Volunteer in Hospitals

[dewberrysquish]

Hello

I'm in school now and will be receiving my certificate next Spring but I have no experience in medical/health field. I see experience is as important as education so I would like to know how is it volunteering. I'm a little nervous about it, I don't know why. I'm 25 and I was thinking maybe the usual volunteers were older than I, like retirees.

I have read that volunteers were treated like dirt, disrespected, and the work the paid workers don't want to do, the volunteers are forced to do. I want to volunteer to learn how the hospital is and if its really for me but I hope I won't be looked as beneath anyone. Are volunteers asked to do things that usually only an experienced person would do?

I live in Flint, I have Hurley and McLaren to chose from to volunteer. I don't know if I will volunteer at both or chose one. Which hospital would be better to volunteer?

I also like to ask has there been cases that volunteers have been hired? I know every volunteer can't be hired but has there been instances of volunteers who were hired. Thanks

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

I don't know if you will get hired due to your volunteering at a hospital, but as long as you do a good job and are dependable it certainly won't hurt. Especially since you won't have any medical work experience volunteering looks good on a resume. So I would volunteer at a hospital you would like to be employed at or maybe circulate through a few to see how things work there.

[country mom]

You'll just need to talk to their Volunteer dept. and see what they have available for you. At our place, we treat the volunteers as honored guests and we love them, but they are pretty much all retirees and deliver the mail, etc, no patient care. Consider perhaps other avenues of volunteering that may look good on a resume as well- perhaps your local Red Cross chapter? Big Brothers/Big Sisters, YMCA, many other organizations have needs for volunteers. Anywhere you are performing service to other human beings, you will gain valuable experience for a health care career.

[NoviceRN10]

Hello

I have read that volunteers were treated like dirt, disrespected, and the work the paid workers don't want to do, the volunteers are forced to do. I want to volunteer to learn how the hospital is and if its really for me but I hope I won't be looked as beneath anyone. Are volunteers asked to do things that usually only an experienced person would do?

All the volunteers I have seen have been elderly, quite elderly, for that matter! The hospitals use them for patient greeters, transport, wheel chair maintenance, etc. There are no longer any "candy striper" type of volunteer positions that I am aware of, that would help acclimate you to nursing care. That being said, if you can actually get a volunteer position in a hospital that you like, it won't hurt you when you are looking for a real job there. I was trying to get into Henry Ford Macomb (Pct or tech) and was told by the human resource dept that I would have a better chance if I volunteered for them. If you want pt care experience, get an aide/pt care tech job somewhere. I think most LTC facilities require you to be certified, though. You can stop by some that are in your area and see what kind of positions they have, wouldn't hurt! Good luck! It took me a year of applying for pct and nurse tech jobs to finally land one (start next week!). What certificate are you acquiring in a year? Are you going to school for nurse aide?