Personal Narrative: Volunteering At The University Of Maryland Medical Center

As a recent graduate of the Johns Hopkins University and a new Research Technician at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, becoming more familiar with different healthcare settings and helping others in doing so have always been of my interest. From my experience of volunteering as a piano teacher for inner-city children in Baltimore, I have learnt that even a small commitment and emotional support can make a big difference in the daily lives and the happiness of those in need. I have briefly familiarized myself to the hospital environment by shadowing physicians and conducting biomedical research but have yet to translate my volunteering experiences and the lessons learnt from them to the healthcare setting. I am a friendly, optimistic,

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.

Volunteering at Texas Health Presbyterian Plano is my way of giving back to the community while developing critical social skills, and gaining important medical field exposure along the way. It’s an opportunity to change a person’s life, including my own. I volunteered at two hospitals last summer and I’m well acquainted with what volunteering entails and would more than love to do it again. Through this hospital volunteer program, I hope to discover my own passions and talents, while also developing skills that I will utilize throughout my entire high school and college experience.

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

According the the American Bureau of Labor Statistics, “...over 4.9 million Americans volunteered their time in a hospital or health-related organization [in 2011]” (Kendrick, “Sector Spotlight: Volunteer Management in Hospitals”). All those volunteers, also called Candy Stripers, made a positive change in their medical community and I was extremely honored to be one of those individuals. The ill stricken, misfortunate and even hospital staff need as much assistance as possible according to my experience. I encourage college students to take action and become hospital volunteers. When becoming a hospital volunteer, an individual will be able to assist nurses, support patients both physically and psychologically, provide funds to your local hospital and gain knowledge on how to serve the community positively in the future.

I began volunteering at the Hospital for Special Surgery, to get an overview of what is is like to work at a hospital. Volunteering at a hospital was an eye opening experience, because I got to encounter how physicians, and medical staff communicate, and listen to their patients. These two skills are essential to understand patient needs, and therefore make the right decisions in diagnosing diseases. My role at the hospital was to provide snacks, beverages, and aid kits to patients, families, and medical staff. I have witnessed families that stayed up long nights, because they had loved ones undergo surgery. Any person that has a loved one undergo surgery becomes worried and scared, because of the uncertainty that lies ahead. However, the imperative skills that I have learned and exceeded on was my communication skills. Communicating with these families, and patients was exceedingly important, because you have to place yourself in their shoes to understand the situation they are in. I met young patients, as young as 5 years old, that were in the hospital for days recovering from surgery, or undergoing

Volunteering at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Red Bluff, California was an extremely enlightening experience. For the first time, I was given the opportunity to interact with patients on a personal level. Although as an auxiliary member I was mainly responsible for sanitizing beds, changing linens and restocking the rooms, the ability to observe the physicians as they interacted with the patients and the opportunity to speak with the patients was invaluable. I learned an immensely important aspect of being a physician, which is the importance of great bedside manner. However, I wanted to experience a greater interaction with the patients, so I enrolled in an Emergency Medical Technician course at Shasta College and became a licensed EMT.

I went to the hospital several times to attend the orientation as well as to fulfill the requirements to volunteer and I was glad when I was finally deemed ready to volunteer at this hospital. I had two jobs consisting of helping out in the ICU and sending flowers to the patients throughout the hospital. I learned many things in the hospital that I had not known before through the friendliness and the supportive nature of all the staff. I learned how to basics of reading the heartbeat on the EKG, that leeches are still currently used to help circulate the blood in a certain portion of a patient’s body, and many other things. It was a very interesting experience and I enjoyed the opportunity

Today was my first day to volunteer at Hamtramck Medical Center. I spent the first forty minutes with Elia. She introduced me to other nurses, also, she showed me everything in Hamtramck Medical Center including, patients’ rooms, lab, waiting rooms, and doctors’ offices. After that, she read me the instructions, one of the instructions is to treat the patients kindly, and everything happens in Hamtramck Medical Center stay there. Lastly, Elia introduced me to my supervisor.

This summer has by far been the most meaningful due to my internship at the Lloyd Moss Free Clinic. I had a wonderful opportunity to use my summer before college to explore healthcare professions and learn how a free clinic functions. Throughout my experience, I was exposed to many different professions within a clinic. My daily task consists of a wide variety of activities. I would begin by sorting and filing patient document, gathering charts for upcoming appointments, and helping the clinical operations director with projects regarding referrals. Then, I would continue my day at the call center. While assisting at the call center, I was able to learn what exactly each department handles at the clinic and I was exposed to a variety of terms

Since March 2015, I volunteer weekly at Memorial Hospital West, where I assist in both patient and nursing staff needs. As a volunteer, I serve as a reception area greeter while giving out general information to visitors and answering phones. I also assist in patient discharge, answering patient call buttons, distribution of meals and water, as well as running errands for the nursing staff which include the pharmacy, lab, and cafeteria. I have also sporadically volunteered at Feeding South Florida, a hunger relief food bank. I assisted in the inspecting, sorting, and organizing of donated can goods which are then distributed to food pantries and shelters. The last two years with the assistance of my mother I have raised money towards the Leukemia

Three years ago, before I began taking prerequisites for medical school, I started volunteering at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center. I witnessed the lifesaving work that the doctors and nurses perform. Assisting the staff, transporting patients, stocking bays, and speaking to family members of patients allowed me to experience the inner workings of a trauma unit. Seeing the effects of crime and the drug epidemic and how the staff was able to give patients a new lease on life was truly remarkable and has reinforced my desire to help others.

For this service learning project I choose to volunteer at a hospital. I went to St. Joe's Hospital on a floor called Select Specialty Hospital. On Select’s floor, they have patients that are in severe condition and most people that help out at that hospital cannot go on that floor. In my case, my mom works on that floor so I was able to be on the floor. For the first hour, some of the nurses and nurse aids gave me a tour around the floor. They showed me all of the different rooms, all the medical devices, medicine, and they answered any of my unsolved questions. After that, for the last 2 hours I went into patients rooms and took them their food. Then when they finished, I would take those empty trays to the kitchen, where I washed and refilled them with food. I admit that it was a challenge, but I did not regret a single bit of it because it was the right thing to do. Unfortunately, the people on that floor are unable to help themselves and if someone reached out to them with a kind gesture it would make their day. Personally, if I was in there position I would deeply appreciate it if someone took the time out of their day and helped someone out that they don’t know. It is easy to donate money to organizations that help people, but it’s different to actually get up and go help that person face to face instead of waiting for

Fortunately, for my third agency this semester I will have the opportunity to observe the staff of Clara Maass Medical Center which is a facility managed by Saint Barnabas Health. When I called this facility to obtain information, I was directed to the hospital’s volunteer department. The supervisor of the department briefed me on the application process and provided me with a list of department choices for my observation. The departments that I selected were Emergency and Wound Care because they encounter various patients on a daily basis. The hospital environment interests me tremendously due to the constant patient interaction and the variety of services provided by the institution. Last year I participated in a short ten hour volunteer

I learned many different skills through volunteering at Maine Medical Center. I learned what it takes to become a doctor at Maine Medical Center and why it is a leading hospital (WHERE?). Volunteering made me realize that this is the only hospital I would like to work at. The staff within the hospital makes it a wonderful place to be a part of, even as a volunteer. The many people I worked with made me feel like family. They were willing to answer any question, and teach me anything they knew. Through volunteering, I learned many skills that I will always use while working the rest of my life. Working in the medical field requires for someone to work with new people, be independent and serve people. These are things I learned while volunteering