is the amount of time a nurse volunteer in a hospital be considerd as work experience

[pillilialuis9652]

i was asked many times if when they become r.n. and they are to volunteer in a hospital, for example 1 year can they put it on their resume as post graduation work experience? i really don't know the answer because i never yet gone through that situation yet, but i am curious also about it and i know there are a lot of knowledgeable nurses in this forum, so if possible any answers are fine with me,just so that i know what i can answer them if the topic is brought up again,thank you

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

If the experience is not paid then it will not count that includes volunteering

[pillilialuis9652]

okay thank you very much now i know what to answer them if they asked me about it again,thanks

[suzanne4, RN]

Volunteering when one is on a medical mission and is completely responsible for their patients 100%, then that counts as experience.

But when you are doing what is called a volunteer program in one of the hospitals in the Philippines, you are not completely responsible for your patients, and that is where the issue is. Many facilities will not oermit you to perform certain procedures nor administer medications.

Best of luck to you.

[gemini_star, BSN, RN]

Is a one day medical mission wherein you volunteered as scrub nurse considered as work experience?

[pinay2008, LPN, LVN]

How about trainings? say...6months to 1 year continues trainings from hospitals? thanks.

[khirbz]

I think it actually depends on what hospital you are volunteering. Here in our place volunteers are responsible for their patients but with a minimum load. I mean like no more than 4 patients only. A little less load than those who are really paid.

[misspowers]

Hi suzanne Happy Birthday...

I'm currently on my 3rd month as a volunteer nurse at a government owned hospital. As a volunteer, since they are understaffed, volunteers perform functions like a regularly employed nurse. Like the usual hierarchy, we can refer unfamiliar events to senior nurses. But today, I flew solo since my senior nurse needs to attend to paper works. I rotated to 3 different areas and I am enjoying it.

So can this be considered work experience?

thanks

[NurseCubanitaRN2b, BSN, RN]

Hi suzanne Happy Birthday...

I'm currently on my 3rd month as a volunteer nurse at a government owned hospital. As a volunteer, since they are understaffed, volunteers perform functions like a regularly employed nurse. Like the usual hierarchy, we can refer unfamiliar events to senior nurses. But today, I flew solo since my senior nurse needs to attend to paper works. I rotated to 3 different areas and I am enjoying it.

So can this be considered work experience?

thanks

They are understaffed and yet you're a volunteer? I'm sorry but I see this as EXPLOITATION!!! Why aren't they hiring you? How do you survive if you're too busy volunteering?

[misspowers]

Hi miss latina...Yes this a sad fact in the Philippines. Actually I consider myself lucky or shall we say in a better disposition. I passed all my exams (NLE, NCLEX and IELTS), I already have a petition from my employer...awaiting priority date. Since my employer is a long term facility they really don't require years of experience. Most of nursing graduates in the Philippines suffer the same plight. Most hospitals are asking for training fees just for you to be able to volunteer, they sometimes call volunteer programs as competency training program hmmmm....sound better i think...

[g_l]

They are understaffed and yet you're a volunteer? I'm sorry but I see this as EXPLOITATION!!! Why aren't they hiring you? How do you survive if you're too busy volunteering?

well, in this country employers are hard-pressed to pay nurses properly, much less to hire new ones. why would anyone get out of the place they grew up and work in a foreign land as a nurse or a caregiver(which is a hard and can be a back-breaking work)?

[NurseCubanitaRN2b, BSN, RN]

Hi miss latina...Yes this a sad fact in the Philippines. Actually I consider myself lucky or shall we say in a better disposition. I passed all my exams (NLE, NCLEX and IELTS), I already have a petition from my employer...awaiting priority date. Since my employer is a long term facility they really don't require years of experience. Most of nursing graduates in the Philippines suffer the same plight. Most hospitals are asking for training fees just for you to be able to volunteer, they sometimes call volunteer programs as competency training program hmmmm....sound better i think...

I'm sorry I just don't see this as a benefit to the RN, the ones who benefit from this are the employers (hospitals, nursing homes etc). There is no reason IMO why you should have to "pay" to volunteer. You already have completed your nursing education, what more do they want? I think it's a scam to get more money out of you. It seems to me, that your people are desperate that they would agree to this. Volunteer means "with out pay", I've never come across a place where you have to "pay" to volunteer. If a facility is understaffed, then they need to hire nurses, that's my opinion. Here in the US when someone gets hired, the facility "pays" to have the employee trained. It's on the job training and in nursing, and you clock in and out and are paid. Just like when you do inservices, you are paid to attend the inservices, it's not the other way around.

You're right, long term care facilities don't require much experience, but you will swallowed alive if you don't know what you're doing. It's a brutal place to work, so many patients and one nurses. Pushing pills and charting by hand, doing your own treatments and being called to emergency situations. I've seen many nurses burn out too quickly in places like that.

IMO, your graduates need to ralley against these places and demand to be hired and not exploited. They can call it volunteer work or whatever, but bottom line is that YOU'RE BEING EXPLOITED, and that's a violation of basic human rights. You're basically paying them so you can work for free and that's WRONG. Your government needs to step up to the plate and put a stop to this exploitation. I feel for you guys because I know as a nursing student it's hard to make ends meet. For me, I have to work, I don't have any choice, and I know it's hard. Once I graduate and if I'm told that I need to pay to volunteer at the hospital, I'd report them to the human rights violation commission. Once you graduate and your pass your boards, according that means that you're competent (I know not all are) enough to practice nursing in your country. Good luck to you all, and I hope the situation changes in your country soon to benefit your gradutes.