Volunteering in the E.R.

[youngnflyy]

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Today I got my volunteer assignment, and as it turns out, I'll be working in the E.R. on Sunday afternoons. Has anyone here done volunteer work in the E.R.? The Coordinator just mentioned that it was fast paced work. I'm excited about the assignment, and grateful I didn't get stuck doing clerical work or the gift shop. Any ideas on what to expect?

 

[americanangel]

I've volunteered in the ER of a children's hospital. Once they got to know me, I was able to follow the nurses and doctors in the rooms during exams. I usually held patients down during tests, ran errands, took the kids and families to different tests, saw a couple real emergencies and other stuff. The ER was a lot of fun!

 

[Jccripe]

i did the ER on saturday nights all last year. It was crazy on the home football game nights. I did a lot of fileing but i got to see some traumas and so interesting things. Just keep your ears and eyes open and you can learn allot, or go home and google all the new things you saw.

 

[BellyDancingDoc]

You'll see lots of cool stuff... but you probably won't get to do much of anything.

That is to say, you'll fetch cups of water and boxed lunches for patients. You'll deliver X-rays taken at other hospitals to radiology. You might be asked to wheel patients through the hospital if the hospital doesn't have an official Patient Transport service. And you may babysit children while their parents deal with health issues or go out to talk on the telephone. None of that stuff is really very interesting, so don't get too excited about what you'll do.

What you'll see on the other hand can be pretty awesome. You'll learn about your hospital's trauma Red Phone and watch what happens when a call comes in with a trauma case: hordes of people gowning up, surgeons stampeding down from the 3rd floor, nurses & techs setting up equipment and getting everyone out of the way-- including you (You won't get to see too much that happens during the trauma, itself, though-- there's a painted line you'll have to stand behind that keeps you away from the action). You'll see drunk patients, high patients, neglectful parents, suicidal kids, the mentally ill, broken limbs, nasty accidents (I saw one kid whse flish had been ripped from the bone of his finger and it was all just hanging there like the skin ripped from a chicken leg), people with chest pain, and people with acute issues like appendicitis. Lots of fevers. Lots and lots of old people (many with various levels of dementia) who've been bouncing back and forth from the hospital to their nursing homes over the past 10 years.

You'll also see BS patients like hypochodriacs, people who simply have colds but don't have insurance to go to a regular doc, people who claim to be suicidal but really want "3 hots and a cot," and people who just don't have a clue what "emergency" means (Doc, I have this really bad sunburn!).

To learn from what you see, try to make friends with the 1st & 2nd year residents. This works better than honing in on the attendings, who are generally very nice, but are so surrounded by residents that they don't have time for you. If you're smooth, you'll manage to effectively "shadow" the younger residents, so you can watch them present their cases to the attendings. This is how you'll learn all sorts of good stuff.

As you can probably tell, I loved my time in the ED. Just don't expect to learn by doing, or you'll be disappointed. You can, however, learn quite a lot by watching...

Have fun! 👍

 

[kapil_MD]

You'll see lots of cool stuff... but you probably won't get to do much of anything.

That is to say, you'll fetch cups of water and boxed lunches for patients. You'll deliver X-rays taken at other hospitals to radiology. You might be asked to wheel patients through the hospital if the hospital doesn't have an official Patient Transport service. And you may babysit children while their parents deal with health issues or go out to talk on the telephone. None of that stuff is really very interesting, so don't get too excited about what you'll do.

What you'll see on the other hand can be pretty awesome. You'll learn about your hospital's trauma Red Phone and watch what happens when a call comes in with a trauma case: hordes of people gowning up, surgeons stampeding down from the 3rd floor, nurses & techs setting up equipment and getting everyone out of the way-- including you (You won't get to see too much that happens during the trauma, itself, though-- there's a painted line you'll have to stand behind that keeps you away from the action). You'll see drunk patients, high patients, neglectful parents, suicidal kids, the mentally ill, broken limbs, nasty accidents (I saw one kid whse flish had been ripped from the bone of his finger and it was all just hanging there like the skin ripped from a chicken leg), people with chest pain, and people with acute issues like appendicitis. Lots of fevers. Lots and lots of old people (many with various levels of dementia) who've been bouncing back and forth from the hospital to their nursing homes over the past 10 years.

