Not sure if it is appropriate to use observation/ "volunteer" hours in resume

[SSSTwenty]

Thank you for the help in advance to those reading this as I am a bit lost as to where to go from here. I graduated a year early from college in the spring of 2018 with a Bachelor's in Biology with a concentration in Pre-Medicine. I did not do a great deal of preparation in college due to a combination of mental health issues, low self-esteem, and laziness (Not trying to make excuses for myself. I merely understand that all of this greatly contributed). Since graduating, my focus has been on completing observation/ “volunteer” hours in physical therapy clinics to prepare myself for applying to PT school which is no easy task. I have since completed those hours, 300 total to be exact, and I wish to get myself out there in my chosen field. I am also preparing for the GRE at the moment.
First and foremost, I have no job experience at all. That being considered, I suppose I have two questions. I understand that I have a variety of different entry level jobs available to me in the biological field, but was needing to create a resume more geared towards physical therapy tech positions as well. I mentioned before that I acquired 300+ service hours. While completing those hours, I took notes and asked several questions when the shadowed therapist was most available related to both treatment of the patient and the conditions those patients had while googling more common place things like medical jargon and abbreviations used in paperwork. My question related to that is, am I allowed to make mention any of this in the experience or skills section of my resume although I was not allowed to do too great a deal of hands-on considering this was shadowing and not a clinical?
My second question is, should I complete a variety of volunteer hours to obtain some work experience more readily while still job hunting, job hunting while working a job full or part-time job unrelated to my degree, or wait until I have acquired some form of volunteer experience then apply?

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[SSSTwenty]

I tried to ask this on another forum and I was met with a rather non-concrete, condescending answer which wasn't terribly helpful so I thought this forum would be more appropriate.

 

[ya1]

1. Yes! Definitely mention your observation hours in your resume. No one is going to expect you to have hands-on experience in PT at this point of your career. (it would actually be illegal to have an observing person to have any hands-on work on patients).
2. Apply for jobs now. PT Tech is a low-paid job and should not have high expectations from applicants. They will teach you everything on the spot - it's not that complicated. Most places hire people exactly like you - someone who is trying to get into PT career.
If you want to apply for jobs other than PT tech, that is fine too. You will probably make more money that way. You already got enough observation hours to apply to PT school. As I understand, you observed in more than 1 clinic as well. So I would say you are done with observation hours and do not need anymore. Do PT tech job only if you really want it. Otherwise, get a better paid job.
Good Luck!

 

[SSSTwenty]

1. Yes! Definitely mention your observation hours in your resume. No one is going to expect you to have hands-on experience in PT at this point of your career. (it would actually be illegal to have an observing person to have any hands-on work on patients).
2. Apply for jobs now. PT Tech is a low-paid job and should not have high expectations from applicants. They will teach you everything on the spot - it's not that complicated. Most places hire people exactly like you - someone who is trying to get into PT career.
If you want to apply for jobs other than PT tech, that is fine too. You will probably make more money that way. You already got enough observation hours to apply to PT school. As I understand, you observed in more than 1 clinic as well. So I would say you are done with observation hours and do not need anymore. Do PT tech job only if you really want it. Otherwise, get a better paid job.
Good Luck!

I meant to specify this in my original post, but should my observation experiences, things that I've learned, go under work experience , skills, or should I simply mention the hours I've done on my resume under work experience without mentioning the details?
I also should have specified that the volunteer work for work experience I was referring to was something unrelated to my job field. I'd be working for free so I could have a former "boss" of some kind to speak to my work ethic whenever I apply to jobs that need references to confirm what's on my resume. I understand that I at least need to get a start of some kind so if I get the opportunity to work as a physical therapy tech starting out, I'll be more than happy to do so.

