Part Two: Volunteering at a Hospital
Posted on | October 23, 2007 |
Missed the first part of this article? Read it here!
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:
What about the interview and orientation?
At my job at Children’s, we tell applicants to approach their volunteer interview as they would a job interview. Dress professionally, speak clearly (make eye contact!), and articulate your reasons for wanting to spend time in a hospital setting. What makes you someone who could successfully connect with people who are sick or injured?
Children’s also holds a mandatory three-hour orientation session for all new volunteers.  During this training time, volunteers learn the “nitty-gritty†details of the hospital, such as infection control policies, patient safety regulations, and emergency protocol.
On their first day, new volunteers are paired with an experienced volunteer to “shadow†as they are introduced to the hospital. After that, volunteers are typically allowed to work on the floors on their own.
What hospital areas are volunteers typically assigned to?
Volunteers can work just about anywhere! Listed below is just a sampling of the volunteer areas at Children’s:
- Patient care units (inpatient floors)
- Infant Care Center (for newborns & premature babies)
- Hospital lobbies/welcome centers
- Gift shop
- Surgery waiting rooms
- Cafeteria/nutrition services
- Clerical/administrative areas (copy center, mail room, etc.)
- Pharmacy
At Children’s, we try to match volunteers to their interests: for example, if a volunteer is interested in rocking babies, we will assign them to the nursery Infant Care Center. If they are interested in working with children with cancer, we will place them on the oncology unit…and so on & so forth!
Check back tomorrow for the rest of Jenna’s article!! Have a question for Jenna? Email us!
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