Volunteering during school

[augurey]

Does volunteer experience during school (or in general) help at all when applying for jobs after graduation?

Based on my searches, I feel like there's some mixed feedback. One search mentioned that if you were thinking about certain specialties, it may be a good idea. Some mentioned were some that I'm interested in (though I know that can change at any point).

We have a volunteer opportunity coming up at the beginning of April. It's only 2 hours assisting with health checks for women. I plan on volunteering just because it's extra practice for me.

It got me wondering about whether or not volunteer experience is something good to have on a resume. I was discussing this with my husband this evening. I'm in my second semester of a 5 semester program. I'll have anywhere from 12 - 14 credit hours each semester for the remainder of the program with two small kids. Summer will be 13 credit hours in 10 weeks. So I definitely have a full plate. I was looking into one hospital that required a minimum of 4 hours a week with a commitment of 1 year. I feel like I could do 4 hours a week, but I also have to take into consideration the extra effort my husband has to put in (as he's already doing so much to help get me through this). He was more concerned about the year commitment more than the 4 hours a week.

If it's beneficial to have volunteer experience, I was contemplating doing a little more research on things I could do that would fit in better with my family / schedule. Or perhaps just sign up for opportunities as they come up through school if it's good timing. If it's beneficial, would random volunteering experiences be beneficial, or would it be more beneficial to be doing something more consistent?

What about student organizations?

[direw0lf, BSN]

Well.. the good thing about inconsistency is that you can show a lot of diversity, but the negative side is you won't build as strong rapports or show yourself enough to gain yourself as strong recommendations as if you stayed with them longer.

One of my friends has been a medical scribe for a while, and made many connections that way. For me I don't wait for opportunities because I usually end up not taking them, I need to plan it and really commit not just chose like on a whim kind of thing when something comes up because I'm usually busy. Have you looked into your clinical hospitals for internships or externships for nursing students?

I think in my own experience having the diversity seemed to help me because it seemed to stand out maybe. Like I remember in my interview being asked about my therapy dog volunteering, which was random. My nursing teachers are willing to help students get jobs so that helps not to need to create a connection somewhere else just to get references. If you don't think you'll have that kind of help, consistency might work in your favor more.

I think for student organizations most don't matter. Maybe I'm wrong but it doesn't seem like they do. Leadership ones can look good though.

[augurey]

Thanks for your input!

I haven't really looked into anything within the hospital. My concern is being able to keep up with classes. Obviously I have to have school as a priority, but I also have to be reliable in what I do.

I started looking into some volunteer opportunities. There's a hospice center looking for volunteers. They state they are very flexible as far as scheduling goes. If you can only do once a month, once a week, whatever. I think I may apply for that and talk to them about how I can work around it with school. I don't think it'd be a problem for me to do a few hours one day a week on the weekend, but I'm concerned about summer semester when I'll have 13 credit hours in 10 weeks. I'm not sure I can commit to anything during that time, but that's something I would ask for that time period.

My husband's main concern with the one was having a year commitment which would be hard with my schedule and harder on him with the kids. I spoke with my clinical instructor this week (as I'm still too shy/timid with no confidence no matter how hard I'm trying - I'm improving, but it's still very obvious). We both agreed that more exposure to working with patients would really help. Since it's becoming more important for me to get over it, I think it'd be best for me to get SOME hours in as some experience is better than none. My husband seems to be more agreeable especially in light of needing to get more comfortable (and if they are truly that flexible).

I'll probably try to do some random things that are organized by my class (like the one coming up in a couple of months), but I think having something stable will probably be better.