hospital jobs

[Guest wab8611]

iw as wondering what kind of jobs are offered within a hospital that a regular person(student) could get without any type of degree..

 

i heard/read about several people on this forum working at hospitals, but i dont know for what kind of a job.

 

wab8611

[Guest purplefairy13]

not sure...maybe an orderly?? although its possible you may need to take a training course...

if all else fails, you can volunteer (no pay, but good experience )

 

good luck!

[Guest wab8611]

yeah i plan on volunteering, but see this year i decided to slack off a little bit and didnt hand in an application. now i find myseld with nothing to do..

[Guest uteng]

Without any type of degree? Really? I assume you mean summer jobs.

 

There may be some lab assistant jobs in academic hospitals. Maybe a university co-op in some IT departments (Comp Sci., business, health studies), project managment jobs (also health studies), fundraising (business, rec&leisure), medical engineering (engineering), finance (econ, business).

 

I think these summer/co-op are quite tough to come by. The reason jobs without requiring any degrees/diplomas (university or college) would surprise me is that there are a lot of unions in hospitals which usually protect jobs and related tasks for their members. There's also not that many low skill jobs in a hospital since they have been hit hard by recent budget cuts and they outsource a lot of non-core competencies.

[Guest leviathan]

Uteng pretty well hit the nail on the head for your question...AFAIK, any jobs that you might get at a hospital which you would be trained for are now filled by contract companies. Examples would be the janitorial services, or cafeteria services. I would call up your local hospitals and try to find out more, though. You might be able to find something somewhere if you do some searching.

[Guest satsumargirl]

Hey,

 

I'm not sure what kind of training you may need. But perhaps a paid companion? Many of our long-term/chronic pts have these. They are not hospital employees. The families hire them from other companies but you do get interaction with patients and can see what it's like to be in a hospital. Things I see them doing are, reading the paper, going for walks, helping with lunch etc. The only potential problem I see is that if you are looking at just the summer, it is pretty short term. So, they may be reluctant to hire, since the pt and paid companion normally form a bond/friendship. So generally, they are around for even years (and are often regarded as family by the pt and family).

 

Other than that, perhaps a research position.

 

Good luck

Sats

[Guest NurseNathalie]

I would really suggest that you make an appointment at your local hospital, and find out from them what are the summer job opportunities for students....

 

I think it really depends on the hospital. I agree that in a unionized environment, not all jobs are available to new staff (especially if short term) but our hospital had a "summer jobs for students" program, because the gov't paid a part of the student's salary.. there were specific jobs designated for the students, and these were approved by the union, etc.

 

might I also suggest the Universities?? there are many many opportunities (usually contract work) at most universities, especially in research - they are always looking for people!

 

good luck...

[Guest Isoceles]

Hi guys:

 

If I don't get in this year I am considering trying to get certified as an NA so that I can do that for the year. A girl I volunteered with at the hospital a year or two ago worked as one, and if I recall correctly she had taken a rather short course to be trained (I think it was only a week or two long, maybe even a weekend). Does anyone know anything about where I could find a course like this? (I'm in Calgary and I can't seem to find anything in western Canada on the internet) Anyone here worked as an NA?

Thx!

[Guest fierysweet]

I work at a hopital and we regularly hire students on a part-time basis to assist with data entry for various research projects, and to help us with general clerical duties such as filing, photocopying, typing letters, etc. We also recently hired a student for the summer to replace our research secretary and we hire a permanent one in the fall.

 

If you're looking for a temporary hospital job, your best bet is to contact the different departments directly. Avoid Human Resources because they will just tell you there's nothing. A lot of departments hire on a contract basis, and this is not affected by the unions.

 

Fierysweet

[Guest 2Late2Learn]

Hi %%WORD1%†11 -

 

I work in an Emergency Room (as a Registered Nurse) and thought I'd throw in my two cents worth.

 

We routinely have co-op/summer students in our department. Although they do not have any hands on patient care they do have the opportunity to help out in a number of ways and by doing so end up witnessing the workings of a busy emergency room. Most of the time they help by stocking shelves and gathering supplies, delivering things, making plaster slabs for splints, that type of thing. It seems every student who comes to us has a desire to enter the health care field and by the end of their experience have had an eye opening view that shows them what would be involved in such a career (albeit - limited to that in an emergency dept).

 

I think you stated that you were still in high school - so perhaps you could speak to a career counselor to help line things up for you. (In our dept all placements are arranged through the schools and the hospital - not individual applications from high school students.) Let them know of your interest and see if they can help.

 

You (on your own) can also contact the volunteer dept at the hospitals. Prior to nursing I used to volunteer at the hospital. I was able to chose from any area that interested me. I chose pediatrics - I would rock sick babies in the rocking chair when parents were at home getting some much needed rest, read/play with kids, etc. You can also chose to volunteer in areas that do not involve patients - such as delivery, paper work, etc. You also have the flexibility of choosing how many hours you would like to devote - unlike a job where you are required to work a set schedule. And believe me - most employees of any hospital are thankful and appreciative of the help that comes from volunteer workers. This provides an excellent reference on any resume as well.

 

As for the nursing aid program that you refer to - I'm not sure. But in Ontario the only role that I can think of that you may be referring to would be that of a RPN (Registered Practical Nurse) which used to be called an Assistant Nurse (yrs ago). Here it is a 2 year college program. I have never heard of a 1-2 week program for such a job. Perhaps Alberta is different though. If there is such a program out there - then certainly that would be an option for you too.

 

Purplefairy - I know our hospital got rid of orderlies several years ago and that there is no such role anymore. Most of them became RPNs or Porters (delivering patients to/from various areas in the hospital). Again perhaps this is just an Ontario thing - but there are no more orderlies here.

 

And... in closing... I wish we did have nurses aids and orderlies - I could certainly use their help in my everyday duties. Now - the RN just does it all! lol

 

Hope this gives you some insight - and good luck to you!

[Guest 2Late2Learn]

Not to change the topic ... just some more insight for you as to why we still need nurses aids and orderlies....

 

(Note: this is not to imply that toileting was their only duty. Just one of the ways that they could definitely help out)

 

The other day I get an elderly lady settled back into bed after she had used the commode at her bedside - just a few drops of urine had been eliminated... but "she was done" and was now nice and cozy under her warm flannels.

 

Just then a man comes in with active chest pain and I'm in the middle of hooking up the monitor/obtaining IV access/administering Nitro/ASA/obtaining a stat ecg/bloodwork/obtaining the doctors attention....

 

... and a family member of the little old lady pokes her head THROUGH the curtain and says... mom really has to go pee again.

 

Ahhh.... life in the ER.

 

LOL

 

(sorry - just had to add this - now back to the main question please)

[Guest blinknoodle]

If you are interested in working in a specific hospital, I suggest speaking with them directly or checking out their website. The variety of jobs will depend on the hospital.

 

Looking at St. Joe's (in London) employment website, they have a few jobs designated specifically as "summer student" under the non-unionized section. They vary from helping with recreation, to research help, to more clinical placements.

 

www.sjhc.london.on.ca/cor.../index.php

[Guest Future MSFer]

During the school year I wanted to work in a hospital. So I called HR (human recourses) and they said that for student they usually have job openings as clerks. So that might be the kind of job you may get. But you never know, just get into contact with HR (You can usually find the number on the hospital web site) and give them your resume. Tell them that you are a student and that you are interested in working in any department and see what they say. You have nothing too loose.