Volunteer Ideas

Ashes172, BSN, RN · Oct 23, 2013

Following :) I'm in the same boat

elisabethm · Oct 24, 2013

A lot of students at my school volunteer at our local hospitals. If you check out your local hospital's web page, you can probably find some ways to get involved. One of my friends spent a few years volunteering with a wound care nurse. (Shadowing the nurse and helping her out with whatever she needed.) Another friend spent some time volunteering in the ED. (It was mostly just restocking, but it still allowed her to meet people and network.) The hospital that I do my clinicals at also has "cuddlers" for premature infants. (Volunteers who hang out in the NICU and hold the babies when their parents aren't around.) Most hospitals have a ton of volunteer positions available.

Another option is to find a local clinic. A few churches in my area run free or low-cost clinics for low-income families. They sometimes advertise positions on the volunteer section of Craigslist or on VolunteerMatch.org. You could also go to a health fair to look for interesting organizations to volunteer with.

If your school has a student nurses' association, they might have some volunteer opportunities as well. My school's student nurses' association occasionally volunteers at health fairs (doing screening, such as blood pressures or BMI's, or sometimes working at a table with the public health department), and we have non-medical volunteer opportunities every month (such as Habitat for Humanity or the local soup kitchen).

Hopefully these ideas are helpful! Volunteering can be a great way to network, and it really is a lot of fun. For me, it's one of the best ways to de-stress and forget about all the craziness of nursing school. Good luck finding a group that's right for you! :)

Stcroix, ASN, PhD, RN · Oct 25, 2013

Volunteer with a hospital/ business that you think you might like to work for. I did as a transporter at a local hospital the 2 years I was in school. Guess what? I got friendly with many nurses and got to know some managers. Was hired before I graduated, you are smart to be getting involved now. Every single nurse I know that was hired by that hospital had some previous relationship with them before they were hired.

Froyoagogo · Oct 25, 2013

I volunteer at a hospital and at also a hospice. At the hospital I am in a surgery waiting room helping the families and PACU nurses. At hospice I am at the front desk and I also do companionship for patients who do not have families. Get a head start on volunteering. The more hours you have the better, and also the better your supervisor knows you, the better letter of recommendation you will have! Goodluck :)