What kind of work to expect from volunteering at a health clinic?

[dirigo]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I filled out an application today to volunteer at the a free health clinic and the director told me that i'd be doing mostly "administrative" work which pretty much means i'll be doing secretary stuff. When i asked if i could be more hands on he told me that those kind positions would be for people actually training in their field.

So is this typical work for a college student volunteering at a health clinic? I sometimes feel that my particular city is stringent in volunteering opportunities. I called EMS to see if i could volunteer and they said i needed a license!

 

[GoBriightly]

I think that's pretty standard for the entering volunteers at most free clinics (at least around where I'm at as well). I started out doing clerical work as well... filing charts, checking prescriptions, etc. After a solid month or two, my supervisor let me start calling patients and other doctor's offices, working at the front desk to help schedule appointments, and set up for clinics. You have to put in time and prove you are dependable before they give you jobs that have any patient interaction.

The way my pre-med advisor put it: Think of how many times pre-meds decide to volunteer at something and then either stop showing up or weren't reliable (at least at the free clinic I work at, a lot of pre-meds sign up and then stop showing up). Do you think free clinic directors will automatically trust you to be in a position (such as helping run the front desk) that's vital to their efficiency as a clinic? You need to put in the time first for them to start trusting you and see you aren't just talk.

Use the time you spend doing clerical work proving that you're someone who can handle being at the front desk, etc. It also wouldn't be a bad opportunity to talk with some of the doctors and nurses when they aren't seeing patients... maybe some of them will let you shadow. And finally, if you do end up working for a couple of months and find out that there won't be any opportunities for patient interaction just find somewhere else to volunteer.

 

[dirigo]

In that case, how do i get clinical experience then?

 

[music2doc]

I filled out an application today to volunteer at the a free health clinic and the director told me that i'd be doing mostly "administrative" work which pretty much means i'll be doing secretary stuff. When i asked if i could be more hands on he told me that those kind positions would be for people actually training in their field.

So is this typical work for a college student volunteering at a health clinic? I sometimes feel that my particular city is stringent in volunteering opportunities. I called EMS to see if i could volunteer and they said i needed a license!

Yes, you need a license to practice any form of medicine or nursing, which includes EMS, medical assisting, etc. Some free clinics will allow unlicensed individuals to work in an MA role under the direct supervision of a licensed individual (e.g., a CMA, RN, LPN, EMT-B, EMT-P, etc.). However, this often requires earning that privilege first (which is something a very much support). Without a license, you are a liability to the clinic, so they have to be careful about what they let you do. You might ask about getting into patient eligibility, as that is probably as close to clinical as you will get (at least for now).