Who has volunteered?

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Hey guys,

Today I submitted an application to the local hospital to volunteer for Fall 2013. To be honest, to me it felt like a mini nursing school application. I had to submit an application, statement of purpose, and two letters of recommendation. If I am chosen for one of the volunteer positions I will be contacted two weeks into the semester. We also have to bring results of a TB test if we're chosen.

When any of you volunteered, did you have to submit all of that? Or was it simply going up there to tell them you want to volunteer & you started soon after?

ALSO, when you volunteered what tasks did you perform? Did they put you in a certain area or were you able to tell them which unit you wanted to volunteer on?

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Specializes in CVICU.

I just mailed off my volunteer application the other day. I had to write a 500 word essay on why I wanted to volunteer (which wasn't easy.. i ran out of stuff to say after 300 words). If i am invited for orientation, not only do i have to have two TB tests done, but proof of two MMR and two varicella. I don't have my vaccination records from when I was younger so i have to get them all done again. All within the next three weeks.

i wasn't able to put what dept i want to volunteer for, but from what i can understand, i tell them at orientation.

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I just had my initial volunteer group interview. We have to do 2 TB tests, plus go through a 3 hour orientation, provide 2 references, and clear a background check. We get to chose the top five departments where we want to volunteer. If a spot is not available where we want to be, we get put on a waitlist for that spot while volunteering in another department. I'm very excited to start and hope to continue for much longer than the 6 month initial commitment.

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Hey guys,

Today I submitted an application to the local hospital to volunteer for Fall 2013. To be honest, to me it felt like a mini nursing school application. I had to submit an application, statement of purpose, and two letters of recommendation. If I am chosen for one of the volunteer positions I will be contacted two weeks into the semester. We also have to bring results of a TB test if we're chosen.

When any of you volunteered, did you have to submit all of that? Or was it simply going up there to tell them you want to volunteer & you started soon after?

ALSO, when you volunteered what tasks did you perform? Did they put you in a certain area or were you able to tell them which unit you wanted to volunteer on?

I volunteered at a pretty well-known cancer center that was located on my college campus. I did have to answer some short and long answer questions and provide two letters of recommendation. The hospital's employee services provided my TB tests and flu shot ( was mandatory for me around January). I was given an assignment and I absolutely loved it. I got to interact with patients a LOT! Some of my duties included bringing pts back to their bays (waiting room was far away), cleaning beds and putting new linens on them, helping nurses transport pts to x-ray/CT/etc., bringing patients food/drink if nurses asked me to, giving out (lots of) directions to pts and family members (get to know the hospital), and running specimens to the lab. Of course there are more that I just can't think of, but it was a wonderful experience!

For the record, I think they put you through so much writing, etc because they want to see if you are intelligent and have good intentions in being there. Plus, it is probably a way to limit the amount of people who volunteer (at least where I volunteer, there was almost competition because so many people wanted to do it).

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I just mailed off my volunteer application the other day. I had to write a 500 word essay on why I wanted to volunteer (which wasn't easy.. i ran out of stuff to say after 300 words). If i am invited for orientation, not only do i have to have two TB tests done, but proof of two MMR and two varicella. I don't have my vaccination records from when I was younger so i have to get them all done again. All within the next three weeks.

i wasn't able to put what dept i want to volunteer for, but from what i can understand, i tell them at orientation.

The TB tests are pretty standard. Get the first one done ASAP because you have to wait approx. a week in between. As far as vaccinations, ask about titers (basically a blood test to determine if you have immunity) since you probably already had most of the vaccines. I never had the varicella vaccine, but because I have had the chicken pox, I am immune. A positive titer means that I did not have to have the vaccine for nursing school.

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I am a volunteer at a local hospital, but I applied with a very specific position; I was placed in this hospital for animal-assisted therapy with my dog through the organization that we are certified through. But, I still had to get the TB test, fill out a very long application, give references, and pass a background check.

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Specializes in ICU.

