Is Volunteering "Worth It"?

Here on allnurses, I've seen others ask whether volunteering is “worth it”. Well it depends. Allow me to explain what volunteering is all about based on my own personal experience. Hopefully you’ll have a better idea of what to expect and what volunteering (potentially) has to offer you. Nurses Announcements Archive Article

  1. Do you think volunteering is "worth it"?

    • 51
      Yes
    • 14
      No
    • 7
      I never volunteered so can't say for sure

25 members have participated

Is Volunteering "Worth It"?

I volunteered as a student nurse because it was mandatory, I also volunteered as a RN after my job search proved unsuccessful. Here on allnurses.com, I've seen others ask whether volunteering is "worth it". Well it depends. Allow me to explain what volunteering is all about based on my own personal experience. Hopefully you'll have a better idea of what to expect and what volunteering (potentially) has to offer you.

Research

It took me over a year of job searching as a RN to finally cave-in and volunteer. I kept thinking to myself that I'd find a job and wouldn't have to bother volunteering, but that simply didn't happen for me. I started my journey with research and learned of many opportunities and benefits offered by volunteering, such as:

  1. Added Experience
  2. Resume Upgrade
  3. Building Network
  4. Professional Recommendations
  5. Potentially Finding Employment (where volunteering)

In addition to the above, some hospitals offer other benefits like OR Surgery Observation and so on. Now let's move onto the actual process of becoming a volunteer.

Becoming a Volunteer

I mistakenly thought becoming a volunteer was easy; I figured hospitals were going to roll out the red carpet for someone like me, a licensed RN willing to work for free....but I was WRONG. Actually, some hospitals might not even accept you as a volunteer if you're licensed. For instance, I was deeply disappointed when I learned that my favorite hospital where I had clinical classes, did not accept licensed nurses as volunteers. With that said, make sure the hospitals you intend on applying to accept licensed nurses for volunteer positions.

Depending on where you volunteer there will be different programs to choose from. If you're looking to build network and potentially find a job position, you need to choose a volunteer program that places you where the action is. You need to be visible to be able to display your skills. If you're doing something that has little to nothing to do with patient care, you're not going to make the most of your time as a volunteer! Usually the volunteer programs are explained in detail on the hospitals web site but you can also call the volunteer office and ask them, considering your background, what program would they suggest is best for you.

Commitment and Schedule

Now you need to think about how all this will fit into your schedule. When you apply for a volunteer position, the time of year/season, is very important. For example, I learned that the summer is extremely competitive. You want to increase your likelihood of finding a good volunteer position in a great hospital, so make sure you apply to as many places as possible just in case you don't get your top choice.

Many hospitals will have a minimum of weekly hours as well as an overall commitment of (typically) 150 hours, although it may be different for summer positions, and of course depending on the hospital. You want to really consider if you can successfully make such a commitment. If you do not fulfill your obligations you might not be given a recommendation letter or other expected benefits. Also, I've seen volunteers "fired" for being absent too many times or without prior notice. Just because this is a volunteer position does not mean unprofessional conduct will be condoned.

Make It Work

Once you find a healthcare facility, an appropriate volunteer program and finally make the commitment, you want to put your best foot forward every shift. Dress professionally and make sure to greet everyone. Once you build a rapport with the healthcare professionals and feel confident enough, ask them if they'd like to be professional references for you. If you happen to find employment in the middle of your volunteer commitment, at least you will have professional references to fall back on in the event the volunteer office cannot vouch for you.

Make sure to balance your efforts between patients and staff however, I made the mistake of crowding some of the nurses my first couple weeks of volunteering. I soon realized that they'd like me a whole lot more if I actually helped them out by working with the patients and lessening their load!

Moral of the story...I found volunteering to be very beneficial. It gave me so much more to work with on my resume, in interviews and in life overall (it was a really fulfilling experience). Remember YOU have to make it work. So for those of you wondering if volunteering is "worth it", whether you're a student or a licensed professional....my answer is YES!

1 Votes
Not Your Nurse

About Not Your Nurse

Emergency RN

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Specializes in School Nursing (K-12).

Interesting article. Upon reading the question in the title, my answer was 'it depends'. When I graduated nursing school, many of us volunteered simply to make our resumes look better. We were volunteering to get a job. If you're volunteering to help your community, boost your skills and for personal fulfillment, then yes, it's definitely worth it! If you're volunteering simply to get a job, it may be a miserable experience where you're 'showing off' your skills to look good and it becomes a competition. However, I have a friend who's been volunteering at hospitals since 2011.....and still hasn't received a job offer. Is volunteering worth it........it depends. Back to the drawing board :)

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"Mandatory volunteering" = oxymoron.

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Specializes in Emergency.

^ Yea, tell my nursing school that :D

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Can schools make volunteering mandatory? Some students have full time jobs. No way would I stand for that.

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Specializes in ER, Trauma, Med-Surg/Tele, LTC.
Can schools make volunteering mandatory? Some students have full time jobs. No way would I stand for that.

There's always the choice to not attend a school that makes volunteering mandatory.

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Specializes in Emergency.

Just to clarify, my nursing school only asked for approx. 60 hours of volunteering. The volunteering I did after nursing school required from me more hours

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Specializes in Emergency.

Also we had some choice as to where we would volunteer, it didn't have to be in a hospital.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Transplant.

To be honest I think it's kind of overkill. If we are talking about volunteering during nursing school, I think that is a recipe for burnout because there is already so much nursing going on in the form of classes and clinical. I think that what really helped me get my first RN job-besides of course grades/references/ etc were my nursing related summer jobs and externships.

Even as a nurse healthcare related volunteering absolutely DOES NOT seem like something someone should stress about doing...we already are immersed in that world for 36+ hours a week with chances at work to "show off" out skills. If anything, I think that volunteering outside of the healthcare realm would be a much more rewarding, varied and renewing experience.

And last but not least, "mandatory" volunteering seems contradictory.

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Specializes in Management, Med/Surg, Clinical Trainer.

Mandatory volunteering does not make a better nurse. And I agree 'mandatory volunteering' is an oxymoron.

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Specializes in Patient Safety Advocate; HAI Prevention.

I didn't see anywhere in this article that volunteering has to be just in a medically oriented capacity. Volunteering is a generous and incredible way to give back. Volunteering at a soup kitchen, for a socially responsible group, in a political campaign or any other capacity is extremely gratifying. All the work I do now, as a retired nurse, is volunteer. The most hours I donate are for patient safety. I volunteer on councils, committees, advisory boards, boards of directors and I bring the patient's voice to these places. This may seem like nursing, and it is in a way, but there is no "boss" dictating what I do or say.....or how to go about my 'work'. I get to say what I think is important, and I am not a mouthpiece for an employer. This work is the greatest work of my entire life and I recommend it to anyone with a burning desire to make a difference in the patient experience of care and in healthcare in general.

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hey! im glad i found this. I recently graduated and have applied to many positions but have only gotten one call back for interview, and at the end of the day, didnt get into that program.

i was on the fence about volunteering... but now that i read this, it makes sense to volunteer instead waste time being at home without a job, waiting for calls.

luckily, the hospital i would like to work at has an RN volunteer program, and i am applying to it.

hopefully things work out!

thank you for this!

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