Inquiring about volunteer work

[lil pixi]

So, I've been reading quite a bit on here about pre-nursing students & volunteer work to help those planning on going into nursing find our footing about going into the field a lil better. Though, I feel as strongly as I do it's the only thing for me, I still want this experience beforehand.

My questions are - Could anyone tell me if all hospitals have some type of volunteer program or system?

Is there usually a specific length of time volunteer work goes on for, & could anyone tell me what kinds of duties & experiences it entails?

What your experiences were if you did volunteer?

[diane227, LPN, RN]

Most hospitals have volunteer programs but they do not provide any direct patient care at all. Contact your local hospitals for information on their individual volunteer programs.

[lil pixi]

Will do, this morning. :)

Whatever it involved or did not, I'd love to just be around the hospital setting however I can right now. Cept for being a patient, of course. lol

Thank you for your response.

[knufflebunny]

I will start volunteering this week! I'm in a special volunteer/intern program so it is more hands on and we also get to observe surgeries. Our program requires 240 hours to be completed. (4 hr shifts per wk). I'm sure every program is different. Where do you live?

[_Tracy_]

I volunteer in the emergency room at the hospital, one evening per week, for 4 hours. That's the hospitals min. requirement for volunteers and they ask that you commit to at least 6 months. Of course, every hospital is different.

I don't give direct care to pts. but I do have direct contact with pts. and their families. I escort pts. to their rooms, keep family members informed of pts. status, put charts together, clean rooms, keep the waiting room from getting cluttered with garbage, help the nurses out with other things they might need, that I can do.....and I also get to see what the nurses do, see them interact with pts. while they triage and work with all the other nurses to provide care. I think it's a great opportunity for me to get a feel for what ER nurses do and to get the feel for what it's like working in a hospital environment.

I would say that checking with your local hospital about volunteer work is a good thing to look into, if you want to be a nurse.