Nurse Advice on Volunteering

[princessmadz]

I'm currently in high school, but I am planning on becoming a nurse and then becoming a nurse practitioner (neonatal). I want to get as much experience as I can about nursing and the medical field in general. So I decided that I was going to do a summer volunteer program at a local women and infant hospital. I was just wondering if any of you nurses have had any past experiences as a volunteer? Do you have any idea what kind of tasks I will do as a volunteer? Or if you interact with any volunteers where you work now. Any tips on what I could do to be a good volunteer (or not be annoying by asking lots of questions) would be very helpful! Thank you!!

[DFWRNStudent]

Hi there,

I can give you some insight into hospital volunteering. I volunteered at both an adult hospital and a pediatric hospital during high school and college. Both in their ED. In the adult, I was more hands on and was able to interact with the patients and help the nurses. I transported patients, helped with vitals, helped with check in, stocked supplies, even helped out in the sup/manager office. At the pediatric hospital, I walked patients to urgent care and babysat. That was about it.

Let me know if you want further details.

[verene, MSN]

I volunteer at a hospice center - I don't think you would be able to do that as a high schooler though as I don't think we accept anyone under 21 as volunteers with out extenuating circumstances.

While in high school my sister volunteered with a local crisis nursery - I know she really enjoyed it. I mostly remember her talking about getting to play with the toddlers and keep them entertained, I'll see if I can get some information from her about what the criteria for the position were and what she actually did.

As for being a good volunteer: be polite, be open to learning, and be proactive in offering assistance.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

When I was in high school, I volunteered at the hospital in my town in the summer. We mostly did errands for various departments. They called, we went to find a wheelchair, we went to pick up lab specimens, we brought patients to tests. This was in the 90s, most places have pneumatic tube systems to transport labs nowadays so they don't need 14 yr old girls to walk around with a cooler to take them to the lab anymore. :)

When I worked in the hospital (pediatric) our volunteers helped our child life specialist in our playroom. They also helped when we needed someone to sit with a patient whose parent needed to step out for a minute.

[princessmadz]

Thanks everyone!! All of your responses were very helpful, and I am looking forward to my volunteer experience