Volunteering in a random Hospital(question)

[alexnam89]

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My situation is that in 3 o 4 weeks im starting summer school in my college~
ive just started taking basic classes such as general chemistry and biology,etc. i was thinking while i have those 3 or 4 weeks doing nothing ~ b4 summer class~ volunteering in a random hospital~ and get some experience life in a hospital doing basic things like helping. i dont expect any payment~ doing it to learn and broaden a bit the life in the hospital~
Right now i dont know any hospital, and ive never attended once in US(im an International student with US Passport but not resident yet).
And the Question is...
Is it weird going to any hospital and ask randomly if a can help without any payment during 3 weeks?

i would appreciate any comment and advises~
thank you~ 🙂

 

[lagavulin21]

I'm sure others can answer more thoroughly, but all the hospitals I've spoken with require multiple months of commitment. There are too many laws and responsibilities surrounding the medical profession and they naturally can't give responsibility to somebody walking in off the street. They will need to fill out paperwork, do some training, etc.

 

[LaTortuga]

Figure out which random hospital you want to work in and call the volunteer office. Like the previous poster said, you won't get far just walking in and asking to help out. You will get referred to the volunteer office where they will have you fill out an application, schedule you for an interview, get you TB tested, introduce you to the hospital and take you through a general orientation ... and finally after all that, they'll assign you to a department. The whole orientation/sign up process may take 3 weeks alone, so be sure to start getting your paperwork in order early. Also, most hospitals will require a time commitment. Both hospitals where I volunteered required 6 months. Just food for thought. Good luck 😉

 

[JonathanMD]

Figure out which random hospital you want to work in and call the volunteer office. Like the previous poster said, you won't get far just walking in and asking to help out. You will get referred to the volunteer office where they will have you fill out an application, schedule you for an interview, get you TB tested, introduce you to the hospital and take you through a general orientation ... and finally after all that, they'll assign you to a department. The whole orientation/sign up process may take 3 weeks alone, so be sure to start getting your paperwork in order early. Also, most hospitals will require a time commitment. Both hospitals where I volunteered required 6 months. Just food for thought. Good luck 😉

Same as above, but I would go even farther and say give yourself 2 months buffer to be on the safe side. The TB testing happened right away (week and a half, you have to go in twice), but the orientations for all volunteers only happened once a month and I inquired about it on the back end of it, so that was another month. Then I had to come in to fill out some final paper work and talk to the volunteer dept. one last time.

 

[alexnam89]

Same as above, but I would go even farther and say give yourself 2 months buffer to be on the safe side. The TB testing happened right away (week and a half, you have to go in twice), but the orientations for all volunteers only happened once a month and I inquired about it on the back end of it, so that was another month. Then I had to come in to fill out some final paper work and talk to the volunteer dept. one last time.

Figure out which random hospital you want to work in and call the volunteer office. Like the previous poster said, you won't get far just walking in and asking to help out. You will get referred to the volunteer office where they will have you fill out an application, schedule you for an interview, get you TB tested, introduce you to the hospital and take you through a general orientation ... and finally after all that, they'll assign you to a department. The whole orientation/sign up process may take 3 weeks alone, so be sure to start getting your paperwork in order early. Also, most hospitals will require a time commitment. Both hospitals where I volunteered required 6 months. Just food for thought. Good luck 😉

I'm sure others can answer more thoroughly, but all the hospitals I've spoken with require multiple months of commitment. There are too many laws and responsibilities surrounding the medical profession and they naturally can't give responsibility to somebody walking in off the street. They will need to fill out paperwork, do some training, etc.

THANX all of you for your advises 😀

 

[alexnam89]

Just an Update for you guys,
I am currently volunteer as a Clinical Care extender at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, CA, trough a program called Cope Health Solutions.

For those of you that live nearby (located in OC) and needs a great volunteering experience in ICU, ER, Main OR, Rehab, Passages, OB clinic, Family clinic, Pediatrics, and more.. Please PM me or ask me through this thread 🙂

I will be more than happy to answer you any questions (if i can)

 

[the duck]

Just an Update for you guys,
I am currently volunteer as a Clinical Care extender at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, CA, trough a program called Cope Health Solutions.

For those of you that live nearby (located in OC) and needs a great volunteering experience in ICU, ER, Main OR, Rehab, Passages, OB clinic, Family clinic, Pediatrics, and more.. Please PM me or ask me through this thread 🙂

I will be more than happy to answer you any questions (if i can)

I live in Nor Cal, but thats awesome of you to come back and up date it for people! Thanks man!

 

[alexnam89]

I live in Nor Cal, but thats awesome of you to come back and up date it for people! Thanks man!

You are welcome, so far i got one PM about the Volunteering program at a hospital.
Still hearing if people need some volunteering experience, i will be more than happy to help you! 👍

 

[Totally Rad]

My situation is that in 3 o 4 weeks im starting summer school in my college~
ive just started taking basic classes such as general chemistry and biology,etc. i was thinking while i have those 3 or 4 weeks doing nothing ~ b4 summer class~ volunteering in a random hospital~ and get some experience life in a hospital doing basic things like helping. i dont expect any payment~ doing it to learn and broaden a bit the life in the hospital~
Right now i dont know any hospital, and ive never attended once in US(im an International student with US Passport but not resident yet).
And the Question is...
Is it weird going to any hospital and ask randomly if a can help without any payment during 3 weeks?

i would appreciate any comment and advises~
thank you~ 🙂

The hospital I volunteer at simply requires an interview and filling out some paperwork. Then you can get started! They give you your lab coat and ID and you pretty much have access to most floors/departments (definitely not all, such as surgery or labor/delivery). I mainly shadowed radiologists. It was very informal though, as I didn't email them before hand or anything, I kinda just waltzed right into their offices, introduced myself, and shadowed them for a while. I did the same thing with OBGYNs and other doctors. I shadowed doctors in between volunteering. It was a really relaxed environment, but from what I hear from other people's experiences, most hospitals are not like that at all. Some of my friends had to do actual (and lengthy) applications and get shots and stuff before volunteering in their hospital. Do some research and find out what the requirements are for the volunteering programs of the hospital you want to be in