Volunteering - Emergency Department vs. Patient Transport?

[CaffeineJunkie]

Hi all,

I'm fortunate to have a bit of down time between work and studying and wanted to gain a bit more hospital exposure time. I'm interviewing with a local hospital soon and have a choice between volunteering in the ED (helping restock, assist families/patients as needed, help nurses with anything they may need) and also being a patient escort between various wings of the hospital (plus being a messenger).

I've spent a couple years in clinical volunteering already, most of which involved plenty of patient interaction via traveling room to room (although it was more conversational than anything). I was originally thinking ED might be good to experience, since everything would be more fast paced than anything I've seen and I'd have the chance to see how the department/the docs there function in depth. However, the patient transport seems like it'd be more fulfilling in terms of patient interaction and would give me the chance to see many different wings in the hospital, although not as in depth as ED.

Which of these experiences do you guys think might be more beneficial towards helping me better understand healthcare in a hospital setting?

Thanks!

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[PugsAndHugs]

I would do ED. I started in the ED in high school and there is so much to learn and do there.

 

[YellowfinGuy10]

I Would say ED. The floors are really really boring to me. The ED can get boring too though. You have experience with volunteering so you know what goes on. I have never volunteered so I don't really know what you can/ can't do. I know from others that all they did was answer phone calls. I would also think that it depends on the hospital you are going to volunteer at. Big vs small. I work in ems and am always in and out of the ED and want to go into emergency medicine so ED is where its at for me. Do both, couldn't hurt.

 

[toast]

I think ED will be more interesting, I have been volunteering in an ED over a year and I absolutely love it. You will also get some exposure to other specialties when them come to do consults and procedures in the ED.

 

[Ismet]

Either one, I did both, but I liked the ED more. If you have downtime you can usually go talk to patients, especially patients who don't have family members with them. Obviously depends on the rules at your place, but I would make my rounds, then go back to a few rooms and chat with some patients who seemed like they were up for some conversation (obv if they have a kidney stone or something they're not going to be up to chat). Then I'd make my rounds again. Also got a lot of patient interaction when I did transport, but it wasn't as interesting medicine-wise (mostly wheeling people to and from imaging or to discharge).

 

[CaffeineJunkie]

Thanks all for the advice!

I charmed the hell out of my interview and will be starting in the ED in a week or so. Looking forward to gaining some cool exposure (or some relatively boring shifts if it means people aren't getting into emergencies...) before next cycle!