volunteer work

[TexasTriathlete]

---

Members do not see this ad.

When I started my pre-med work, the thing I dreaded most was volunteering. This is because everyone I had talked to who volunteered said that all they did was sit around and answer phones. That would be about as boring as I can imagine.

There are three hospitals within about a mile or two of UT's campus: Seton Main, St. David's, and Brackenridge.

I had no idea what went on at any of them, so I just picked one out of my ass and decided to go volunteer. This was after I had already taken the MCAT and started to fill out my applications. For my duty, I picked ER. Little did I know that this was the busiest Level II trauma center in the nation (so I'm told), serving 16 counties in Central Texas. Two StarFlite pads, recently expanded to 7 full trauma bays, and so-on.

So I pretty much jumped right into the carnage, and I finally understood why medical schools want you to have clinical experience: this **** isn't for everyone. After a few months, I decided to take another step, and I started coming in at 11pm on Friday and Saturday night. I had to quit a fairly good bartending job to do this, but it was worth it. I learned about the extent of DO's here. Before then, I had only known two DO's, and I didn't really understand how prolific they were in medicine. But at this place, they are everywhere. By the time I figured this out, it was too late to get a letter from one, research the schools, and fill out AACOMAS, unfortunately, but they have been more than helpful this time around.

I have also made some great friends at this place. I ride and run with a nurse and a tech who work there, and occasionally I lift with a couple others. I've also been invited to go out with the crew there on more than one occasion, but I am poor these days because of medical school applications, so I don't get out much lately. This is seriously the coolest crew ever. I hear so much about how ****ty volunteers (and employees, for that matter) are treated at other hospitals, I just feel like I lucked into a great situation.

Last night was awesome. I went in at about 9:30, and it was slow until about midnight. Then it was one trauma stat after another. When the get spread thin, I find myself right in the middle of everything, and I really get a chance to help out. I got pretty bloody last night, and I'm just glad to be useful around there. I finally left at about 4:30am. It hit me last night like a ton of bricks that I am really going to miss those people. I'm going to try and set up a similar volunteer shift at Grady in Atlanta when I get there, and I will come ready to work my ass off, but I can't possibly imagine a better situation than what I've got right now. But I am optimistic, and I am excited to get started.

I've been told that the reason I am so well-accepted there is because I don't mind working hard, and I don't take it personally when I get bitched at. I've read the same thing from people on this board that this is the key to clinical rotations too. So hopefully I won't be totally wiped out by school, and I will be able to carry over what I've learned.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share.

 

[superfan56]

what exactly are you doing at the ER T_T?

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Whatever they ask me to do. On a busy night, I will have a pretty broad scope of activities.

 

[Porco Rosso]

Brackenridge is pretty cool. I used to work in ICU as a patient tech long time ago before I decided to change major from biology to chemical engineering.


There are tons of DOs in Austin. I still have dreams about some day returning there as a trauma doc. I like trauma not for all the cool stuff, but the problem solving. You never know what will come in through the doors and have to act quickly, like a good engineer, to solve the problem.

Currently, I volunteer friday/thurs nights at a Level I teaching hospital but the trauma ward is separated from ER and no one is allowed there except for the trauma team. Plus they have guards there 24/7 to only allow in the trauma team.

Just last week, someone dropped off two gun shot victims while I was talking with another patient leaving the hospital. I ran to get the ER tech for stretchers while security guard went outside.

Lucky you. I do clinical research work but also follow ER residents. They know I am taking med physio so they always have few questions for me after he/she does patient assessments. This work also forced me learn EKGs so I know my 12leads pretty good. So when attendings are taking a breath, I will go and inquire about some abnormal EKGs and their treatment options.

I think that volunteer experience is what you wanted to be. Some hospitals are better than other to cater students. I am just happy to be at a place where everyone seems to get along with each other. But you also have to take the initiatives and show interest. I applied for a job here, everything looked great. Got an interview until they found out my EMT-intermediate certificate expired 5 years ago so they couldnt hire me as an ER Tech.

Even the nurses will pull me in when they are doing their treatments and give hints like, "when you become a doctor, dont forget...blah...blah..."

 

[Tachymeter]

Wow that sounds great, when I volunteered at my local ER it totally stunk. Nothing but paperwork, phones, and bedding. I really felt underutilized the whole time.

 

[gasapple]

Yea, the trauma center ER is the way to go for volunteer action. Unfortunately, they canceled the official physician shadow program where I'm located because of an imposter who was acting like a physician and handling newborns (among other things). The volunteer department wouldn't allow me to go where I wanted to most of the time. Luckily, I was in good (through casual conversation) with the lady that does all the coordination in the surgery department. She pulled a few strings and got me into the ER through the surgery department, which was awesome.

For the most part it was great - except one time, I was hands-on stabilizing a patient while the resident practiced IV placement (pin-cushion practice - drug user, collapsed veins). Needless to say, the patient was on the last leg and was positive for a number of serious communicable diseases. Personally, I thought the resident was a total douche and wasn't really comfortable with the suturing so close to my hand, which was stabilizing the patient for the line placement. Anyway, I wasn't complaining because the attending (MD) allowed me to get up in the action, but it was nerve-racking based on my impression of the resident. Great experience although I wish the resident was less shaky and had exuded more confidence. BTW - this type of "interaction leeway" is usually discouraged by the hospital due to liability and personal risk.

