interested in volunteering but confused as to where I should get my experience help!

colli646 · Jul 14, 2016

Congrats on almost graduating! I just got accepted into my bachelor's program for nursing.

To be completely honest with you, if you're trying to gain experience, I don't know how much volunteering is going to do for you. What state are you from? I know everywhere is going to be different, but being a volunteer, you are extremely..EXTREMELY limited to what you can do. I volunteered at a local hospital by my school, here in Michigan, and I was very disappointed after. I wanted to do something that would benefit me for my future and also look good for my nursing school application, given how competitive. But like I said, I was ridiculously disappointed. My local hospital had a program for student volunteers. Volunteers were able to sign up online and were able to pick their unit, based on what four hour time slots worked with each student's schedule. I was only able to volunteer on the Stroke floor with my schedule, but I still looked forward to it. There was an orientation and I was given a volunteer badge, so I was pretty excited because I thought it was going to be super beneficial to my future. Honestly, I did nothing. Remember, you are a VOLUNTEER. You are not a RN yet. That means you have absolutely no certification which means you are very limited on what you can do. As a volunteer, my duties were minimal. I emptied trash and laundry bags, gave water to patients, and conversed with patients. That's it. You can't physically touch or help the patient with anything really because that's a liability. Say you were in a patient's room talking to them and they asked you to help them stand up so they could go to the bathroom. If you help that patient and they somehow fall, you and the hospital would be in a crazy amount of trouble. I'm sure you already know this. Like I said, I know every place is different so I could be totally off on what you're volunteering experience will be like. But if you are only a volunteer, with no certification, you cannot do anything really with patients. I had a friend who was lucky enough to be in the labor and delivery floor (honestly no one could volunteer in NICU) and she did less than what I did.

Hope this helps. If you are looking for more experience, maybe try job shadowing. If you want real experience, become a nursing assistant until you graduate and just observe. Even that certification will give you more insight. I am a CNA and already feel like I've learned so much.

joanna2017 · Jul 14, 2016

Thank you so much for your response and good luck to you and nursing school. Nursing school is very tough but I am positive that you can handle it. Congratulations!

colli646 · Jul 14, 2016

You're welcome! And thank you. Sorry I wrote such a long post, but I wish I would've known before my experience!

Guest957596 · Jul 15, 2016

Hey everyone, I am graduating with my bachelors degree in nursing in a year and I figured that I should be getting as much experience as possible so I submitted my application for volunteering.
The lady that I spoke to said that she would like me in CCU which sounds cool to me but I was curious, will I be getting good experience there?
Also, Im very much into labor and delivery, mother/baby, NICU (units like that) so I wasnt sure if I should be getting my experience in those units instead?
Can someone please tell me which unit that you would recommend for a nursing student thats graduating soon. Thanks so much in advance. I appreciate it.

Volunteering on a resume is important and it doesn't matter where.

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Alisonisayoshi, LVN · Jul 15, 2016

I got a call today that I'm mostly likely going to get my dream job (just trying to figure out the logistics of employing an LVN in a job that has always been filled by an RN) based mostly on the volunteer work I've been actively involved in for the past 4 years. Don't discount volunteer work. I volunteered with charities doing advocacy work for specific pt populations. Volunteer where you can see yourself working.

NICUismylife, ADN, BSN, RN · Jul 16, 2016

If you're interested in NICU or Peds, then you could sign up to be a cuddler in your local NICU. It would also help you get to know the staff and management to give you a leg up when you are applying.

joanna2017 · Jul 18, 2016

Thank you everyone. I am so thankful for your honest responses. Ill look into everything you all have mentioned.