me, to be honest, but kind of cool.
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You get to do a lot more if you volunteer at a hospital with no money! (And we go through EKG training. Wasn't even aware there were restrictions on handling blood though!)
 
There's really no way to answer this question... It is highly subjective depending on the hospital you're at. I volunteered at a quiet suburban ED, I was usually doing grunt work and was bored to death. On the contrary, one of my former coworkers volunteered in an urban ED while he was still pre-med. He said he got to see lots of amazing stuff and enjoyed it so much, that he continued volunteering even after dropping his medical school ambitions. You can see that the same department can be vastly different.

Some departments like ICU, which may sound good, actually carry a bad reputation here on SDN. I have mostly heard bad things, which is kind of surprising considering it seems like an interesting department. I can't reslly say for sure though since I have not volunteered in the ICU.

Ultimately, depending on your primary purpose for undertaking the activity, uou ahould see whether you actually want something "interesting" or not. If you are volunteering solely to get into medical school and would not have done it otherwise, you might want to consider something NOT "interesting" because you might be able to sit in the corner studying for classes or the MCAT and no one will care, all which accruing volunteer hours. If you are doing this because you actually want to do this, it might be trial and error finding the best department for you.
 
TheRhymenocerous said:
You get to do a lot more if you volunteer at a hospital with no money! (And we go through EKG training. Wasn't even aware there were restrictions on handling blood though!)
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mehc012 said:
As "cleaning up blood," apparently. :shrug:
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lol no I just meant I was never allowed to handle any bodily fluids or specimens at both hospitals I've volunteered at. At my current one, I'm not even allowed to push a patient in a wheelchair!

I know not every hospital is the same so I just thought it was cool that he was given so much responsibility. I would love that because otherwise it has been pretty boring for me.
 
I volunteer at a children's hospital and I absolutely love it! It's their long-term care facility and it's basically like a nursing home for children. Most of these kids aren't verbal but a lot can communicate other ways. Basically I play with them: video games, watching TV, walking with them around the unit (mostly pushing their wheelchair or stroller, or pulling them in a wagon) or rocking the infants/toddlers in a rocking chair. I get lots of hands-on contact which is great, and I get to watch the nurses/respiratory therapists work on them (most have trach tubes).
 
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