You'll also see BS patients like hypochodriacs, people who simply have colds but don't have insurance to go to a regular doc, people who claim to be suicidal but really want "3 hots and a cot," and people who just don't have a clue what "emergency" means (Doc, I have this really bad sunburn!).

To learn from what you see, try to make friends with the 1st & 2nd year residents. This works better than honing in on the attendings, who are generally very nice, but are so surrounded by residents that they don't have time for you. If you're smooth, you'll manage to effectively "shadow" the younger residents, so you can watch them present their cases to the attendings. This is how you'll learn all sorts of good stuff.

As you can probably tell, I loved my time in the ED. Just don't expect to learn by doing, or you'll be disappointed. You can, however, learn quite a lot by watching...

Have fun! 👍

I volunteer in an ER too, but I'm finding myself not doing a whole lot. I just stand there until someone tells me what to do. I introduced myself to the doctors and I told them I would like to observe during treatment and they said "ok". But when they go and give treatment, they dont call me to go with them, and I don't want to feel like i'm "intruding".

What should I do?

 

[BellyDancingDoc]

I volunteer in an ER too, but I'm finding myself not doing a whole lot. I just stand there until someone tells me what to do. I introduced myself to the doctors and I told them I would like to observe during treatment and they said "ok". But when they go and give treatment, they dont call me to go with them, and I don't want to feel like i'm "intruding".

What should I do?

Hey kapil,

As I noted above, I've generally found that the attendings simply don't have time to help volunteers. It's not that they're mean guys... they just have lots of sick people on their hands! And any time that they do have available to "teach" is usually given to the residents.

This is why I go out of my way to make friends with the 1st and 2nd year residents. They don't have anyone to teach, and they're often scared and a little lonely (1st years, especially). Having a younger student around who looks up to them can make them feel better about themselves.

I've also noticed that when I go into an exam room trailing behind the 1st year resident and asking questions, it causes the patient and family to have more respect for the 1st year. I think that they assume that if the 1st year can function as a "teacher," then the 1st year must be pretty darn competent. This makes the 1st year happy, because (s)he doesn't have to answer questions like "How long have you been a doctor?" Thus, I'm useful to the younger residents (I'm also always happy to get them coffee/a snack/whatever), so they have more time for me. It's a win-win!

 

[kapil_MD]

Hey kapil,

As I noted above, I've generally found that the attendings simply don't have time to help volunteers. It's not that they're mean guys... they just have lots of sick people on their hands! And any time that they do have available to "teach" is usually given to the residents.

This is why I go out of my way to make friends with the 1st and 2nd year residents. They don't have anyone to teach, and they're often scared and a little lonely (1st years, especially). Having a younger student around who looks up to them can make them feel better about themselves.

I've also noticed that when I go into an exam room trailing behind the 1st year resident and asking questions, it causes the patient and family to have more respect for the 1st year. I think that they assume that if the 1st year can function as a "teacher," then the 1st year must be pretty darn competent. This makes the 1st year happy, because (s)he doesn't have to answer questions like "How long have you been a doctor?" Thus, I'm useful to the younger residents (I'm also always happy to get them coffee/a snack/whatever), so they have more time for me. It's a win-win!

thing is, I don't think there are any interns/residents in my hospital. All I see is nursing students. There is a clinic nearby with a family practice program, but I'm not that interested in volunteering there.

Our hospital is really not that busy, I get there at 8am in the weekend when its dead and doctors just sit there at the reception most of the time. I just feel really awkard and out of place there. This bothers me because its the only health center here, plus its a 15 minute drive and is costing me gas.

I honestly believe they have no excuse for not calling me to observe because I just see them sitting there, and we're not busy at all. It's also a rather small ER which makes it feel even more awkward.

