looking for a good hospital to volunteer

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Hi everybody,

I am looking for a good hospital in Orange county and Los Angeles county to shadow a nurse. so far my friends tell me to go to USC hospital to volunteer b/c it offers the best volunteer opportunity. i live in OC, so the drive is pretty long. does anyone have any recommendation in any OC's hospital. i volunteered at UCI medical center before; it was a waste of time there. does anyone have any opinion on st. Jude or CHOC in Orange,CA (both are OC's hospital) or ANY hospital in OC?

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I moved this post to the California Forum so that you get good responses. Good luck to you!

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Specializes in Ortho/Neuro/Trauma.

Hi Kforgood!

Have you looked into the Clinical Care Extender program through COPE? I volunteered in this program for about 8 months while I was completing my undergrad and anticipating applying for nursing school. The great thing about it is it is designed for undergraduate students and beyond, so you don't have to deal with being viewed with the "candystripers" that are our great high school volunteers. The other great thing about the program is that the position, while volunteer, is actually implemented into the patient care system so that you get a hands on experience with patients rather than answering phones or filing paperwork.

I personally did my volunteer work at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, but I know that most of their hospitals that participate in the program are in the LA county/North OC areas.

Here is their website for more information: http://copehealthsolutions.org/services/hwt/CCE%20Program/index.html

Oh and I also volunteered at UCI Medical Center and I was a little dissatisfied with my volunteer experience (reference to the filing/answering phones). But then I told the coordinator that I actually wanted to do hands on things with patients and they put me on a ward where the nurses didn't mind me following them around for a few hours and helping them out. I think it just depends on your approach and rapport with the nurses you are volunteering with :)

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Hi Kforgood!

Have you looked into the Clinical Care Extender program through COPE? I volunteered in this program for about 8 months while I was completing my undergrad and anticipating applying for nursing school. The great thing about it is it is designed for undergraduate students and beyond, so you don't have to deal with being viewed with the "candystripers" that are our great high school volunteers. The other great thing about the program is that the position, while volunteer, is actually implemented into the patient care system so that you get a hands on experience with patients rather than answering phones or filing paperwork.

I personally did my volunteer work at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, but I know that most of their hospitals that participate in the program are in the LA county/North OC areas.

Here is their website for more information: http://copehealthsolutions.org/services/hwt/CCE%20Program/index.html

Oh and I also volunteered at UCI Medical Center and I was a little dissatisfied with my volunteer experience (reference to the filing/answering phones). But then I told the coordinator that I actually wanted to do hands on things with patients and they put me on a ward where the nurses didn't mind me following them around for a few hours and helping them out. I think it just depends on your approach and rapport with the nurses you are volunteering with :)

NurseJewels,

which part of UCI Med Cntr. did u volunteer at? i apply to the clinical exterder late, so i cannot go there now. A reason I volunteer is my spring semester intership class at my school. my class starts on 1/28, so UCI seems to be the quickest route.

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Wishing to shadow a nurse is quite different from applying for a volunteer job, and are actually handled by two very different depts. To directly shadow a nurse, you need to get approval from the Dept of Nursing office if that is specifically what you wish to do. Most volunteer jobs do not overlap directly with nursing.

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Hi Kforgood!

Have you looked into the Clinical Care Extender program through COPE? I volunteered in this program for about 8 months while I was completing my undergrad and anticipating applying for nursing school. The great thing about it is it is designed for undergraduate students and beyond, so you don't have to deal with being viewed with the "candystripers" that are our great high school volunteers. The other great thing about the program is that the position, while volunteer, is actually implemented into the patient care system so that you get a hands on experience with patients rather than answering phones or filing paperwork.

I personally did my volunteer work at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, but I know that most of their hospitals that participate in the program are in the LA county/North OC areas.

Here is their website for more information: http://copehealthsolutions.org/services/hwt/CCE%20Program/index.html

Oh and I also volunteered at UCI Medical Center and I was a little dissatisfied with my volunteer experience (reference to the filing/answering phones). But then I told the coordinator that I actually wanted to do hands on things with patients and they put me on a ward where the nurses didn't mind me following them around for a few hours and helping them out. I think it just depends on your approach and rapport with the nurses you are volunteering with :)

NurseJewels,

which part of UCI Med Cntr. did u volunteer at? i apply to the clinical exterder late, so i cannot go there now. A reason I volunteer is my spring semester intership class at my school. my class starts on 1/28, so UCI seems to be the quickest route.

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Specializes in Ortho/Neuro/Trauma.

I volunteered in the neuroscience unit and then did random assignments around the entire hospital.

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Hi Kforgood!

Have you looked into the Clinical Care Extender program through COPE? I volunteered in this program for about 8 months while I was completing my undergrad and anticipating applying for nursing school. The great thing about it is it is designed for undergraduate students and beyond, so you don't have to deal with being viewed with the "candystripers" that are our great high school volunteers. The other great thing about the program is that the position, while volunteer, is actually implemented into the patient care system so that you get a hands on experience with patients rather than answering phones or filing paperwork.

I personally did my volunteer work at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, but I know that most of their hospitals that participate in the program are in the LA county/North OC areas.

Here is their website for more information: http://copehealthsolutions.org/services/hwt/CCE%20Program/index.html

Oh and I also volunteered at UCI Medical Center and I was a little dissatisfied with my volunteer experience (reference to the filing/answering phones). But then I told the coordinator that I actually wanted to do hands on things with patients and they put me on a ward where the nurses didn't mind me following them around for a few hours and helping them out. I think it just depends on your approach and rapport with the nurses you are volunteering with :)

Hi nursejewels! i checked the link that you posted, and im interested on doing hands on volunteer service. However, i couldn't find the application process on their website. can you tell me how did apply for it?

i would appreciate any information that you will share. :)

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