VA Volunteering Classification

[ChemEMeddie]

Hi Everybody.

I apologize if this has been asked before, I couldn't find much when searching the forums for this topic. I'm very interested and shall be starting to volunteer at my local VA hospital and I was wondering if this would be classified as non-clinical or clinical? I know that the consensus is, if you can smell the patient then its clinical, but I'm just curious what exactly would constitute clinical vs non-clinical in this situation? Would it be fair/legitimate to classify it as non-clinical volunteering as I will be starting a phlebotomist position soon as well and would be able to get my clinical exposure through that avenue. I love the idea of volunteering at the VA as many of my family members have been in the military and I believe that they are under-served when they may deserve our help the most. Would it be incorrect to then classify this volunteering as non-clinical or should I find other methods of giving back that would be less ambiguous as to its classification?

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[Catalystik]

I apologize if this has been asked before, I couldn't find much when searching the forums for this topic. I'm very interested and shall be starting to volunteer at my local VA hospital and I was wondering if this would be classified as non-clinical or clinical? I know that the consensus is, if you can smell the patient then its clinical, but I'm just curious what exactly would constitute clinical vs non-clinical in this situation? Would it be fair/legitimate to classify it as non-clinical volunteering as I will be starting a phlebotomist position soon as well and would be able to get my clinical exposure through that avenue. I love the idea of volunteering at the VA as many of my family members have been in the military and I believe that they are under-served when they may deserve our help the most. Would it be incorrect to then classify this volunteering as non-clinical or should I find other methods of giving back that would be less ambiguous as to its classification?

Describe your role in the volunteer VA position.

 

[ChemEMeddie]

Describe your role in the volunteer VA position.

I can do one better, I'll just copy the description per the volunteering webpage.

"Assistance is needed to transport patients to clinics, nursing units, x-ray, etc. in wheelchair or on stretcher. Assist with room turnover: cleanup, setup, etc. Other duties as assigned, but limited to general, non-patient care duties. Individual must be able to physically able to do a lot of walking and pushing of wheelchairs and stretchers, must also be able to demonstrate safe transport/escort skills."

It feels like to me that it is kind of a nebulous mix of the two, if that makes sense. With that being said, it seems more clinical than non-clinical; however, I would only really have time in my future schedule to commit myself to two organizations/activities. I guess this leads to a follow-up question I have, which I've found somewhat contradictory answers to across the forums. Would clinical volunteering, which this opportunity could potentially be, encompass/satisfy the clinical exposure (not talking about shadowing) that is strongly recommended for an applicant? I.e. would taking this position, should it be considered clinical volunteering, help satisfy both my clinical volunteering AND my clinical exposure, which would mean I wouldn't need to burden myself with the phlebotomy position, so that I could focus on other non-clinical volunteering opportunities, or would the phlebotomy position be a stronger clinical exposure (it seems like it absolutely would be to me, but I'm not positive)?

 

[hang50]

Depends what you do there. I volunteer in the ER at my local VA, it would be classified as clinical. I would highly recommend doing it, if you can. I get to meet some wonderful people, both patients and staff...ended up being one of my most meaningful experiences.

 

[ChemEMeddie]

Depends what you do there. I volunteer in the ER at my local VA, it would be classified as clinical. I would highly recommend doing it, if you can. I get to meet some wonderful people, both patients and staff...ended up being one of my most meaningful experiences.

That's awesome! I'm glad that you recommend it as it is something I really want to get involved with for that exact reason, that you get to meet people with absolutely wild and interesting histories that, for the most part, are something we will never get to experience in our lives.

I would like to add, for the benefit of the thread, that the position title is Emergency Department Aide, which is clearly very clinically oriented and I think would be a great boon for my own self and my application as a whole.

I guess my overall question is this: if I take this VA position, which I would really like to do, and assuming it is deemed clinical volunteering, which it seems as if it would be, would it count as clinical experience and therefore I should forego the phlebotomy and pursue other non-clinical experiences or does this type of volunteering not necessarily count as clinical experience/exposure in ADCOM eyes?

Apologies for the semi-rambling thought process here, just trying to figure everything out so I can start it ASAP.

 

[Catalystik]

the description per the volunteering webpage.

"Assistance is needed to transport patients to clinics, nursing units, x-ray, etc. in wheelchair or on stretcher. Assist with room turnover: cleanup, setup, etc. Other duties as assigned, but limited to general, non-patient care duties. Individual must be able to physically able to do a lot of walking and pushing of wheelchairs and stretchers, must also be able to demonstrate safe transport/escort skills."

It feels like to me that it is kind of a nebulous mix of the two, if that makes sense. With that being said, it seems more clinical than non-clinical; however, I would only really have time in my future schedule to commit myself to two organizations/activities. I guess this leads to a follow-up question I have, which I've found somewhat contradictory answers to across the forums.

Would clinical volunteering, which this opportunity could potentially be, encompass/satisfy the clinical exposure (not talking about shadowing) that is strongly recommended for an applicant?

Yes. And Patient Transporter is an excellent was to interact with patients via conversation and making sure they are safe and comfortable during their journey.

Another approach you might consider would be that of keeping your own log of clinical vs nonclinical duties and then using two spaces to list them separately.

 

[Catalystik]

if I take this VA position, which I would really like to do, and assuming it is deemed clinical volunteering, which it seems as if it would be, would it count as clinical experience and therefore I should forego the phlebotomy and pursue other non-clinical experiences or does this type of volunteering not necessarily count as clinical experience/exposure in ADCOM eyes?

This position could potentially be a sole and quite satisfactory source of active clinical experience. So, yes, you could forego the phlemotomy activity completely and use the time to commit to an organization you care about that provides nonmedical community service (ideally to those in need).

 

[ChemEMeddie]

Yes. And Patient Transporter is an excellent was to interact with patients via conversation and making sure they are safe and comfortable during their journey.

Another approach you might consider would be that of keeping your own log of clinical vs nonclinical duties and then using two spaces to list them separately.

That's a great idea about the various duties that I complete during a day and then being able to talk about how they compliment each other.

This position could potentially be a sole and quite satisfactory source of active clinical experience. So, yes, you could forego the phlemotomy activity completely and use the time to commit to an organization you care about that provides nonmedical community service (ideally to those in need).

Ok, perfect, that is really reassuring to hear. I really want to get involved with the VA, as I have mentioned before, and if I am able to accomplish two goals while simultaneously being extremely invested and interested in my experience I would be ecstatic. Thank you very much for your advice! I will take it to heart.