Volunteer Work

<p>Hi, I am thinking about a career in medicine and was told that volunteering would be a good way to see if its right for me. I was told specifically to volunteer inthe ER. My question is, why the ER? Also, what do ER volunteers actually do? Any information is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance</p>

<p>Med school adcoms want to know that your first response to seeing a sucking chest wound will be "cool" and not "gross". The ED is a microcosm of the entire health care process and will usually give you far more exposure to the wacky world of medicine than the Dermatology ward. The ED is not a requirement, it is just a more likely source of medical exposure.</p>

<p>What will you be doing in the ED? Whatever the Charge Nurse damned well tells you to do. This is the person you suck up to. Expect a lot of running labs, finding pillows, and being a human patient restraint (for those of you over 200 lbs). It doesn't matter, it's all medical experience.</p>

<p>Performing work in the ED as a volunteer shows that you can keep up a tough academic schedule and forego the kegger for the benefit of your (very) common man. </p>

<p>Just remember to never be seen taliking to the only person lower in the hospital food chain than the volunteer: the second year med student.</p>

<p>How exactly do you go about getting a volunteer position at a hospital? I've gone on my city's health page with all the information about hospitals and whatnot and the only volunteer positions I can find are for taking care of kids while their parents are seeing the doctors, working at the cash register for a gift shop in the hospital, and that sort of thing. Would I have to call and ask specifically about volunteering in ____department?</p>

<p>This is where your school's pre-health advisory group can have a reason for existance. They should have the contacts in the local health community to set you up with the right people.</p>

<p>If not, consider going to a local MD that has hospital priveledges. You can always try to impress them with a 'son of a sharecropper" story.</p>

<p>i'll suggest checking the websites of all the hospitals around ur place, thts how i got in. its a good experience[however i must add, it was a very humbling experience for me(as mentioned above)...], try to get in the good books of some nurses and they might let u watch some procedures.</p>

<p>Hi, I just finished my junior year of high school, and was sent gallavanting across this forum when I posted a question like this in another forum... are we all highschoolers here, or do hospitals have problems with random 16 year olds running around the ER?</p>

<p>srsly.. volunteer in the ER.. how does that work.. hmm?</p>

<p>most of the hospitals ask for college students in the ER. other positions are freely available. you can still try for the ER, then settle for other positions if they don't want u in the ER. also, working in the emergeny is serious business. there a million ways where u can create a problem for the patients and the staff, if u aren't vigilant enough. so be sure u really wanna do it before signing up.
Usually, volunteers greet the patients, their families in the triage area, help with registration etc. also, u help make the patients more comfortable, see if there is anything they want(the most critical part of the job, give someone water{for example} when he or she is not supposed to hv it, u're done for!). Also, u help the staff locate patients etc etc etc.
hard work but its worth it 'cos its the only way to actually make a difference before u get into med school</p>

<p>if you volunteer with the ER.. then dont you have to go through the hospital first? Do all hospitals allow their students to work in the ER.. Or do you just contact the ER doctor?</p>

<p>contact the social service dept in your hospital</p>

<p>If you know a doctor in the ER, then you can just go to them. Usually there's a computer to log hours but as long as you have a sponsor for proof then you should be fine. I initially started out in the ER just running lab samples and pulling stretchers and little things, but I knew one of the doctors in the ER so after a couple visits, I just changed my schedule from what the hospital gave me to hours when the doctor was there. He let me shadow him and actually see all the patient-doctor interactions and assist him directly in a variety of ways. He also introduced me to other doctors who in turn let me come with them if there was an interesting case that they were covering or if they needed someone's help. If you tell the doctor that you want the experience and exposure and that you're planning on going to med school they'll be more willing to help. The majority of volunteers in my hospital weren't even thinking about a career in medicine.</p>