I guess I'm just upset that I'm spending precious time and money to be there and I'm not really doing a whole lot (though I've learnt plenty by watching from afar, I just want to see more treatment).

sigh🙁

 

[Darkshooter326]

As evidenced by the posts on this thread, volunteering in the ER is pretty standard, and nothing too special. In my experience, you don't get to do anything, besides be in an ER environment, which is not very indicative of the medical profession unless you, drumroll, work in an ER. I quit going soon after I started because I didn't feel it was worth my time as a 'clinical experience.'

That being said, while probably not the best clinical experience, it's better than nothing 😎

 

[8744]

Today I got my volunteer assignment, and as it turns out, I'll be working in the E.R. on Sunday afternoons. Has anyone here done volunteer work in the E.R.? The Coordinator just mentioned that it was fast paced work. I'm excited about the assignment, and grateful I didn't get stuck doing clerical work or the gift shop. Any ideas on what to expect?

Hey, I volunteer in the ER. Well, I actually get paid but it's not much so it's almost like volunteering.

 

[Ladyfingers]

When I volunteered in the Emergency Department I had the best time. There was a lot going on and I got to help out in triage when I wanted. I took vitals and assisted in procedures (like held someone's leg while the doctor put her foot back in place). I thought it was one of the best volunteering experiences I had. Patients would look at me and tell me all kinds of personal details.

Don't stand around. I think you have to be somewhat nosy otherwise you won't get to do much. I don't think they see it as nosy though once you get to know them ( the staff ).

 

[potato51]

I used to befriend the paramedics and nurses who'd let me in on cases.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

I volunteered in an ER for a long while. At first it was great, got to wheel around patients, shadow docs and nurses, clean stuff, pretty much do everything.

Then they hired transportation personnel, housekeeping, and other nurses and techs till finally i was sitting in the corner admiring the tiles on the ceiling for hours at a time. This went on for weeks till finally one nurse asked me to clean something, I hopped up and did it. Then I realized that was the only action I had seen in nearly a month. =(

Perhaps I was not proactive enough. =/

 

[philios]

Ive had a similar experience to you all. Basically I just stood around periodically asking if there was anything I could do. The nurses and doctors seemed to busy or too tired to care much about the volunteer. Basically I prepped rooms, transported patients and helped a little with the paperwork. Id say it was like 20% work 80% standing around, kind of irritating seeing as I wanted and was attempting to get involved. I did see a lot and get a good taste for what goes on in an ER and how it functions. This semester Im going to be volunteering on Patient-Floors and hopefully in Cardiac or Neuro-Imaging Labs.

 

[CardiacIntensivist]

thing is, I don't think there are any interns/residents in my hospital. All I see is nursing students. There is a clinic nearby with a family practice program, but I'm not that interested in volunteering there.

Our hospital is really not that busy, I get there at 8am in the weekend when its dead and doctors just sit there at the reception most of the time. I just feel really awkard and out of place there. This bothers me because its the only health center here, plus its a 15 minute drive and is costing me gas.

I honestly believe they have no excuse for not calling me to observe because I just see them sitting there, and we're not busy at all. It's also a rather small ER which makes it feel even more awkward.

I guess I'm just upset that I'm spending precious time and money to be there and I'm not really doing a whole lot (though I've learnt plenty by watching from afar, I just want to see more treatment).

sigh🙁

I had the same problem you did. At first I was either only doing housekeeping or running errands to the pharmacy. I got sick of it and had to break out of my shell to ask the nurses and doctors if I could follow them around. Some of the nurses were really nice about it. They let me do EKGs, triage patients, help prep. Most of the doctors were too busy to care but for the few that did, they always let me in behind the curtain. You have to be very proactive and ask them right out. They don't know how much work you want to do unless you specifically tell them. It helps if you let them know how much medical background you have (I was an EMT-B student in training at the time).

