[situponatree*]

So I'm going to be volunteering at a hospital this summer and I want to know what it's like. What are the do's and don'ts and what were some of your personal experiences?

I'm sorry if a thread like this was already made >.<

[joie.de.vivre]

i'm a candystriper in an ICU at a local hospital and basically i answer phone calls, help/guide visitors, deliver medicines and generally help out the ICU nurses.
hm, always have a positive attitude, b/c no one in the hospital wants to see a sour face, especially on a volunteer. hope you have fun in your new volunteering place!

[f0reveralways]

well it depends what you will be doing at the hospital. at the hospital i volunteer at, there are different positions for volunteers. i volunteer on the 2nd floor for newborn photography. other positions include sitting at the lobby/front desk thing, working the gift shop, patient feeding, working at the library, er.. yeah etc.


Do's:
- wear uniform
- be on time
- smile
- cover tattoos (lol)
- knock before entering (i knock first and then annouce "newborn photography!" as i enter. you don't really wait for them to say anything like "come in" lol)


Don't's:
- wear excessive makeup
- wear lots of jewelry (piercings, bracelets, rings..)
- wear tight clothing
- wear open shoes


working at a hospital is a serious thing. so uh basically, you will need to dress the part ^^ i can't really think of anything else.

be sure to familiarize yourself with the area so that if someone asks you a question where something is, you can answer them. if you can't, at least be able to direct them to the lobby or something where someone else can provide them an answer.

[miss ambrosia x3]

i worked at the gift shop. easy stuff. but is kinda boring... and like the above said. you will need to dress properly.

[joonage]

O man ...

I'm thinking of applying at a hospital near my house ...

I have to turn it in before I leave for Korea this Monday. xD

One goal I want to achieve is to watch a surgery ... Somehow ... Somehow. lol

[atalamarche10]

i volunteered at this hospital summer after sophomore year in hs.
it was def. a valuable experience.
at first..they put me in med surge where i followed nurses around and stuff. that got so tedious
and boring . i got to roll someone out to their car though lol.
after a while..it got so boring and i wanted to switch to the OR. so..some other volunteers and i went anyway.
there were lots of surgeries to be seen..
i saw a knee one and the doctor was so nice and friendly..explained everything to me..
there were foot and chest surgeries too, really interesting.
we had to wear scrubs and a head and foot covering too.
too bad it was towards the end of summer so i oouldnt really stay and see more.
i wished i told them i wanted to be in the OR from the beginning! so if you wnat to see surgeries..tell them that!

i felt so important walking through the hospital with my badge (the ones where you scan and doors open) hehe
and they fed us too..free lunch every day that i was there.

[Loveholic2u]

Well there was different sections in the hospital, we get to choose what we wanted to do. I told the person in charge that I wanted to do the paper work stuff in the nurse's office, which is really easy because I volunteered for like 6 hours each day, one hour lunch break and I only do work for only 2 hours really, the rest I just sat there and chilled..hehe

It was actually pretty easy, but you must be careful..don't go to areas that your not suppose to go to because a hospital is big and you don't want to get in trouble.

[tenshiii0ox]

It's interesting. I want to make people smile because it's not easy working at the hospital. At first, it was depressing for me to see those who are/were in vegetated states. I always say, "Have a nice day," to the workers (security, other volunteers, doctors, nurses, etc.) since I know that one comment like that can make them feel better. Although I've only been volunteering for 6 months, I learned a lot from the people around me. It's amazing how some of the patients have the strength to move on and live life at their best. My respect for those working in the hospital continues to grow (even for security). I guess you just learn to appreciate more for what you have. It's hard having to work as a volunteer, but the fact that I'm making a difference in someone's motivates me [a whole lot more] to lend a hand with a happy heart. The hospital [where I volunteer at] is huge, and I'm astonished at how everyone remembers the places. ha ha.

[alicimoo]

Don't share patient info even if you know the person.
I had to read this..20 page packet about privacy. xD

[amy3may]

im volunteering right now..
basically follow all the rules..make sure you know them
Know your duties...
Don't be afraid to ask for help
Be polite, respectful, and helpful
Be Outgoing and friendly

[elisa*]

I worked in the pharmacy at the hospital for about 2 years.

