Volunteering at a Hospital or Clinic
Posted on | October 22, 2007 |
Here’s our first topic from Jenna B., our first guest blogger and our resident hospital expert!!
Volunteering at a hospital is much more than just “candy stripe-ing” - it can be a very fulfilling, educational and rewarding experience. Jenna Barke, a certified child life specialist & volunteer coordinator at Children’s Hospitals & Clinics of Minnesota, offers these tips of advice for interested volunteers:
I’m interested in volunteering at my local hospital. How do I get started?
Visit the hospital’s website. Most hospitals have a volunteer services office, and that office number will typically be available online. Some hospitals (like Children’s of Minnesota!) even have a volunteer services website with an online application.
At Children’s Hospitals & Clinics of Minnesota, prospective volunteers go through a three-part application process:
(1) Application
(2) Interview
(3) Orientation Session
What will my volunteer application involve?
Most hospital volunteer applications are similar to standard job applications. You will be working with medically fragile individuals in a highly confidential setting, so hospitals want to make sure that you are physically and emotionally capable of handling such a position.
In your application, you will provide information about your educational background, relevant work or volunteer experience (particularly any experiences in health care settings), and any special skills (such as foreign languages or face-painting) that might be an asset to your work with patients.
Most hospital volunteer applications also require at least one personal reference/recommendation letter, a copy of your immunization records (to make sure that all of your shots are up to date!) and a Mantoux (tuberculosis screening) test.
Check back tomorrow for the part two of Jenna’s article!!
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