Would volunteering give me an edge?

Specialties Government

Published

Hello I'm a nursing student in a ADN program who plans to never stop learning AKA I'll continue straight to BSN after graduation. I am so very interested in working in a VA hospital! I know applying is a pain and I keep hearing the pay isn't the best starting out, but all of that is irrelevant. I want to stay for the long haul. I plan to get my MSN and become a psych NP. I really want to help our vets! I was, unfortunately, not allowed to join the military due to an annoying medical condition. It broke my heart when I was a teenager, but here I am about to be a nurse and I feel that this could be a great compromise by helping our vets get excellent healthcare.

I'm trying to volunteer (I'm considering "No veteran dies alone") in Lyons, NJ and could tell that the lady who handles volunteers isn't too keen on student nurses. She said they volunteer in the summer then leave when school starts and the hospital puts a lot of effort in their volunteers with background checks and training so it feels like a waste, but I was stubborn and swore that I wanted to volunteer through the summer and beyond. She told me to leave my info and the supervisor would call me Tuesday. (I don't believe her so I'll call Tuesday just to be proactive)

What I'm curious about is do you think this would look good on my resume when I apply for my 1st RN position? Will it matter? I get the feeling, since it's a government job, that maybe it won't, but I'm not sure. Would love some advice!

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I believe volunteering would definitely provide you a beneficial edge in future hiring at a VA. Of course, experience and education will be critical but the references you could provide from within the VA would be very important.

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I just spoke to the supervisor and will try to get in on time for the May training. I chose no vet dies alone and she stressed there would be no clinical type duties which is what I expected. I'm doing it to do something nice for our vets and to strengthen my therapeutic communication. I do pray that it'll help me when I apply for a position when I graduate

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If you need clinical experiences, find out if your school goes to the VA..that will also help because you'll get to actually do stuff and have opportunity to talk to nurses and nurse manager..good luck

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