Anyone volunteer at a hospital?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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I just got back from my urinalysis :D and getting my security pass made. I finish orientation on March 9. From what I can tell, I'll be mainly transporting patients to their vehicles after discharge, but they also said because of my interest in anesthesia that I can be allowed to observe in the OR duing surgery. So has anyone been a volunteer while doing pre-reqs? How was your experience? I'm all disheveled right now wondering what it will be like :heartbeat

I started about 3 months ago. I'm in CA and there is a clinical care extender program here and it's really hands on. We are allowed to do a ton of stuff (with the nurses permission) and basically do everything except chart and dispense meds. I'm so glad I can do this before I start school, I think it will really give me a step up. I don't know where you are but if your in CA you should look into it.

hi there, i volunteer at my local hospital. it is truly a great experience to see what goes on. the hospital i volunteer at doesn't allow you to what most other posters have mentioned they can do. i get the patient's fresh water and change their garbage bag that's attached to their bed tray. we can bring magazines and chat if they'd like to talk. i can help distribute meals and that's about it. i am on the nursing floor and the hospital i'm at is a smaller hospital, not a trauma center. if a bigger hospital was nearby i would have volunteered there and may have been able to do more. i'm waiting on an interview to see if i've been accepted to the august lpn class. if so, after i graduate, this local hospital is partnered with a local community college to move on to rn. that would be my goal, to have whatever hospital i work for help with tuition. i am 46 and have no previous college, that's why lpn is my first route.

it's very interesting how different hospital volunteering can be state to state. it's fantastic to hear all that most of you are allowed to do. i think it is a great start and also an eye opening experience and may be a way to see for sure that nursing is what you really want to do. i'm still wanting to be a nurse :-)

good luck!! kim in pa

Specializes in Ambulatory Care.

I will be volunteering at a local children's hospital. I will be working with the Child Life department entertaining the kids. My first day is this Sunday. I'm excited but slightly nervous. I know this will be a wonderful experience. :redpinkhe

im from chicago and began volunteering at Children's Memorial this past February. i ABSOLUTELY LOVE it there!!! im a child life volunteer on the hematology/oncology unit and i love the interaction i get to have with the kids. i hope to work there after graduation... their philosophy on family centered care is really amazing too! =)

Specializes in ICU / PCU / Telemetry / Oncology.

I volunteer at the local hospital, which is more of a community hospital due to the size of the town we're in. It is by no means a trauma center. They are so small that they no longer have a pediatrics wing. It was completely eliminated and renovated as a step-down recovery for the ICU. They also still have a birthing center and a psych unit (but I find it unusual that both of these are located on the same floor and pretty much next to each other, even though there are card access doors to each wing).

I work at the information desk 2x a month and work as a messenger (wheeling out discharged patients) weekly. It's a great experience for me, it's the best I can do right now given where I live.

Specializes in Perinatal.

I have been volunteering one afternoon a week since last November at a local hospital. I work from the main desk and basically run errands for all the different departments. For example: I discharge patients, bring food trays from the kitchen, deliver meds to the units from the hospital pharmacy, deliver specimens to the lab, bring medical records to the different departments, etc.

The experience won't help me as far as getting into nursing school, but I hope it helps once I'm ready to be hired ;)

Specializes in Med-Surg.

I have my volunteer orientation on May 9. I told them I was interested in OB, so they said the closest I could get is the postpartum floor which I'm totally cool with. I really hope I get some of the experiences other people are posting. I'm pretty excited about it. Also getting hired after I become a nurse would be nice as well. :)

Specializes in Pediatrics, Community Health.

I started volunteering in a children's hospital ER a few weeks ago and I am simply loving it. I am expected to clean rooms after a patient leaves (basically wiping down the gurneys and putting fresh linen on), getting beverages for patients' families, getting patients from the waiting area, bringing patients food from the kitchen, putting together ER charts for the docs, making sure that certain supplies are stocked, delivering specimens to the lab, and transporting patients to the floor. It really is a good experience and is helping me get assimilated to the clinical environment.

Specializes in Acute Pulmonary, Intermediate Care.
I started about 3 months ago. I'm in CA and there is a clinical care extender program here and it's really hands on. We are allowed to do a ton of stuff (with the nurses permission) and basically do everything except chart and dispense meds. I'm so glad I can do this before I start school, I think it will really give me a step up. I don't know where you are but if your in CA you should look into it.

I'm in the Clinical Care Extender program too! I'm in San Diego at Palomar Medical Center.

I just love my experience. I just posted something about it with the link to the website so other's in Southern California can check it out. I'm just not sure how to attach a link to it.

Anyway-- I'm in the Emergency department and the IMC. We get to do lots of patient care. Feeling very privledged, even been offered a job-- but i'm starting my RN program this FALL-- YEAH!

Good luck to you. Hey Nikkilyn, what hospital are you volunteering at? Are you on a waitlist, or still taking pre req's?

:D Dawnikans

yep and i love it :) great experience!

http://sandsea.proboards.com

Going in for my volunteer interview on Wed & I can't wait. I hope they let me do fun stuff! Plus, this is the hospital I'm supposed to contract w. if I get accepted to nurs school for this fall, so I'm loving the idea of getting a feel for the place 1st.

:redpinkheWow. That's awesome that there are so many of you who are really getting your feet wet in volunteering. I'm in MI and I too tried to volunteer with our local hospitals, but I guess since I'm leaning toward geriatrics/ltc anyway, they sent me over to one of the nursing/rehab ctr affiliates. I absolutely love it, even being as strapped as it for time as it is right now with school and the family, etc...I don't do anything monumental, but it means a lot to me (and I think them too) to sit with the rehab patients where I'm assigned and take them for walks, etc...I serve lunch and go rm to rm w/activities and to chat a bit. I work mainly with the aids and they seem to be very welcoming. I absolutely adore this generation and wanted to get a feel for the environment as much as a volunteer could here. I feel great while there and great when I leave. For the first time and couple careers later, I know I'm on the right path and where I am meant to be in life, even if I don't know all the ins and outs of nursing yet and certainly won't by volunteering and being in pre-nursing. I highly recommend volunteering to anyone that can has the time to spare 4 hours a week; its good for them & good for you in every way you look at it

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