What was your volunteering experience like?

[Falconclaw]

So I was just curious to ask those of you who volunteered at a hospital what the experience was like. I just interviewed for it today, and the lady said I'd mainly be doing rounds and talking to patients, asking them if they need anything etc. Apparently the hospital doesn't have opportunities to shadow doctors, but I'm happy since at least I'll be getting patient contact, and she's letting me start late so I can take some summer classes.

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[sakabato93]

So I was just curious to ask those of you who volunteered at a hospital what the experience was like. I just interviewed for it today, and the lady said I'd mainly be doing rounds and talking to patients, asking them if they need anything etc. Apparently the hospital doesn't have opportunities to shadow doctors, but I'm happy since at least I'll be getting patient contact, and she's letting me start late so I can take some summer classes.

Depends on the department. I was in ER during the day at a rural hospital... Absolutely boring! Never anything to do! I ran blood to a lab ONCE during a month of volunteering.

I also worked in physical therapy/support care. I had a lot of patient contact, mainly simple interactions, but it was very enriching!

 

[Falconclaw]

Depends on the department. I was in ER during the day at a rural hospital... Absolutely boring! Never anything to do! I ran blood to a lab ONCE during a month of volunteering.

I also worked in physical therapy/support care. I had a lot of patient contact, mainly simple interactions, but it was very enriching!

Nice! I'll be volunteering at a hospital in Manhattan, so I don't think I'll have that problem.

I guess the thing I'm concerned about is how I'm gonna get any shadowing experience. I guess I can try cold calling/emailing doctors offices.

By the way, do medical schools ask for references for places you volunteered/shadowed at? if so, do they ever actually call the references?

 

[sakabato93]

Nice! I'll be volunteering at a hospital in Manhattan, so I don't think I'll have that problem.

I guess the thing I'm concerned about is how I'm gonna get any shadowing experience. I guess I can try cold calling/emailing doctors offices.

By the way, do medical schools ask for references for places you volunteered/shadowed at? if so, do they ever actually call the references?

You'll love the ER then!

Yeah, contacting a physician, or a physician's secretary/nurse would be a great way to figure out if you can shadow him/her.

As for references, its common to get LORs from places where you volunteer and/or physicians you've shadowed, but I've never heard of ADCOMs actually personally contacting those places. Honestly, it seems too tedious to be truly efficient.

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

Simply AH-MAZE-ING.

Each time I handed a warm blanket to a filthy homeless man whose chief complaint was "meatloaf and mashed potatoes," my fingers brushed against his oily paws and I felt the warmth of his soul enter my cold pre-medical shell. Our spirits united in the space between us and did a dance -- a beautiful dance -- and in that moment I experienced humanity.

Be ready to have your world rocked and to affirm your lifelong interest in the profession of medicine, my friend!

 

[ram1senk]

If you have the opportunity, there is no doubt that the best branch of hospitals to volunteer at is their hospice program. I can speak from personal experience, and have heard nothing but the same from others.

It is truly HANDS ON--the closest that I am aware of in any hospital wing. Every night, I am either sitting with patients and just chatting, or helping the nurses do bed changes, repositioning, giving medication, etc. The other week, I was in a room where an individual that was on a ventilator got into trouble, and I spent a good 45 minutes breathing for him with a manual bag while two RN's tried to figure out what was wrong. Like I said, hands on.

In addition, you are around the same six or seven nurses often and build great relationships for references (I am assuming this is common everywhere). I have never left there after volunteering without being lifted and feeling not only like I made a difference in someones life, but that they shaped my own as well. It puts things in perspective and is WAY more than just another volunteering experience.

I encourage everyone on here to give the local hospice house a try if possible. I think others that have done the same would agree with me.

 

[Falconclaw]

If you have the opportunity, there is no doubt that the best branch of hospitals to volunteer at is their hospice program. I can speak from personal experience, and have heard nothing but the same from others.

It is truly HANDS ON--the closest that I am aware of in any hospital wing. Every night, I am either sitting with patients and just chatting, or helping the nurses do bed changes, repositioning, giving medication, etc. The other week, I was in a room where an individual that was on a ventilator got into trouble, and I spent a good 45 minutes breathing for him with a manual bag while two RN's tried to figure out what was wrong. Like I said, hands on.

In addition, you are around the same six or seven nurses often and build great relationships for references (I am assuming this is common everywhere). I have never left there after volunteering without being lifted and feeling not only like I made a difference in someones life, but that they shaped my own as well. It puts things in perspective and is WAY more than just another volunteering experience.

I encourage everyone on here to give the local hospice house a try if possible. I think others that have done the same would agree with me.

That does sound good. Although my political views are against it, I'm glad that the nurses at my hospital are unionized, cuz that means I can't do stuff like make beds and menial work like that. I'll have a lot of patient interaction.

My pre-health adviser actually told me that the best opportunity for shadowing doctors is you're around them a lot when you're volunteering, so hopefully maybe I'll get the chance to do that. He said it's hard to do it thru cold calling, cuz most of them are pretty busy and you're pretty low on their priority list.

 

[mehc012]

I was fortunate enough to have a good children's hospital nearby, so I have some great positions - really hands on!

For one, I entertain the kids who are waiting for surgery, and try to keep their minds off it (and their parents'stress levels low.)

My other is my favorite, because it is actually necessary work for the hospital; patients can't be discharged until I've done my part.
I perform hearing screening tests on newborns. All babies must have a hearing screen before discharge from the hospital, whether they were just born or brought back for some other issue. Therefore, every day I print out the patient census, cross-check it with the records to see who has been screened already, round on the patients who haven't been done yet, personally test 3-10 newborns, explain to the parents (my spanish is getting a workout), update the discharge board, inform the nurses of any issues or discrepancies (I caught a major chart error the other day - kid had the wrong birthday by months!), and make sure the paperwork is ready for them to put into the chart. I know that the nurses could do the screens if they had to, but it feels good to be volunteering in a position where, if they are short on volunteers one day, they send out a panicked email begging for us to take extra shifts because they actually need us to do them. The parents accept me as a part of the healthcare team, the nurses work with and around me - hell, even the docs will discuss with me who should go first rather than just kick me out or boss me around. It's an awesome position, and anyone who gets the opportunity to do something similar definitely should do so!!

 

[jr93]

All of my volunteering seemed to be geared more toward older people who were bored and didn't work anymore. It was difficult to get any useful patient contact.