When I volunteered, I had to send the volunteer coordinator an email expressing my interest. She then gave me a long questionnaire to fill out, like pre-interview questions. From there, some people are chosen for interviews. I went to my interview and was luckily chosen. Before I could start, I had to get two TB tests, but I was able to get them for free through employee health at the hospital. The volunteer coordinator gave me a few options of units I could volunteer on and I got to choose. I chose Mom/Baby because it was an area I was interested in working in in the future (which is good because I got to see first hand what the nurses do and such and decided I may want to pursue something different in the future, I wasn't in love with it like I thought I'd be). I answered the call light phone and then I would contact the nurse or PCT, whichever was appropriate so that they could respond to the call. It was a locked unit so I also got to escort patients out after discharge, which was fun, it's a special moment when people get to take their babies home and I got to experience that joy with them. I also did some MINOR PCT tasks under the supervision of a PCT... Things like pass out meal trays, bring blankets, socks, etc. when requested, fill water pitchers and other simple things. It was a great experience. I asked a lot of questions, the Unit clerks and nurses were always wonderful in asking them and I feel like I was able to learn A LOT from them. I would definitely recommend volunteering to anyone interested in the healthcare field. Good luck, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Hopefully you get it!!!

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When I volunteered, I had to send the volunteer coordinator an email expressing my interest. She then gave me a long questionnaire to fill out, like pre-interview questions. From there, some people are chosen for interviews. I went to my interview and was luckily chosen. Before I could start, I had to get two TB tests, but I was able to get them for free through employee health at the hospital. The volunteer coordinator gave me a few options of units I could volunteer on and I got to choose. I chose Mom/Baby because it was an area I was interested in working in in the future (which is good because I got to see first hand what the nurses do and such and decided I may want to pursue something different in the future, I wasn't in love with it like I thought I'd be). I answered the call light phone and then I would contact the nurse or PCT, whichever was appropriate so that they could respond to the call. It was a locked unit so I also got to escort patients out after discharge, which was fun, it's a special moment when people get to take their babies home and I got to experience that joy with them. I also did some MINOR PCT tasks under the supervision of a PCT... Things like pass out meal trays, bring blankets, socks, etc. when requested, fill water pitchers and other simple things. It was a great experience. I asked a lot of questions, the Unit clerks and nurses were always wonderful in asking them and I feel like I was able to learn A LOT from them. I would definitely recommend volunteering to anyone interested in the healthcare field. Good luck, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Hopefully you get it!!!

Thanks!! I would love to volunteer in Mom/Baby also cause I'm really interested in that. If I'm chosen I hope they give us a choice. I don't think I will be chosen tho -_- . I'm trying to keep hope alive. Lol. If I don't get picked I'll be upset, but at least I tried.

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I volunteer at a major hospital's urgent care clinic. I had to fill out an application, have one letter of recommendation and then go to an orientation. Also needed a PPD test done. I basically deal with with paperwork . I don't deal with patients often and wish to do more. I think at an actual hospital I would be able to do more.

I am planning to volunteer at another location as well as the one I mentioned before. Wish me luck and hopefully I can start in Fall 2013 too! I haven't started the process and hopefully it doesn't take long.

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I volunteer at a major hospital's urgent care clinic. I had to fill out an application, have one letter of recommendation and then go to an orientation. Also needed a PPD test done. I basically deal with with paperwork . I don't deal with patients often and wish to do more. I think at an actual hospital I would be able to do more.

I am planning to volunteer at another location as well as the one I mentioned before. Wish me luck and hopefully I can start in Fall 2013 too! I haven't started the process and hopefully it doesn't take long.

Good luck! I contacted the local Health Department about volunteering, they asked for my information and said they would get back to me with any information so maybe I'll hear from them. I tried majority of the major clinics down here (small, small town). They said they weren't doing any volunteer work. I still have a couple of clinics I could try so hopefully I'll have some luck somewhere.

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Good luck! I contacted the local Health Department about volunteering they asked for my information and said they would get back to me with any information so maybe I'll hear from them. I tried majority of the major clinics down here (small, small town). They said they weren't doing any volunteer work. I still have a couple of clinics I could try so hopefully I'll have some luck somewhere.[/quote']

This happened to be before, I tried volunteering at a rehab hospital near my house, filled out the application and everything they said they would call me but they never did. I called back several times and I just gave up when they said they said they lost my application.

Wish you the best of luck!! :)

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By the way for those who volunteer how often did you go? I try to go at least once a week.

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