Personal Narrative: Volunteering At St. Elizabeth Community Hospital

By the way of introduction, I am Aleem Punja's cousin and he suggested I reach out to you to explore possible opportunities at the Children's Aid Society of Toronto.

I later enrolled in a practical nursing program, in pursuit of my dream of becoming a nurse. While taking my prerequisites, I decided to volunteer at a local hospital in the emergency department. At the hospital, I assisted with transporting patients within the facility, preparing rooms for incoming

Several years ago, my appendix nearly ruptured and I had to have surgery. At that time, the staff was caring, kind, and aware of my pain, and the environment was never boring. Everyone was in a rush, and there was never a dull moment. The atmosphere is exhilarating; nurses, doctors and emergency medical technicians are always in a rush to help patients. Afterwards, I realized I wanted to help people in the same way the medical personnel helped me. This inspired me to pursue my EMT certification, but my ultimate goal is to attend medical school and become a surgeon. To be able to pursue my dream, I hope to attend (School) because of the strong curriculum and capable instructors.

In my time volunteering at the hospital, I hope to gain many different experiences. However, there are a few main ones: adaptation through enrichment and dependability. First of all, I want to get to know and adapt to the environment of the hospital and learn how different processes work. This is a crucial part of being in the atmosphere of a clinic. Also, the experiences that I will have at the hospital will help me to understand the routines and entailments of the career I would like to pursue. I hope to become a Physician’s Assistant in the future and this will be the best way to know if it is the right position for me. This enrichment of my understanding will help guide my passion for this career path and hopefully strengthen it.

Above all, Berkman says that volunteering as an Advanced EMT-Critical Care has been a rewarding experience and encourages fellow students to follow suit. “It’s a tremendous opportunity to get involved and help your campus,” he said. “I would encourage everyone to look into volunteering regardless of their career path, as the skills you acquire are useful in every profession and make you a stronger

“Never be a doctor if you’re going to have any loans to pay back.” “Don’t do this to yourself.” “You’ll never have a family if you go to medical school.” “The two worst jobs in America belong to physicians and teachers.” Without even soliciting their advice, physicians noticed my “Pre-medical Volunteer” nametag, and immediately approached me with words of discouragement. I participated in a volunteer summer internship at St. Mary Hospital in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, following my sophomore year of college, in an effort to gain more experience in the medical field and solidify my lifelong desire to become a physician. Throughout the eight weeks, I spent mandatory hours in both the Emergency Room and the Operating Room, made contacts with physicians in specific areas of interest, and spent time shadowing them. In addition, each of us in the program attended weekly business meetings in which administrators of the hospital and local physicians spoke to us about their particular positions and experiences. Unlike the many years of high school I spent volunteering at a hospital and a nursing home, where I was limited to carrying around food trays and refilling cups of water, I was able to gain hands-on and more intimate experience. Initially uneasy at the site of the blood gushing into plastic sheets draped around the orthopedic surgeon’s patient in the OR, it took only a few days to grow accustomed to the images on the television screen during a laparoscopic procedure and the

Through the many trips that my family has taken to the hospital due to various reasons, I have become fond of the hospital and its many wonders. After all the things that the medical field has done for me and my family, I decided to contribute to my local hospital to volunteer and help out those who pay visits to the hospital. Through my exposure to various clinical populations, I want to improve my ability to serve others in this capacity that can guide me towards the medical profession in the future.

The experience I gained at the cardiology clinic and the hours shadowing at the Methodist Hospital emergency room are a pillar for the career of my choice. I want to be able to help those in need in my local community hospital. I feel the urge to give a hand to those that have guided me through the right path, from teaching me right from wrong to encouraging me to strive to be the best in life. At the Methodist hospital, I learned how to obtain patient’s medical history and entered data into Cerner, and I obtained consent from patients before procedures such as diagnostic imaging and casting. I observed physical examinations being performed by the physician assistant and it taught me that it is necessary to have knowledge to be able to diagnose and treat conditions and that interpersonal skills are essential for this career. Currently, I work for the department of health where I triage and register patients, assist physicians and nurse practitioner in the examination of patients, and assist with maintenance of inventory supplies and

To explain briefly, spending the entire summer around the kids, staff, nurses, doctors, and hospital administration, I could see everyone there loved their jobs, appreciated their coworkers, and most importantly, valued the patients and their families. Volunteering this past summer was a life-changing experience that only motivated me to find more opportunities to grow and experience the medical

In order to prepare myself for my future as a physician assistant I have begun my tenure as an EMT. This endeavor has been an exciting challenge not only providing health care experience but also additional support to my future goal. For instance, as I have become versed in interacting with and treating

During my junior year, connections through Sports Medicine exposed me to the hospital environment. After volunteering for a few hospital events, I decided to apply for a permanent volunteer position at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. I now work on a Med/Surg nursing unit weekly, and I love giving back to my community in this way. The Sports Medicine Program is the educational opportunity that enabled me to explore and expand my passion for serving others, and led me toward pursuing a career in

I have to admit I was a little nervous before I went volunteer at New Hope Tulsa. When I was nineteen I spent the summer working as a school age child care worker, in a neighborhood where many of the children were at-risk youth. I remember crying every night before bed because I did not want to go to work the next day. They treated me so badly and did not listen at all. It was very stressful to me and I did not know how to handle it. As apprehensive as I was to start volunteering, I was also excited. Yes, in the past I had a hard time, but I’ve also grown and learned so much since then. It was also helpfully that New Hope provided such an extensive orientation and trained on many aspects, including effective discipline. So, by the time I spent

On December 2nd of 2015, my city of San Bernardino encountered a terrorist attack that took the lives of 14 innocent people and injured 22 at the Inland Regional Center. I can only imagine what it feels like to lose someone whose only intentions were to go to work. This devastated many families and took away their loved ones. Seeing the pain and heartbreak, I knew that there was something that needed to be done. After seeing the chaos go on in my city, I decided to volunteer at my local Salvation Army to do something good in the middle of all this negativity. I donated clothes my family no longer used, blankets, and even pillows for those who couldn't afford them. I also volunteered to serve lunch on the weekends. Seeing their faces knowing

Before beginning my volunteer work I faced quite a dilema. Where could I influence children, help them develop their leadership potential, educate them about agriculture, and have fun-all at the same time?

Hospitals are a great way for a medical student to serve the community as well as gain valuable experience in their future field. For this reason, I have spent around forty hours from the end of the summer up until now volunteering at HonorHealth hospital. I volunteered as a transporter, what this means is that I move equipment, medical documents and lab samples around the hospital. I also help discharge patients by pushing them in a wheelchair to their car. Through this experience I was able to make life easier on people who were vulnerable and trying to recover as well as the busy staff member who treated them. I had many interactions with people and by from this I have a better understanding of impact my service had. I will be discussing: How psychology can explain social interaction, how outside factors can influence a person 's sense of self, how behaviors and situations can help you understand a person, the importance of communication as well as focus, and the environment shapes the organization.