Volunteering Scenario - how to respond to a derogatory comment

[SomniusLumen]

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Hi everyone,

I hope you're doing well. I have a question on what to do in this matter. I volunteer in an emergency room that's remarkably self-sufficient. Nonetheless, I contribute by talking and answering patients; I cover the shift of my notoriously late co-volunteer often; I also help out the nurses whenever they need something from me. I think the nurses seem to like me, but I'm also somewhat of an introvert and it's something I'm working on constantly. Thus, I don't often strike up conversations with them. I definitely understand that I need to be more social, but I was sitting at a computer today, just doing some of my own work since no one needed my help and I heard this one nurse (who was walking past me) whisper to another nurse: "Best volunteer, huh?" And the other nurse quickly shushed him. I didn't look in their direction, so I don't know if they knew I heard or not.

I understand that I'm nowhere near the ideal volunteer and there are probably things I could improve upon, but now I'm concerned. Everyone seemed to like me and no one has ever said anything to me in the past eleven months that I've volunteered here. Now I'm worried that the other nurses might share his opinion and I really want to know what I could do to prove to them that I'm not an inept volunteer. I suppose I could stop bringing my own work, but I'm not sure what else to do during my down-time. I like being productive and I almost constantly multi-task.

I tend to refrain from bothering the nurses just because many of them are overburdened by patients and they constantly seem weary and even a bit annoyed when I ask them if there is anything I could do for them. But I'm always polite and cordial with them, and they do come to me whenever they need something.

So my question is:

What do I do after hearing that comment? Do I approach nurses more often and just ask them what I could do? Do I do nothing and move on? Do I ask that specific nurse what I could do for him? Should I not bring any of my work to the ER?

Moreover, how can I be a better volunteer?

If it helps, here's what I typically do:
+ Talk to patients
+ Clean rooms and replace bed sheets and pillows
+ Run errands for nurses (opening packages; retrieving drugs from the pharmacy; handing them supplies)
+ Transporting patients (when needed)

Most of my work, however, is just listening to the nurses and doing what they ask me to do. I stay within my limits and I make sure that I'm polite, formal, and punctual.

Thanks so much, and I appreciate any comments even if it's brutal honesty.

 

[Euxox]

You are overreacting by a huge amount.

This is just a bit of small talk between nurses. I honestly have no idea how you are extrapolating so much from three words.

 

[SomniusLumen]

You are overreacting by a huge amount.

Do you think so? Oh gosh, I hope so...

I just get worried that I'm not doing a good enough job and I want to make sure I am.

 

[Ace-Co-A]

Do you think so? Oh gosh, I hope so...

I just get worried that I'm not doing a good enough job and I want to make sure I am.

Yea don't let it bother you.

 

[Euxox]

Do you think so? Oh gosh, I hope so...

I just get worried that I'm not doing a good enough job and I want to make sure I am.

If you want to do a better job, then do exactly what you suggested in your earlier post. Be more proactive about looking for tasks. But if you happen to hear someone say "great volunteer, huh?" don't worry about it. The nurse could have just been having an off day. Maybe it was actually a sincere remark and not sarcasm. You really have no way of knowing.

Trust me, if you were actually doing a bad job, the signs wouldn't be nearly so subtle.

 

[Goro]

You're a big boy or girl. Grow a thicker skin.

Hi everyone,

I hope you're doing well. I have a question on what to do in this matter. I volunteer in an emergency room that's remarkably self-sufficient. Nonetheless, I contribute by talking and answering patients; I cover the shift of my notoriously late co-volunteer often; I also help out the nurses whenever they need something from me. I think the nurses seem to like me, but I'm also somewhat of an introvert and it's something I'm working on constantly. Thus, I don't often strike up conversations with them. I definitely understand that I need to be more social, but I was sitting at a computer today, just doing some of my own work since no one needed my help and I heard this one nurse (who was walking past me) whisper to another nurse: "Best volunteer, huh?" And the other nurse quickly shushed him. I didn't look in their direction, so I don't know if they knew I heard or not.

