AndreaM Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 I've become a volunteer patient for my local medical program and it's pretty fun in a living-vicariously-through-others kind of way. As an added bonus they even pay me to do it. This Wednesday was my first day and we did abdominal exams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charles.sun9 Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 While I do congratulate you on your new-found job, can you give me some insights into what's a volunteer patient? Do you volunteer to be sick so doctors can practice on you? If such is the case, I hope you a lot of luck so you don't get anything serious or threatening for you health. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaM Posted September 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 No sickness is required. When the 1st and 2nd year students are learning their hands on skills for physical exams they get normal people to sit in and be their working model. Sometimes as a volunteer you are just yourself, like I was this week, and other times you get a script of what is wrong with you and you act out the symptoms. This week was abdominal exams and so the students discussed what they would be looking for, different signs of various diseases, where they would start, etc and then practiced auscultation, palpation and percussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaveSense Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 if they pay you its not volunteering is it? =] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaM Posted September 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 if they pay you its not volunteering is it? =] They call the payment a volunteer stipend which is meant to cover costs of parking, childcare, etc. The position is called a volunteer position and since I'm not required to come in and won't get a record of employment for it, I think it would still be considered volunteering rather than a job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avenir001 Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 lol i could never do that, but i guess they gotta learn somehow. are u looking forward to the more interesting exams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 I've become a volunteer patient for my local medical program and it's pretty fun in a living-vicariously-through-others kind of way. As an added bonus they even pay me to do it. This Wednesday was my first day and we did abdominal exams. Cool - we have already had three "practise people" so far. You guys are very helpful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnussey Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 if they pay you its not volunteering is it? =] Lots of volunteer positions offer "honourarium" to compensate for expenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaM Posted September 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 lol i could never do that, but i guess they gotta learn somehow. are u looking forward to the more interesting exams It was kind of weird sitting there in a gown while they talked about it, but pretty neat at the same time. The next set of session coming up are all musculo-skeletal ones like shoulder and hip exams. If I don't get into med next year I might get trained as a clinical teaching associate to teach the students how to do breast and pelvic exams. Those would be really weird, but the students have to learn somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnussey Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 It was kind of weird sitting there in a gown while they talked about it, but pretty neat at the same time. The next set of session coming up are all musculo-skeletal ones like shoulder and hip exams. If I don't get into med next year I might get trained as a clinical teaching associate to teach the students how to do breast and pelvic exams. Those would be really weird, but the students have to learn somehow. Brave woman...I'm comfortable with my doctor, but I hate every time there's a group of students with him (one is all right, but a group turns you into an object rather than a human being awfully quick). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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