 

[pennybridge]

belly dance is spot on here.

most of what you can learn from a pre-med perspective is from watching and/or asking questions (i suggest asking doctors, because you want their input, not so much the nurses/techs/whatnot)

implement yourself, offer a hand, ask if they would like your help.

a thing to remember is that as a volunteer most of the people know you want to be a doctor and probably will become a doctor, and they might resent you for that, or try and put you in your place. Just be nice, lower your standards to the ground and be willing to do anything no matter how humiliating or dirty it may be. You will get respect from everyone.

Doctors (Residents, especially) like to teach (unless they're pricks, in which case why do you care? lol) but they won't hold your hand and drag you around, just make yourself visible, if you don't understand something (you won't understand a lot) ask. The doctors don't expect you to know everything they do, but at the same time they don't remember what they knew before med school, so they might quiz you and you will feel like an idiot. Don't worry it happens (and we're all pretty much idiots when we volunteer).

ask questions (appropriate ones) but toe the line between being inquisitive and annoying, learn when a doctor doesn't have time for your questions.

make friends with the secretaries, the ER techs, and a few nurses (obviously don't make enemies, but you can only get to know a few people in a given time frame).

The secretaries are fun to talk to in downtime because they're generally not medical people, and non-medical people are always more friendly.

Become buds with the ER tech (easier if er tech is a guy and you are a girl) just be cool, ER techs generally have a serious "cool complex" talk about football, professional wrestling, and monster trucks. If the ER tech is older, ask about his/her kids so when you see them you can say "Hey soandso, how are the kids?"

The ER tech is your key to "doing" stuff, also they can protect you from scut if they like you. At my hospital, volunteers aren't allowed to do silly things like EKGs or taking vitals, but if you befriend the tech he/she will show you how to do it, and have you do it in the future, its less work for him/her.

but yeah, its just like any other work environment, make friends, be useful, don't just stand around waiting for someone to tell you to do stuff.

as far as patients:
talk to them about their health problem
do not talk to them about other patients' health problems
talk to them about football

if you offer them your hand to hold in case of pain, give them your thumb and tell them to squeeze as hard as they want. it won't hurt you. if you give them your entire hand, they can break it, and there goes your chances of being a vascular surgeon.

if they ask you to do something other than get a blanket, respond with "sure I'll check with the nurse"
or if they're a pain in the ass say "I'll check with the doctor"

ask panda bear what he expects from volunteers, most ER docs are bitter cynics (good people to learn from) but great doctors, and don't suffer from stress breakdowns possible in other departments.

uh, other than that, make sure to wear your thick skin under your volunteer uniform and clean underwear and you should be fine.

 

[Wackie]

Hey, I volunteer in the ER. Well, I actually get paid but it's not much so it's almost like volunteering.

If you work it out, I'm almost sure you make a few dollars more per hour than I do. 😀



OP, bust your butt even if you don't see anything interesting. It can pay off later if they like you.

 

[BNSN]

I volunteered in an ER for a long while. At first it was great, got to wheel around patients, shadow docs and nurses, clean stuff, pretty much do everything.

Then they hired transportation personnel, housekeeping, and other nurses and techs till finally i was sitting in the corner admiring the tiles on the ceiling for hours at a time. This went on for weeks till finally one nurse asked me to clean something, I hopped up and did it. Then I realized that was the only action I had seen in nearly a month. =(

Perhaps I was not proactive enough. =/

🙁 they don't like you 🙁

HEY ETERNALRAGE -- whats up with diff eqs? Hard class or not?

 

[TxRunner]

I have been volunteering in a large Hospital in Texas for about 3 1/2 months. I have found that I really don't get to see too much. I am basically there to help out with admitting. I do get to transport patients back to rooms, and X-ray, but I have limited exposure to procedures and treatments. The only exposure I get is when I have to put wristbands on patients when they are already undergoing treatment from a nurse. Or when patients find me to be a comforting face and describe all of their ailments to be when checking in. I guess it really depends on what hospital you are working at. I have found that this is the closest to the action I can get due to the strictly enforced HIPAA law.

 

[112258]

I volunteered in Shock Trauma at Univ of MD and it was awesome. They also are the best trauma center in the nation 😉 ...so it is very very organized, structured, etc....with a lot of cases.