The experience was really valuable, something I'd never forget. I wasn't in direct contact with the patients, but I learned A LOT in pharmacy (and it's good because I'm looking into that field). The pharmacists and interns were incredibly nice. I delivered medicine all around the hospital, checking off stuff and signing stuff in checkboards, made unit doses, put medicine away, etc. There was barely any paperwork to be done, and I enjoyed the work immensely.

There are personal experiences that I had with the people there that I'd never forget...just remember to be quiet, neat, & smile loads!!

Everyone in the hospital - ranging from the nurses to doctors to the patients - are extremely stressed out and unhappy (well, most of them) so be sure to understand them and try to accommodate.

Have fun. I hope it will be a valuable experience for you.

[piQ]

during my hours the employees are chill...we basically f around. i pretty much got 200+ hours without much work done

[azn_kira]

For mine:

Pro: Easy 100+ hours, not very labor-intensive, close to home lol

Con:
BORING, because you don't have any training/ no nothing really they don't let you do much..maybe wheel the patients around (can't even help them out of their wheelchairs though) and run errands

I worked at a big hospital and i found the nurses were pretty B*tchy..i'm guessing it's stress but still..the ones i worked with were WAAY overworked and were pretty tempermental

I worked in the emergency room/post op. for heart surgeries though..which may be why the doctors/nurses never really paid attention to volunteers, so i basically hung out w/ the other girl and we walked around seeing which patients were awake for us to "help" (next to none, or if they were awake family was there >.<)

Overall:

Wasn't a very fun experience...but i got a lot of hours and it looks good so w/e

[thesarahchong]

I worked in the Extended Care which was basically full of old people. (:
But I really enjoyed it. It wasn't quite uptight seeing as they hardly had volunteers.
I got to talk with the patients, change trashbags, pass out dinner trays, and feed the patients as well.
100+ hours just talking to old folks is my kind of thing.

[chriskong37]

i got the fun position of volunteering at the childrens hospital: i'm a bear.

no literally, i dress up in a bear costume and walk around the wards to see little children. i cant really talk in the suit so someone comes around and introduces me: "this is lucky the bear" etc...

ive had some unexpected times like when a four year old kept hugging my leg and grew attached and i had to go around with her for 15 minutes while she was "clamped", a time where a group of younger children got a fright because my "head" part of the suit was off while i was at the vending machine (it was hard to press the buttons with paws like that!) and the worst was when my phone went off in the jeans i was wearing under the suit. they thought i was a "musical" bear who played michael buble, escape the fate and saosin songs. though i doubt escape the fate and saosin was suited to a childrens hospital. haha.

BUT great fun and i love it, though it gets quite hot and hard to breathe in the suit.

[Avex]

i got the fun position of volunteering at the childrens hospital: i'm a bear.

no literally, i dress up in a bear costume and walk around the wards to see little children. i cant really talk in the suit so someone comes around and introduces me: "this is lucky the bear" etc...

ive had some unexpected times like when a four year old kept hugging my leg and grew attached and i had to go around with her for 15 minutes while she was "clamped", a time where a group of younger children got a fright because my "head" part of the suit was off while i was at the vending machine (it was hard to press the buttons with paws like that!) and the worst was when my phone went off in the jeans i was wearing under the suit. they thought i was a "musical" bear who played michael buble, escape the fate and saosin songs. though i doubt escape the fate and saosin was suited to a childrens hospital. haha.

BUT great fun and i love it, though it gets quite hot and hard to breathe in the suit.

wow. i hate to say this as a guy, but that's cute.

[KIM_SAYS:]

I think one major thing about volunteering at a hospital is being patient. You need to adapt to completely different personalities among patients.

I volunteered in the emergency radiology department as a transporter (transported patients from their waiting rooms to radiology), so I had a lot of patients who were just so different in terms of personalities. Most were just grumpy or sad because their leg seemed broken or their stomach hurt. Others were cheery and really funny because they've had a lot of pain medication or thought their stories were amusing. Others were creepy and smelled a lot. Naturally, since it was the ER, I saw a lot of stuff (people who've been physically abused) so I had to learn to deal with that kind of stuff. And If you come across a mean patient, you can't just be mean back (although you kinda wish it...), but you just have to put up with it and be sympathetic.