Volunteering at hospitals:does it count for anything

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jan 2, 2012

As a hiring manager, I like to see that a person has volunteered--shows that they are giving back to the community. Volunteer work at a healthcare facility shows they have had some exposure to health care environment... a plus when considering candidates.

KatieJ91 · Jan 2, 2012

I started volunteering 6 months before nursing school and it helped me transition into a job as a nurse extern at the hospital. As a nurse extern they pay for me to finish my schooling, give me a job with my own scheduled hours during school, and then place me in a job after school in their facility. It is an amazing opportunity and my connections and experience at the hospital definitely played a part in me getting the position. The best part for me was the building of the relationships so that way when you interview you have references from inside the system.

katehensley, BSN, RN · Jan 3, 2012

I am wondering if anyone has done volunteering at a hospital or nursing home and did it help out as far as experience with getting a job as a PCA or CNA or even a RN later on at that same institution of elsewhere. How do employeers view hospital volunteers?

YES IT DOES HELP!!!!

It was not me but a fellow CNA from my cna class. We had taken the class in Fall 2010 and I got a job at a Dementia Assisted Living in June 2011. I worked there for 5 months before even being called for an interview at the hospital. Her and me were hired at the same time for adjacent floors. I asked her where she worked before and she said she couldnt find a job so she volunteered on as many floors as she could and eventually she got hired. The part that could get frustrating is its not what you do but who you know. But use that fact to your advantage. While your there talk to the nurses and the CLINICAL MANAGER (who will be responsible for hiring you). Tell them how much you enjoy it and how youre thinking about applying. Butter them up. It sounds bad but sometimes its what you have to do. She told me she "girl-flirted" like oh hows your husband, oh your hair is so pretty, your nails are amazing. While it might seem like the wrong way to get a job, it will get you noticed so they can then see what an amazing job as a volunteer you're doing when before they had no idea who you were. I hope this helped :) :clown:

kjawnq · Jan 3, 2012

I'm glad you posted this as I had a similar question based on my previous post (Male, 25, Prospective nurse...) on which you commented, so thank you much! It's good to see that the volunteer work others have put in has paid off in the long and short runs.

ArrowRN, BSN, RN · Jan 4, 2012

umm I think there's a different names for guys who do "girl flirting" its called sexual harrassment...lol :) anyways that won't work for me, my wife however, does have her CNA and she really needs to get some sort of experience besides housewife. Since her training 2 years ago no one wants to hire her. Since my current job already pays all the bills I don't care if she dosen't get any money yet. For myself I want to volunteer also before I get to nursing school because I see so many new grads having trouble getting work I thought I better start early, in addition it will help me with a big career change plans from cable- guy to nurse..woooohoo! New grads should take note of this and spend some time volunteering while waiting for an interview, you nerver know who might be watching you and before u know it u r hired!