I understand that I'm nowhere near the ideal volunteer and there are probably things I could improve upon, but now I'm concerned. Everyone seemed to like me and no one has ever said anything to me in the past eleven months that I've volunteered here. Now I'm worried that the other nurses might share his opinion and I really want to know what I could do to prove to them that I'm not an inept volunteer. I suppose I could stop bringing my own work, but I'm not sure what else to do during my down-time. I like being productive and I almost constantly multi-task.

I tend to refrain from bothering the nurses just because many of them are overburdened by patients and they constantly seem weary and even a bit annoyed when I ask them if there is anything I could do for them. But I'm always polite and cordial with them, and they do come to me whenever they need something.

So my question is:

What do I do after hearing that comment? Do I approach nurses more often and just ask them what I could do? Do I do nothing and move on? Do I ask that specific nurse what I could do for him? Should I not bring any of my work to the ER?

Moreover, how can I be a better volunteer?

If it helps, here's what I typically do:
+ Talk to patients
+ Clean rooms and replace bed sheets and pillows
+ Run errands for nurses (opening packages; retrieving drugs from the pharmacy; handing them supplies)
+ Transporting patients (when needed)

Most of my work, however, is just listening to the nurses and doing what they ask me to do. I stay within my limits and I make sure that I'm polite, formal, and punctual.

Thanks so much, and I appreciate any comments even if it's brutal honesty.

 

[Catalystik]

What were you doing that constituted "your own work?" If I needed some help and saw someone busily engaged in another task, even if not volunteer job-related, I would hesitate to interrupt them, assuming it must be pretty important if being engaged in while in a professional environment.

 

[Planes2Doc]

Sadly you're facing an uphill battle since pre-meds over the years have built up a terrific reputation as volunteers.

You are literally writing everything that happened when I volnteered as a pre-med. I was always respectful of the staff and did whatever was asked. I also felt like I annoyed the hell out of them when they were busy doing stuff. When I was being ignored, I did my own thing. Later on, people noticed, things were mentioned, but nothing happened.

What you are here for is to get verifiable hours. What actually happens in the ED stays in the ED. ADCOMs won't know about it. There are far worse pre-meds than you, trust me. Like those that go as far as go sign in and then go home, and then come back at the end of the shift to sign back out! So just keep doing what you're doing. Be respectful, help them when they do stuff, and continue to do your work if you have to.

As a pre-med, you have already come in with a bad reputation, even before you ever met them. I would just carry on, don't take it personally, and do what you have to do in order to get into medical school. Good luck!

 

[funniful]

I've had a very similar experience when I was working in the ED. After an abnormally busy hour running around up and down the stairs, grabbing blood and meds, and cleaning up, I finally found time to sit down and check my email on my phone when a doctor was loudly saying something about me playing around on my phone. The nurse quickly shushed him but I was unnerved and pissed for the rest of my shift. A lot of volunteers do really start to slack off after the novelty wears off, but for the most part nurses are pretty understanding and thankful just to have you around.

I heavily contemplated going up to the person afterwards to talk to him about it and clear the air, but figured it wasn't worth the trouble. It's an issue when you're blatantly not helping out when its extremely busy, but during the slow times even the nurses go on the internet/check their phones so I just take my cues from them. Plus they rarely report to the volunteer coordinator/director unless it's a recurring issue and/or huge error.

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

Hospital volunteering is a scam; if you've been doing it for 11 months, you have more than enough hours to check the "I love helping people in a clinical setting!" box and should find a more useful way to spend your free time. Why not become a scribe? You do, see, and learn more and get paid for it. And you are actually useful. If that had been a popular thing when I was in college, I'd have jumped at the opportunity.

You should be getting paid $10-12 an hour to do the "orderly lite" tasks that you do, but since the hospital knows you have to work for free for the purposes of a professional school application, they gladly let you. Meanwhile, they're throwing up a new Wing of Zock every 3-5 years.

