volunteering
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hospital ER volunteering you get to see a lot of stuff especially at a level 1 trauma center,
EMT-B is a good one too most campuses run their own volunteer ems.
For me...
Pre-surgery/Recovery/Chemotherapy Unit volunteer at a local comprehensive cancer center (Personally enlightening/humbling because the hospital exclusively deals with cancer patients; learned to share their fear and concern and at the same time cheer them up🙂; also got to shadow surgeons/oncologists!😀)
ER research associate (Interviewed lots of ER patients for cilnical studies and got a glimpse into their life stories and disadvantaged personal backgrounds; many long, meaningful conversations with patients. I loved it!)
ICU Volunteer (Not as much patient interaction as in other clinical experiences because most patients were not awake, but a different experience indeed)
Organizing mobile free clinics in South America on multiple occasions (One of the best clinical experiences ever; a truly multifaceted experience; a great way to complement my existing clinical experiences and gave me new perspectives on health care; especially a valuable experience if you're interested in international medicine/global health)
Hospital lobby pianist (Was not supposed to be clinical, but got lots of patient contact because many of them would simply come up to me and thank me for playing...etc; a great conversation starter!🙂)
Hospital Music Therapy Group (Was in a chamber ensemble; held a mini concert at hospitals and played classical chamber music for the patients; they really enjoyed/appreaciated it! very rewarding.)
These are probably all of my major clinical experiences I can think of. My word of advice is..don't be afraid to try different clinical opportunities. As long as you get decent patient interaction and take your time to reflect on it, you always learn something from your experience. I'm glad I got to understand medicine from many different angles. Good luck!
Pre-surgery/Recovery/Chemotherapy Unit volunteer at a local comprehensive cancer center (Personally enlightening/humbling because the hospital exclusively deals with cancer patients; learned to share their fear and concern and at the same time cheer them up🙂; also got to shadow surgeons/oncologists!😀)
ER research associate (Interviewed lots of ER patients for cilnical studies and got a glimpse into their life stories and disadvantaged personal backgrounds; many long, meaningful conversations with patients. I loved it!)
ICU Volunteer (Not as much patient interaction as in other clinical experiences because most patients were not awake, but a different experience indeed)
Organizing mobile free clinics in South America on multiple occasions (One of the best clinical experiences ever; a truly multifaceted experience; a great way to complement my existing clinical experiences and gave me new perspectives on health care; especially a valuable experience if you're interested in international medicine/global health)
Hospital lobby pianist (Was not supposed to be clinical, but got lots of patient contact because many of them would simply come up to me and thank me for playing...etc; a great conversation starter!🙂)
Hospital Music Therapy Group (Was in a chamber ensemble; held a mini concert at hospitals and played classical chamber music for the patients; they really enjoyed/appreaciated it! very rewarding.)
These are probably all of my major clinical experiences I can think of. My word of advice is..don't be afraid to try different clinical opportunities. As long as you get decent patient interaction and take your time to reflect on it, you always learn something from your experience. I'm glad I got to understand medicine from many different angles. Good luck!
👍Agreed. I volunteered in the ED at the Level 1 trauma center in my county for 6 months...saw some pretty cool things. It was also a teaching hospital, so got to talk to lots of residents and a few med students.
After those 6 months, I transferred to one of the floors for another 6 months. Less dynamic and slower paced than the ED of course, but it gave me another perspective.
As long as you dont' do something like volunteer in the gift shop, anything in a hospital involving patients should be fine.
