Volunteering...questions

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Hello, I am very interested in volunteering at a hospital or anywhere really. I want to for a couple reasons one... is cause I would like to get a feel for what I'm doing inthe future. two..... I would like to start learning the environment early so I have a head start.. and three the most important reason is I want to figure out where I wanna work in the future. I like fast paced environments with lots of work ;P. So my questions to all of you are

1. Where would a good place to volunteer be? Of course a hospital but any other places? Any special departments?

2. Please give me a heads up on proper etiquite! I really would like to make a great first impression

3. I called a hospital and asked them about all this...its my dream place to work. very nice. And they have a month wait list for volunteers I would think they would want all they can get. Buut is this normal? Btw they want you to really commit like twenty hours a week which is hard to do while working and being a fulltime student. Is this normal? I'm thinking it could just be cause its the nicest hospital around maybe a lower quality hospital would be more leniant?

4. And my last and final question is... I understand that my health program advisor can answer this and I will be asking them but I want to know if volunteering normally counted as health care expierience? My shcool uses a point system and having been in the health care field for 6 months gives you three points so I would love to think 6 months volunteering could help.

I would very much appreciate any answers from anyone or any input at all and thanks for your help

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1. I don't know. I volunteer at a hospital (ER) and a ltc facility (wide variety of sections)and at a hospital (ER), In the LTC, I see almost nothing concerning nurses other than the meds carts in the hallway. I get a fairly good idea of what nurses do in the ER although I rarely see any direct patient/nurse interaction. Neither setting is fast paced for me, the ER can be for the nurses but rarely is... although my hospital is not the trauma center for the area so other hospitals are likely to be different. I am busier at the LTC even though I look for things to do at each place.

2. At both places, I got a lot of comments about how nice it was to have a volunteer who saw what needed to be done and did it. I do not sit around until everything I'm allowed to do is done (that never happens in the LTC, and often happens in the ER - for a half hour or hour of my four hour shift). But you have to use your head about what and how to do things. It is worse to not be sure things are done right than to not have the help (with things like cleaning the rooms or checking expiration dates). Also, it is good to shadow the CNAs rather than the nurses to find out what to do and how to do it because I can do a lot more of their tasks. I try to remember that my job is to make the jobs of everyone in the ER easier, so I make a point of not being in the way.

3. A month waiting list is pretty fast based on my experience and what I've heard others say. Twenty hours a week is very high, are you sure that is per week and not per month?

4. I don't think so, but my school doesn't give points for experience (and yours would be different anyway). At my school, students who volunteer or work have an advantage in the interviews in two ways... the school likes to see students that such experience because they know better what they are getting into and because it gives a lot of background to answer the scenario questions more effectively. How much you pick up about how things work in the nursing world is more important than whether you had a job or volunteered. Interviews are worth about a third of the points.

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1) Really any place where you have patients and interaction with them, its a good place for volunteer your time. , however, there are some better place than others. For example in my case , i am extremely proud of being part of the volunteer family at miami children hospital.this is amazing .... so far i have 67 hours , i just go there for 3 hours a week but i love it so much that i always stayed longer and arrived earlier than my long in time. When i went to the interview , they asked me where i would love to volunteer and right away i said PICU (PEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE UNIT) in here you see the worst,, how some kids get better and how some of them dont and neither make it.. so for me thats is the best department, because you see it everything on there.

2- JUST BE YOURSELF, smile, let them know how tender and passionate you are, let them know that for you this is worthy and you are more than happy to give your free time for those who need it. TAKE THINGS VERY SERIOUSLY AND BE AWARE THAT YOU ARE A VOLUNTEER AND THEY DO NOT PAY YOU FOR THAT, BUT FOR YOU DOES NOT MATTER BECAUSE YOU ARE MORE THAN PLEASED TO PROVIDE CARE FOR OTHERS.

3- In this hospital they have differents ways of doing the commitments, for example if you want to be there for 3 months, you are no going to be in contact with patients but you r going to be working in research areas, officines etc, 6 months commitment is with patient contact.. November in my last month, and for sure i am staying longer than that.. They doctors and nurses are so happy with my work that they dont want me to go .. (when that happens is because you are in the right track and they see your dedication and love for any medical career) with that said, sometimes i dont have too much to do and some nurses talked to me and they told me their experiences and let me watch proccedures..)

4- In my school my anatomy professor asked for some servin learning or volunteer as part fo the grade of the class. (10%) of the general grade is based on volunteer hours, he does not allow nursing students to do it at a library ,... they should go to medical facilities to do so.. ) every 10 hours is extra points counting for your final grade.. PLUS IT LOOKS GOOD IN YOUR RESUME AS A PROSPECTIVE NURSE STUDENT TO HAVE SOME VOLUNTEER HOURS. who knows if you future is in that same place.. :)

GOOD LUCK :)

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As strange as it sounds, it is quite difficult to get a volunteer position at a good hospital. Since the economy is bad, many unemployed people want to remain busy and useful and many slots have closed. I searched for a couple of months to get a position in the NYC metro area. Finally, I succeeded, but only because I met someone important on staff.

I have never heard of 20 hours per week. That is definitely excessive.

I also had to have the full physical workup the hospital gives to new employees: physical exam, blood titers, 2 step PPD, urine drug analysis, and fingerprints to determine if I am a criminal and an interview. In fact, this process was more extensive than what is required of me to enter my chosen nursing school!

If you can, look for more than one volunteer location because the first may not have space or the exposure you most desire.

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sorry for spelling.... lol i am in class :o:jester::specs:

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Thank you all so much for the advice. I will check back with them about the twenty hours and confirm it though.

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Try volunteer rescue, you get experience with patient contact, radios, practice with assessments, and communicating with the ER staff (and getting to see how the ER runs). You will need your EMT-B for that. Most local community colleges will have EMT-B classes.

If you do join a rescue squad. It is good if you know your stuff, but please don't act like you know more than someone who has been involved in rescue for over 5 years. It doesn't look good when your 6 month vote comes up. Be aware of the politics in EMS.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

Are you sure it isn't 20 hours per MONTH?

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Ya I checked back with her n it was 20 hours a MONTH

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