I am going to be a sophomore this coming fall and I have been looking for hospital volunteering for this summer. However, most hospital programs are full or require a 6 month commitment (I live in California but go to school in New York). What should I do if I'm unable to find a volunteering program? Are there other options I could explore so I don't end up wasting this summer to start getting involved?
Trouble finding Volunteering
- Thread starter mabellee
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I was in your situation (but moving between New York, Hawaii, and Washington state). Try to find hospitals with hourly commitments rather than period commitments.
I was unable to volunteer after my freshman year because I didn't do things soon enough, and honestly it might be too late for you right now because all of the summer volunteer orientations I went to were in early may. I ended up getting a part time job that summer so that's all I'm going to be able to put.
I'd say try to start things going in the fall and maybe stay in NY for the summer after sophmore year to continue (which is what I did).
I was unable to volunteer after my freshman year because I didn't do things soon enough, and honestly it might be too late for you right now because all of the summer volunteer orientations I went to were in early may. I ended up getting a part time job that summer so that's all I'm going to be able to put.
I'd say try to start things going in the fall and maybe stay in NY for the summer after sophmore year to continue (which is what I did).
I hate that it's so hard to volunteer. Come on, I'm giving away my time and effort...
All hospitals around my school got booked fast and required a 1yr commitment. I'll be in the UK all summer and it's looking like any clinical volunteering is impossible to get. This is going to look terrible on my application barely having any medical volunteering 🙁
(end of my first-world problems rant)
All hospitals around my school got booked fast and required a 1yr commitment. I'll be in the UK all summer and it's looking like any clinical volunteering is impossible to get. This is going to look terrible on my application barely having any medical volunteering 🙁
(end of my first-world problems rant)
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I didn't have any. Just sayin'
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Realistically you don't learn much about medicine when volunteering in a hospital setting. I volunteered in an emergency room for 1 year and have seen a lot, but realistically little patient-doctor interaction. If anything, I learned about how hospitals are run. Admissions know this, hence why any type of volunteering will be nice if it can be backed by shadowing.
I've done a bunch at the food bank and other non-medical places. I'm seeing that hospices are more welcoming to volunteers than hospitals and honestly, I'd imagine this is a more fulfilling volunteer position anyway. So I'd say for others having a hard time volunteering at hospitals: try hospices.
Con- depressing
Pro- people will appreciate it. (Plus it'll get you prepared for a geriatric setting commonly seen in hospital wards.)
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That is odd. Where I am(Buffalo), it is super easy to get a volunteer spot because there are barely any people volunteering at the hospital.
The downside is they have no idea what to have me do since volunteers are prohibited from doing almost anything and they are already so heavily staffed that it is jam packed in there even when it is not a rush of patients.
The downside is they have no idea what to have me do since volunteers are prohibited from doing almost anything and they are already so heavily staffed that it is jam packed in there even when it is not a rush of patients.
Volunteering isn't just so that you can see the dr./pt. relationship, you can get that from shadowing. Volunteering shows your commitment to your community and the general population. If you are wanting something healthcare related then you could try nursing homes like one poster said, another great option is hospice and area agencies that help the elderly. These types of programs usually just involve going and sitting with the client for an hour or 2 and keeping them company. I actually make "care calls" for this type of organization. This involves calling the agency's clients and checking to see if there is anything they need help with and if they are doing ok. 🙂