Sometimes you've just got to search out the prime opportunities and get to know the right people. Another great experience came later when I was able to shadow a couple of stellar DOs in the same surgical department; it was so much fun with the two DOs on the night shift, I had a hard time leaving the ER come morn'.

Oh - in my experience, I've also had my ass chewed by a few RNs for no apparent reason, usually at times when they are amped up for a JCAHO visit. I swear, I'm with senior physicians and just riding quietly in the background with the appropriate identification and they swarm in like flies. Point is, you can't take any of it personally and the physicians usually come to the defense and put an end to it. Otherwise, you've just got to ride it out with no complaints.

Get ready to field a few questions geared toward the residents from the attendings because you'll be lumped in with everyone else - fun stuff and great practice!

 

[Bonsante]

Thanks for sharing your clinical experiences.

I remember four years ago when I first volunteered in the ER as a trained-EMT-B. It completely changed my whole perspective on medicine, and to this day I can recall almost everything that has happened.

It was two hours before my clinical rotation shift was over at Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center, and I was talking to a nurse about a patient's vital signs, when all of the sudden I see this middle aged Asian guy barged into the ER doors carrying an unconscious woman with a ghastly and pale skin complexion in his arms. Seeing this, the medical staffs including the nurse that I was with quickly ran and assisted the man, while I stood there starring in disbeliefs as this was going to be my first real life threatening experience with a patient. And everything had happened so fast, the next thing I knew - my name was called to do CPR as the breathless woman was put into a stretcher and pushed into the Operating Room. It was there that the doctors and nurses stripped her clothes off, prepped the gauze, started a central line, and injected two shots of epinephrine in her heart while I, this little high school student who just turned 18, was nervously doing chest compressions. As we shocked her with a defibrillator from one set right after another for many minutes, one doctor tried to intubate her several times, but all of our attempts and hard work to bring her back to life were futile. The patient's respiratory tract was completely burned, skin complexion became jaundice, blood pressure fainted, pulse disappeared, and rigor mortis was apparent for she had committed suicide by engulfing a bottle of bleach at the age of 25 years old.

At that moment, I understood what it felt like to have a patient dies in my hands, robbed of life just when it was starting. Albeit I was not the physician to inform her husband and relatives of the horrid news, standing by as she died and then having to watch her husband and family cope with the loss was like having my heart ripped out in front of me. After witnessing how doctors and nurses tried everything in their power to save her back but to no avail, I understand no matter how much effort physicians put into their work, undesirable outcomes are beyond their control. So doctors must continue on the upward path to attaining creative solutions to difficult problems. They must be willing to do anything for the patient and yet be able to accept the simple fact that every so often, the patient dies.

 

[SmallTownEMT]

Most of my clinical experience has been as an EMT, but I did it out of hospital. I took the class my sophomore year of college after I realized that I wanted to look into medicine. In the area I went to college it was one of the few activities students could really get involved with to get some clinical experience (the nearest trauma center was an hour and a half drive away), and I figured it was the best way for me to actually have contact with patients and not just watch someone take care of them. I started on the campus rescue squad before moving onto bigger things and joining the village volunteer fire/ambulance company. Even though I ran in a relatively small area I was able to see a wide variety of patients in time.

I had a couple of other clinical experiences but nothing that meant as much to me. Unfortunately I did get roped into helping out at a doctor's office which involved lots of paperwork and chart filing. One positive thing from that though- that's where I met the DO I shadowed a couple of years later.

 

[Porco Rosso]

my very first call part of the EMT-basic training was un-conscious child. I was like, what have I gotten myself into here and I am only 16 years old. Then we topped off the day with me bagging an accident victim with one hand and doing compressions with another, all the way to the hospital. Coolest part was that I was literally on top of the patient doing compression as paramedics pushed the stretcher to ER trauma room until ER tech took over.

I was distraught, because we also worked on three of the patient's buddies at the scene and were pronounced dead. We talked about the patients and they confirmed that I did a good job and followed the protocols. They were okay about it but they were little concern about me.

I couldnt get a good night sleep for the next week constantly thinking what I did to save a life and those we couldnt help. I pretty learned afterwards to put everything on backburner and help the patients.

I did more trauma stuff, even got to intubate twice, but I realized that you go through so many practice runs that everything becomes automatic. You dont think about it, you just know exactly what you need to do.

 

[Saregamapadanis]

I finally understood why medical schools want you to have clinical experience: this **** isn't for everyone.
I've been told that the reason I am so well-accepted there is because I don't mind working hard, and I don't take it personally when I get bitched at. I've read the same thing from people on this board that this is the key to clinical rotations too. So hopefully I won't be totally wiped out by school, and I will be able to carry over what I've learned.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share.

I hear you man, medicine isn't for everyone, volunteering at the front desk is nothing. You need to get on the floor to see what they do , and what kinds of people they face.

 

[UTBME]

I volunteered at the Pedi ER at Children's Hospital of Austin when it was next to Brackenridge. It wasn't nearly as busy as the ER next door at Brack, but there were still quite a few cool cases, and all the docs/nurses were really nice about letting you observe everything. I mean of course you still have the customary clean up rooms, clean toys, transport patients to radiology or admitting patients duties. But overall, it was a pretty good experience.