First off, don't expect people to "invite you in". You are there as a volunteer, that is expected of you, to watch, ask if there is anything else you can do, etc. Don't wait around until they ask you.

Most of what I did was watching, but I made friends with the nurses, techs, and younger residents like other people have said. They will explain things to you and have more time to do so. I had to stock the rooms and get things for patients but since I was always there when every case rolled by they often would explain everything to me. The most exciting physical thing I did was be one of the 2-3 people (usually nurses/techs) that roll the patients on their side when they first come in so the doc can do a spinal exam. I also went around to the rooms and talked to the patients, because imagine how scary this must be for them.

Just get involved, ask lots of questions and things should start to look up 👍

 

[pennybridge]

yeah volunteering in a trauma center you run the risk of just being in the way and not getting to do/see much, but ymmv.

at a basic ER you can do more*



*assuming staff know/trust you

 

[kapil_MD]

belly dance is spot on here.



a thing to remember is that as a volunteer most of the people know you want to be a doctor and probably will become a doctor, and they might resent you for that, or try and put you in your place. Just be nice, lower your standards to the ground and be willing to do anything no matter how humiliating or dirty it may be. You will get respect from everyone.

I can definitely feel this when I'm there. One nurse looked very happy to see me and was glad I'm pre-med etc. The doctors were ok, but the techs on the other hand gave me bad vibes. The second time I came to volunteer I told them I'm pre-med and not a regular volunteer and they immediately shut up.

Why would people resent me for being pre-med? Shouldn't they be happy that I'm doing what I love and that I want to save lives and be a great doctor? Those people can f off, I have done absolutely nothing wrong and yet they treat you like you've committed a crime for wanting to be a doctor.

 

[prmdbeach17]

I had pretty much the same experience as other posters...the whole 20% work, 80% standing around thing but I got to know some of the staff pretty well so anytime I asked if I could observe they said sure. Usually I stood away so I wasn't in anyone's way but someone would usually say go ahead and move closer...I got to see some pretty cool traumas and stood next to the doctors when they sutured one guy's head after an accident. Also there was a guy once that walked in screaming looking for drugs and security had to take him away...always something interesting going on. Also the patients love for someone to listen to their troubles so you could spend a long time just talking to them. Now I'm volunteering on the floor where there's more to do but not quite as exciting.

 

[Arc]

I remember doing this as a job shadow for a ER physician. You get to SEE a lot of things, but for the most part, you will do a lot of mundane tasks like cheching up on patients, and helping around the office. For the most part, I sat around and talked with nurses.

 

[novawildcat]

I volunteered in the ER and I have to say talk to the ER docs AND BE ASSERTIVE. If you just stand around and be passive you will get run over and you won't get anything out of volunteering.
Most of the docs don't give a rat's ass if you follow them or not, but won't say anything about when you should follow them. Just follow them around. I pretty much got to see everything.

The best way to sneak in with the docs is to get friendly with the techs and the nurses. If you get on their good side they will put in a good word for you with the docs. Just watch out for the a_hole ER docs. Every hospital has one.

 

[pennybridge]

I don't know why you guys are afraid of talking to the doctors or asking them directly to hang around. at my ER the docs know what the volunteers are there for and try and hook them up. of course I am at a teaching hospital...

 

[bwonger06]

also i found the portrayal of trauma teams from viewing shows like ER and the critical hour (on discovery health) to be completely wrong. Trauma teams are really laid back and joke around quite a bit, and are actual people, so get to know the doctors because they arent medical robots.

 

[pennybridge]

also i found the portrayal of trauma teams from viewing shows like ER and the critical hour (on discovery health) to be completely wrong. Trauma teams are really laid back and joke around quite a bit, and are actual people, so get to know the doctors because they arent medical robots.

+1

the more time you spend in the environment you realize its just like any other job, except you work with almost exclusively intelligent people.

