I applied for a volunteer position at the local hospital and they called me for a phone interview that lasted 4 minutes. I guess I didn’t show enough enthusiasm for being a shelf stocker (the only position they had open) at their gift shop because the interviewer said they’d call me back and email me. They never did either, it’s been 2 weeks and none of my calls or emails are being responded to lol. Random, but I just felt stressed and wanted to get it off my chest. The other hospital I’m going to apply for a position at is 40 minutes away, whereas this one was only 15 minutes away. I guess I’ll just have to work something out then haha. /rant
Maybe the main person has been on vacation and you will get the offer tomorrow!! Or maybe not since the hospital gift shops I have been in recently don’t need much restocking.
But good luck.
Nah, I don’t think so. It was a pretty bad interview if I’m being honest lol. Thanks though! @CheddarcheeseMN
FYI. At least in in most of the places in Bay Area in NCAL, HS volunteer positions start with either Gift shop or Front Desk. Now a days I see many places in the web site itself they explicitly state, first any volunteer need to have 100 hours before they can be assigned to other activities like birthing center or ER. Even there, primarily volunteer will do some tasks.
Interviewing gets better with experience. Whether you feel it was a good or bad interview aside, it is terribly unprofessional for the hospital not to have at least acknowledged your interest w/ a polite thanks but no thanks. That’s totally on them. Keep putting yourself out there!
Get used to it. Many people interview for a job out of college and don’t hear back afterward. The interviewers simply don’t have the time or the inclination to stay in touch with everybody.
@mic347 "I guess I didn’t show enough enthusiasm for being a shelf stocker (the only position they had open) "
You are honest. Most of hospital volunteering works for high school students are
Answering phones, collating mailings, running errands throughout the hospital campus, assisting in the gift shop, delivering flowers and mail, delivering newspapers to the units, escorting patients to and from testing, greeting patients as care companions, feeding patients who need assistance, or helping visitors at the reception desks to find their way…
Are these tasks “medical” experiences ? lol
IMHO, BSMD programs admin officers should NOT base on these kinds of “medical” experiences to qualify applicants.
(If they do, they should spend time VERIFYING them. e.g. shadowing 100+ hours looks good in applicant’s medical experience but only it is NOT a fabricated one; they should also consider the applicants living areas, e.g. some applicants may have to drive 40+ miles to a near hospital.)
Well, first, agree that inexperienced volunteers often do have to start at the gift shop or whatever. It’s not like you can walk into some other responsibilities cold. Once there, you’re at least in the environment. After you start to prove out, you try for more.
And the BSMD programs I know aren’t looking for shadowing. Nor some club or some fund raiser. They want to see something where you’re more involved in health delivery or advocacy. For the more competitive programs, you don’t get to just insist you want to be a doc or claim you’re dedicated, but can’t get involved. Think about it.
@lookingforward @bsmdegree @rwmannesq @GoldenRock
Thank you all for the advice! The interviewer did explicitly state that the only positions open for under 18’s (I’m almost 17) are greeters and gift shop workers. Clinical contact is not allowed for under 18’s. Understandable, but unfortunately, I don’t turn 18 until right after college app deadlines. I’ll see what I can get with applying for this next position.
Just some helpful advice.
Don’t worry about not getting into your first hospital volunteering position. I called 3 of the hospitals near my immediate vicinity, and only 1 even admitted that there were open spots available. Depending on your area, those open spots can be extremely competitive. I went to an interview with 20 other kids at that one hospital, while only 4 kids were selected. Safe to say, I didn’t get in.
I got into a different hospital later, but it takes me more than 30 minutes to drive there. Even if you don’t have a lot of hospitals in your area, you should always be willing to apply to any within an hour radius.
Second, try your best to go volunteer in a hospital that doesn’t limit your clinical exposure. I would definitely argue that clinical experience with patients and nurses is much more impressive than reception or gift shop work. It’s also much easier to write about in your “Why Medicine” and other supplemental essays, thereby tying in all your healthcare work with why you wish to be a doctor.
Lastly, I would recommend you try applying to that hospital 40 minutes away from you. Like I mentioned above, that age restriction on what you can do in Hospital A isn’t very conductive to what you wish to do.
Thanks! @GreenPoison
I’m currently doing AP summer homework and stuff for testing out of some classes, but when I have a chance, I will definitely apply. I think I might ask to start shadowing some doctors first and seeing if I can volunteer in any way at their office because I’m an awful driver and would rather not have to drive in the snow that far during the school year and stuff.
@mic347 and @GreenPoison
Try local EMS or nursing homes volunteer programs. They will be your medical experiences in your college applications.
I volunteered in a hospital when I was 16. Had a candy striper uniform and everything. As I recall, I mainly worked in the gift shop and delivered stuff to patients’ rooms. I have to admit, I can see why hospitals are hesitant to have teenagers as volunteers. I remember giggling a lot with my friend and getting glared at by older nurses. 
Things are more complicated than they used to be. Clinical positions usually require that a volunteer be HIPAA trained so as to preserve patient privacy and confidentiality–which requires the individual be at least 18 years old. Penalties for HIPAA violations are pretty severe and the facility as well as the individual(s) involved face fines and sanctions
There are also liability & insurance issues involved with clinical volunteers, particularly for under-18s, that many hospitals don’t want to be bothered with. Many hospitals have policy guidelines that prohibit under 18s in high risk areas–surgery, ED, ICU, post-op, infectious disease wards, etc-- to safeguard the volunteer as well as the patient.
I second the recommendation to think about volunteering at nursing homes. Also try stand along day surgery centers and any pediatric long term care/rehab programs in your area. (There’s always a need for younger volunteers to “play” with sick kids.) Also consider group homes for the physically or mentally disabled. And summer camps for disabled or chronically ill children.
Please realize that any volunteer position you are going to get initially probably won’t involved clinical contact with patients. Healthcare providers have an ethical obligation to first establish that volunteers aren’t going to do something that will put patients at-risk. Consider your shelf-stocking days as a trial period while the staff assesses your trustworthiness, reliability, honesty and ethicality.
If you want to kill two birds with one stone, you can get a job as dietary aide at a nursing home. Offers some limited clinical experience plus an hourly wage.