Volunteering predicament

[laxgirl06]

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Hi everyone, I wanted to ask for some meaningful advice about a predicament I am in. I signed up to be a volunteer in a specific department about a year ago (at my local hospital). I went for 4 or 5 times and didn't have a positive experience. I felt out of place and didn't really have a good relationship with many people there. Anyway, long story short. I asked if I could switch departments, and the coordinator said after I finish this 'requirement.' I met her in person once and expressed my concerns to her (she told me she couldn't survive in that particular department because it is so independent, etc). and she told me to decide and come back when I was available. I'm graduating from college in less than a month and am trying to plan things out.

What can I do now?
Things to note:
I am very serious about using my time up until my application date wisely
I don't want to go to interview and speak negatively about this experience.
I need more clinical hours anyway but I need more meaningful experiences

 

[hubbsbubbs]

If you don't like where you're volunteering, commit to finding a different opportunity at another hospital/hospice/clinic. Don't force yourself to volunteer somewhere just so you can put it on your application. Volunteering can be very fun and rewarding if you're doing something you love.

 

[liquidstatic]

A lot of clinical volunteering can feel pretty meaningless. There is such a thing as a bad experience, but for the most part clinical volunteering is what you make of it. If a department is particularly independent that is a BONUS, it means you have a little more latitude to make it meaningful. Work on building relationships with those around you. It can be hard but it'll help you grow as a person which is a big part of the clinical requirement!

 

[Sardinia]

@laxgirl06 I have dual volunteered at a soup kitchen and a hospital simultaneously. The purpose for both volunteering experiences were entirely different. The former was because I believed in the mission of the soup kitchen/food pantry which was to serve all people and also to allocate specific food resources to those who were verified low-SES and needed the goods we received from Panera, ShopRite, and other providers. As someone who struggled with money for a significant period of time, I personally identified with the mission and it helped me realize that there are people who are currently being hit hard even though they come into the pantry with a suit and tie.

The hospital volunteering was self-indulgent and perpetuated by an interest in exploring all the available opportunities within healthcare. I was aware that compared to the former volunteering experience, I was there to assist the hospital by serving the patients. When the floor realized that I had been trained as a scribe and understood my scope of practice, they ironically allowed me to assist them in things many would find are outside the allowable scope of practice. "Hey D, did you assist them with moving the 500 pound patient?" "No. I'm just a volunteer, I'm not allowed to make patient contact." [Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.] These relationships are ones where you should keep trying to assist the unit and eventually you will find areas they are seriously lacking or need help in. They are great transitioning opportunities and should be seen as an opportunity for you to make meaningful relationships by trying to be meaningful to the unit.

If you are doing things that you believe have no value, then you aren't going to be able to extrapolate value. There are many opportunities that younger adults tend to miss simply because they aren't mindful of the opportunities that exist within their local environment. Every person you meet or bump into could be a future resource to help you along the way. If you are putting yourself in environments where you don't feel this is the case, then you are depriving yourself by not being in the environment you feel is one where you can thrive. You can never in two places at the same time, this is a limitation of resources. Therefore, you should prioritize the places you can be in and the time you can spend within them.

 

[laxgirl06]

A lot of clinical volunteering can feel pretty meaningless. There is such a thing as a bad experience, but for the most part clinical volunteering is what you make of it. If a department is particularly independent that is a BONUS, it means you have a little more latitude to make it meaningful. Work on building relationships with those around you. It can be hard but it'll help you grow as a person which is a big part of the clinical requirement!

I agree that I have the potential to grow as a person, and that's part of the reason I chose the department (adult ed) HOWEVER my experience has not been conducive of self-growth because of the tension between myself and some of the staff there. To do a bit of self-reflection, I was much less confident back then than I am now, so pair that with the fact that I was a bit shy already, and prone to social anxiety and you have a recipe for disaster. I just went into every room, did the bedding, etc, but didn't really interact with patients after one guy asked/told me that I wasn't comfortable going into rooms, right??? So after I did the rooms, I sat near the reception, and the nurses would gossip amongst themselves, then one time I checked my cellphone(I KNOW, it was a major mistake) but yeah, I didn't have a positive environment. I received rude stares from one nurse and the rest acted as if I wasn't there even though I was within feet of them. Every time I went, I got anxiety and a huge headache because I was anticipating the tension...idk

 

[laxgirl06]

@laxgirl06 I have dual volunteered at a soup kitchen and a hospital simultaneously. The purpose for both volunteering experiences were entirely different. The former was because I believed in the mission of the soup kitchen/food pantry which was to serve all people and also to allocate specific food resources to those who were verified low-SES and needed the goods we received from Panera, ShopRite, and other providers. As someone who struggled with money for a significant period of time, I personally identified with the mission and it helped me realize that there are people who are currently being hit hard even though they come into the pantry with a suit and tie.

