I think the thing I realize with volunteering in clinical settings is that it really depends on what they let you do....
I volunteered in 2 different departments in a hospital where they basically didn't let me do anything. I mean I would MAYBE clean the exam room beds and then sit there in a chair for another 3 hours and 45 minutes. Just simply brainless. I get why volunteers can't be more involved...but some places just don't care to even give busy work.
I volunteered in another department at the same hospital and was allowed to call patients from the waiting room to their exam room...help arrange patient files and put them in order for their rooms, etc. It was seriously refreshing and....fun. I got to make small talk with the patients as well which was cool.
I think I'm going to make a 1 year commitment to volunteering at a hospice...I feel like there may be more opportunity there to be involved.
For me, it's how you are treated. I had 2 great opportunities at a local Children's hospital: for one, I was performing hearing screening tests on newborns. I'd come in, get the patient census, cross-check it with the records to see which babies needed to be screened, check against the discharge plans to prioritize timing, and then go into each individual room, talk to mama, explain the test, and then play with a 1-day old kiddo for a while. If the test came back 'refer', I'd briefly explain things and refer the parents to an audiologist. Got to work with 4-7 individual families each shift.
In the same hospital, I got to work in the surgical waiting room with kids. They'd be all gowned up, family would be filling out forms and generally stressed out, and my job was to play with the kids and keep their minds off things.
I really enjoyed the experiences, and I would work with those patients again in a heartbeat. In the first, because families cannot legally be discharged without the hearing screen (or declining it), my work made the nurses' jobs far easier, and I got to directly set some moms' minds at ease in regards to the test (especially for rechecks - kids who had referred the first day always got a second test before referral to an audiologist, and it was always great to be able to tell a worried mother that their child could hear). In the second, I
know I made the kids day better. I had several parents come up to me afterwards and tell me that they were happy that their kid was able to take their mind off, and that they'd been too stressed or busy to do so, etc. Working there made me think that, hey, I really think I could work with sick kids and their families, and do a decent job of it (whether I'd like it I guess I'll see in med school).
However, I ended up quitting both positions after a year, not just because I was getting extremely busy, but also because I thought the volunteer department was disrespectful and rude to work with. I felt that, whether I put in extra effort, did a good job, or did nothing, I was treated the same - as a lazy good-for-nothing who had to be under constant surveillance and threats in order to function. No, thank you. I learned what I could, and got out. I'll find another way to interact with patients and their families, even if I have to wait until I've got the MD to do it.