 

[LIFTFORCHANGE]

I would definitely start working at a PT-tech/aide. As a volunteer, you really arent doing anything except observing. However even as a tech/aide, the experience you receive is so minimal compared to what a PT actually does (this was a huge realization to me when I started PT school). I would also recommend looking into some personal training certifications. Training and PT work VERY CLOSLEY together. This will also give you the autonomy to practice "corrective exercise" or "injury prevention," which will only help you along your PT journey. This is what I did and I do not regret it AT ALL. I believe this has set me apart from other applicants and even as a current student in DPT school. If you have more questions, feel free to message me!

 

[PTGalPaL]

I meant to specify this in my original post, but should my observation experiences, things that I've learned, go under work experience , skills, or should I simply mention the hours I've done on my resume under work experience without mentioning the details?
I also should have specified that the volunteer work for work experience I was referring to was something unrelated to my job field. I'd be working for free so I could have a former "boss" of some kind to speak to my work ethic whenever I apply to jobs that need references to confirm what's on my resume. I understand that I at least need to get a start of some kind so if I get the opportunity to work as a physical therapy tech starting out, I'll be more than happy to do so.

I put all of mine under work experiences and I just listed myself as "PT Tech Intern" instead of volunteer. Definitely don't be afraid to list it as work experience with all of your duties and such just like you would any former job. Just because you weren't paid doesn't mean you didn't do the work!

 

[SSSTwenty]

I put all of mine under work experiences and I just listed myself as "PT Tech Intern" instead of volunteer. Definitely don't be afraid to list it as work experience with all of your duties and such just like you would any former job. Just because you weren't paid doesn't mean you didn't do the work!

Thank you all for being such a great help! I am extremely grateful! Now, I did not have many responsibilities considering the clinic I did outpatient at had plenty of help there being plenty of physical therapists, physical therapy assistants, and physical therapy techs. My outpatient was essentially the same story considering patients in outpatient setting were in a much less severe condition. My only responsibilities were cleaning. The only difference between inpatient and outpatient volunteer/observation work for me was that I had more to clean in inpatient. I didn't really have any duties that would exhibit a great deal of skill which was why I was wondering if it would be appropriate for me to mention those things I observed and took thorough notes on under that volunteer experience.

 

[LIFTFORCHANGE]

Thank you all for being such a great help! I am extremely grateful! Now, I did not have many responsibilities considering the clinic I did outpatient at had plenty of help there being plenty of physical therapists, physical therapy assistants, and physical therapy techs. My outpatient was essentially the same story considering patients in outpatient setting were in a much less severe condition. My only responsibilities were cleaning. The only difference between inpatient and outpatient volunteer/observation work for me was that I had more to clean in inpatient. I didn't really have any duties that would exhibit a great deal of skill which was why I was wondering if it would be appropriate for me to mention those things I observed and took thorough notes on under that volunteer experience.

Every state is going to have different laws on what volunteers can do, but im sure for many states, being a volunteer limits the amount of work you can actually do, since it is unlawful to put unpaid volunteers to work. If you are looking into the next step, you should apply to be a tech/aide to get more hands on

 

[ya1]

I would put observation hours under Community Service or Volunteer Experience.
In your resume, you can specify what exactly you observed (1-2 lines) in this or that setting without going into details about you googling information (you can talk about it during interview if appropriate). Something like:
Observed PT sessions in outpatient orthopedic clinic. Patient population: post TKR, THR, CVA, Parkinsons', chronic pain.
Observed PT sessions in NAME hospital, acute setting. Patient population: post hip fracture, CVA, CHF, CKD, respiratory failure.
Cleaning and laundry can be called "office management". During an interview if asked you can specify that you were making sure that tables and equipment were cleaned between patients, linens were changed, you made sure that the environment was safe for patients (like you watched that there is no dumbbell laying in the middle of the gym so that no one would trip over it), keeping the gym presentable so that patients have a good impression of the facility (if it is messy, some may think it is poorly managed).
You can say you were introduce to HIPAA (google it and have a general idea what it is about). if you learned anything regarding insurance coverage, different kinds of insurances, scheduling, paperwork, you can mention all that as well. If not, you don't have to.