The hospital volunteering was self-indulgent and perpetuated by an interest in exploring all the available opportunities within healthcare. I was aware that compared to the former volunteering experience, I was there to assist the hospital by serving the patients. When the floor realized that I had been trained as a scribe and understood my scope of practice, they ironically allowed me to assist them in things many would find are outside the allowable scope of practice. "Hey D, did you assist them with moving the 500 pound patient?" "No. I'm just a volunteer, I'm not allowed to make patient contact." [Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.] These relationships are ones where you should keep trying to assist the unit and eventually you will find areas they are seriously lacking or need help in. They are great transitioning opportunities and should be seen as an opportunity for you to make meaningful relationships by trying to be meaningful to the unit.

If you are doing things that you believe have no value, then you aren't going to be able to extrapolate value. There are many opportunities that younger adults tend to miss simply because they aren't mindful of the opportunities that exist within their local environment. Every person you meet or bump into could be a future resource to help you along the way. If you are putting yourself in environments where you don't feel this is the case, then you are depriving yourself by not being in the environment you feel is one where you can thrive. You can never in two places at the same time, this is a limitation of resources. Therefore, you should prioritize the places you can be in and the time you can spend within them.

I completely understand what you are saying, but my predicament/question is what do I do now? I know this hospital volunteering is a very serious thing, and although the coordinator hasn't "checked up on" me, I personally don't want to just "disappear" because I don't think that's professional + I "promised" to volunteer. My "problem" is that things between the reception staff and I aren't positive and it just gave me so much anxiety while I was on the shift. It felt like prison to me and I know that's not what volunteering in a hospital should feel like. I love the hospital but just not where I am. I am 100% serious about using time effectively at this point. And I know that I can grow by volunteering in a hospital, but I'm not sure. I know that putting the bedding in can really help, it's not that it's not meaningful, but the environment isn't positive. But I still "promised" to come back...

 

[laxgirl06]

If you don't like where you're volunteering, commit to finding a different opportunity at another hospital/hospice/clinic. Don't force yourself to volunteer somewhere just so you can put it on your application. Volunteering can be very fun and rewarding if you're doing something you love.

But what about the fact that it's one of the largest hospitals around me? And it's the closest, most convenient, and I "promised" to come back?

 

[Sardinia]

I completely understand what you are saying, but my predicament/question is what do I do now? I know this hospital volunteering is a very serious thing, and although the coordinator hasn't "checked up on" me, I personally don't want to just "disappear" because I don't think that's professional + I "promised" to volunteer. My "problem" is that things between the reception staff and I aren't positive and it just gave me so much anxiety while I was on the shift. It felt like prison to me and I know that's not what volunteering in a hospital should feel like. I love the hospital but just not where I am. I am 100% serious about using time effectively at this point. And I know that I can grow by volunteering in a hospital, but I'm not sure. I know that putting the bedding in can really help, it's not that it's not meaningful, but the environment isn't positive. But I still "promised" to come back...

Quit volunteering at the hospital. Just make sure you have a paper trail to log it into AMCAS/AACOMAS. Why make yourself miserable? You have learned not to make commitments that you can't keep. I have made and had many people make promises that they can't keep. Young adults in general make an aggressive attempt to prove they will be reliable because they want to be given opportunities to get ahead in life. However, they often overextend and end up apologizing for being unreliable. It's a process of maturity. If you're going to slave for something, it must be something you enjoy doing.

 

[Sardinia]

Also you are only a volunteer. I suggest you look up the term at will employment and observe it from both perspectives. Although most workers dislike the provision because it allows employers a means to fire them without financial restitution, employers are able to leave their place of work for any reason without being fined or held financially accountable. Employers are looking less for motivated or hard-working individuals and more for students who have a personal mission statement and whether their view aligns with the work being done by the company. These are more linked towards satisfaction and job commitment when both parties have a mutual interest, because there is no guilt when it comes to two entities no longer sharing the same goals.