 

[112258]

also i found the portrayal of trauma teams from viewing shows like ER and the critical hour (on discovery health) to be completely wrong. Trauma teams are really laid back and joke around quite a bit, and are actual people, so get to know the doctors because they arent medical robots.

The critical hour portrayed where I worked! I love that show. 😀

 

[Wackie]

The second time I came to volunteer I told them I'm pre-med and not a regular volunteer and they immediately shut up.

I wouldn't recommend saying this because it can cause some ruffled feathers. The above comment could be taken as "I'm better than a regular volunteer".

Why would people resent me for being pre-med? Shouldn't they be happy that I'm doing what I love and that I want to save lives and be a great doctor? Those people can f off, I have done absolutely nothing wrong and yet they treat you like you've committed a crime for wanting to be a doctor.

People will always find things to tick them off. Most nurses have run into a doctor who has treated them like an underling. It doesn't sit well, as you can imagine. Nobody likes to be treated that way. So they will look at premeds as just another a-hole up and coming doctor.

I got along really well with the entire staff where I volunteered. I didn't mention I was premed unless I was asked. And nobody asked until they were interested in knowing me-which meant I busted my butt to help out in any way I could and earned their adoration. I always asked or found something to do.
Many times they get busy and just don't think about little odd jobs until they're in a situation where they wished room 9 had more towels, or wished tubes were put together. I found a spot in the open where I could watch everything and put together tubes, or folded towels, or put charts together while simultaneously watching the computers for a room that needed to be cleaned. After a while it was a rare thing when someone asked me to do something.
I occasionally brought treats and smiled a lot or got them laughing, asked them about their family, etc.

Word travels around at different hospitals about who is working where. Healthcare is somewhat of a small world. My last day there was back in October. The other day, someone where I work now mentioned some of the staff where I had volunteered asked about me. It surprised the heck out of me.

I didn't get to know all of the doctors. Most pretty much kept to themselves and I took it as "don't bother me". But one took interest and helped me out in getting an incredible job for premeds.

 

[bwonger06]

People will always find things to tick them off. Most nurses have run into a doctor who has treated them like an underling. It doesn't sit well, as you can imagine. Nobody likes to be treated that way. So they will look at premeds as just another a-hole up and coming doctor.

Another misconception... doctors and nurses dont get along.

In real life they do get along, or at least from my experience. Doctors will ask about nurses families and vice-versa, and they get along together. Nurses and Doctors are a team when it comes to treating patients and they need to get along to effectively treat patients. Nurses know what their job is and so do doctors.

Of course there will be those few rude/jackbutt doctors, but they are in the minority.

 

[Wackie]

Another misconception... doctors and nurses dont get along.

Of course there will be those few rude/jackbutt doctors, but they are in the minority.

Exactly, but that minority is very well remembered. The only nurses and/or techs that have ever said to me they've never had a problem were new.

 

[youngnflyy]

It really seems like it will be an interesting experience. What would you guy consider to be the best locale to volunteer in a hospital?

 

[da8s0859q]

+1

the more time you spend in the environment you realize its just like any other job, except you work with almost exclusively intelligent people.

Friend of mine from high school, one of a small few from my HS to go to medical school (she was the year before me, so I'm planning on being the next to go)... she told me that the best thing about med school was that there were far fewer ignorant people around her than there were in her undergrad.

The critical hour portrayed where I worked! I love that show. 😀

That one's not too bad... but some of Code Blue - the ones with the guy that looks/sounds a bit like Billy Bob Thornton and the other Yankee with the jovial, sarcastic attitude - I love those. 😍

 

[pennybridge]

It really seems like it will be an interesting experience. What would you guy consider to be the best locale to volunteer in a hospital?

variety is key. spend some time in the ER to see cool stuff, but get around so you don't have such a narrow view of medicine. work on a floor, work in the ER, shadow some docs (residents if you can) be well rounded in and all over the place with ECs

 

[8744]

If you work it out, I'm almost sure you make a few dollars more per hour than I do. 😀



OP, bust your butt even if you don't see anything interesting. It can pay off later if they like you.

I'm counting on it.