 

[Planes2Doc]

It's an issue when you're blatantly not helping out when its extremely busy, but during the slow times even the nurses go on the internet/check their phones so I just take my cues from them.

This pisses me off so bad! Why is it okay for the paid staff to check their phones, while the person that is selflessly giving up their time will get so much crap for doing the same thing. I noticed that the techs would boss me around all the time when I volunteered. They would have me clean every room, while they were talking amongst themselves, playing with their phones, or checking Facebook on the computer. Once again, I think it's because everyone knows why you're there. Are there any elderly volunteers? It's amazing how differently they are treated than pre-meds.

Hospital volunteering is a scam; if you've been doing it for 11 months, you have more than enough hours to check the "I love helping people in a clinical setting!" box and should find a more useful way to spend your free time. Why not become a scribe? You do, see, and learn more and get paid for it. And you are actually useful. If that had been a popular thing when I was in college, I'd have jumped at the opportunity.

You should be getting paid $10-12 an hour to do the "orderly lite" tasks that you do, but since the hospital knows you have to work for free for the purposes of a professional school application, they gladly let you. Meanwhile, they're throwing up a new Wing of Zock every 3-5 years.

The beauty of hospital volunteering is that it's only 3-4 hours once per week. Instead of doing a job with a fairly heavy schedule which will not help you stand out as an applicant (as ADCOMs have seen this millions of times), why not spend your free time doing things you genuinely enjoy, or spend it working on getting your grades and MCAT up (things that can dramatically effect your application). Sure you might make money. But it's pocket change compared to what you'd make as a physician. It's also pocket change compared to the amount you'd spend on an SMP which you might end up doing if you ended up bombing the MCAT since too much time was spent being a scribe or other entry-level clinical job.

A lot of hospital volunteering sucks. There's no way around it. But you're paying for convenience. Believe me when I say it's nice that you are doing something that gets people into medical school year after year, and it is such a small commitment that it provides you with far more free time, not to mention some down time on the "job" itself. 🙂

 

[funniful]

It's especially worse when you have a gunner premed on your shift who's like the energizer bunny doing everything, chatting up everyone, and being a complete dick to other volunteers.

Elderly volunteers do get a lot more respect because they are essentially part of the hospital family, been there for longer, and don't seem to have an obvious ulterior motive.

 

[QuinnTheEskimo]

You sound ridiculously paranoid. You need to get over yourself asap, because this kind of thing is going to happen ALL THE TIME when you are in medical school and beyond. Heck, where I work, the nurses regularly make fun of the doctors in a way that can easily be overheard by everyone. And it's always a LOT worse than the comment you described (I don't even understand why that's a bad comment, btw, maybe they were being serious).

 

[SomniusLumen]

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for your replies. Looking back, I guess you guys were right: I was overreacting and being the usual over-the-top neurotic. Thanks for setting me straight! I suppose fasting + early morning shifts + lack of coffee must induce excessive neurotic and obsessive tendencies 😛.

In regards to the posts about hospital volunteering: I personally love it there because I used to volunteer there in high school just solely in the geriatrics area of the ER but not they let me float around and go to geriatrics, peds, and acute. Moreover, in my area, there's a waitlist of about 100-200 people, and I skipped it just because I had volunteered there before. But I see what you some of you mean: some nurses do seem to try to make me do things that I may not be the best in doing. In our hospital, two nurses must transport a patient to another floor of the hospital together. One of the nurses (who simply refers to me as "Volunteer" despite my name tag...) made me serve as the other person for transporting a patient a.k.a making me move the bed while she just opened doors. I also see when nurses are just chilling (in fact, the nurse who I discovered does talk about me is often on yahoo mail or blasting his music in the ER...) so I suppose it's fine to just emulate what they're doing for the most part.

Thanks again for all of your help, guys. This site is amazing 🙂