Guest seonagh Posted November 27, 2003 Report Share Posted November 27, 2003 Hello all, I'm trying to get involve in some medical volunteering that will help put me in contact with patients and the health system. I'm finding it is not so easy to give of your time to the health system, i.e. there doesn't seem to be a way for me to get involved. I thought I had found a great opportunity to work with Palliative care patients which I really want to get involved in but they have training only once a year and made it clear that they are interested in people that are retired and not students. The training program just finished as well but it goes on at a time that I would definitely be in classes. I know that there are other volunteer opportunities that aren't medical in nature and I have a done a fair bit of women's center, food bank and environmental volunteering in the past and will get back to it now that I am able but the school I want to apply to specifically says in their admissions info that ... The Admissions Committee considers it important that you have some medically related experience. This can be volunteer work or paid work depending on your circumstances. Applications from individuals who do not have such experience are rarely acceptable to the committee. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I might be able to get involved? or in general who to approach? Has anyone had this problem in the past and overcome it. Thanks, Sheena Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest justanotherpremed Posted November 28, 2003 Report Share Posted November 28, 2003 Hi, I can relate to your post: I'm not sure what city or even what country you live in , but I am assuming that it is Canada. I was born and raised in Saskatchewan, and I have to say that my experience with finding volunteer opportunities in health areas has been very similar to yours. All I can recommend are the things that I have done and that I have found helpful. You should remember that it is not the quantity that matters here, at least for the schools that I have applied to (OMSAS schools). 1. You should call the local hospitals in your area. My hospital has a volunteer services department. Hopefully, these people will be able to set you up with a volunteer experience. Personally, I was a volunteer in the emergency room. Although you may have heard stories (I certainly have) of this being an unsatisfactory experience, I would disagree. You will certainly get an idea of what it is like to work in a health area. You can also see how the real professionals in the field deal with the stressful and difficult problems in emergency medicine. 2. Try and get in touch with rehabilitation-type organisations. Personally, I got involved in a programs called Re-Treads. Basically, this programs allowed you to help an individual go through physical therapy to recover from a stroke. This type of this would allow you to see what physicians go through in terms of dealing with patients with more or less chronic problems. As i see it, these experiences are about you doing a couple of things: a) showing that you are compassionate and caring you finding out what the medical profession is like before you get in.... in other words, it is not logical to devote your entire life to a career you know nothing about. If you think about it, choosing medicine is a life choice because you will be learning and working with difficult problems for your entire life. Nonetheless, most physicians will tell you that they enjoy their jobs. In other words, its a huge commitment with great benefits. Anyways, these are just my opinions and I hope that they help you find what you are looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mying Posted November 28, 2003 Report Share Posted November 28, 2003 Just like the above poster, I can suggest a few things I've done that could have qualified. 1. Volunteering or even just "shadowing" in a hospital or clinic. In addition to getting an experience with why people seek medical help, it gives you a chance to see the medical team and really get a feel for the interplay of various professions and get a glimpse of health economics. 2. St. John Ambulance in most cities can give you a chance to be a first aid provider, which can give you some experience with patient care and the prehospital side of the health care system. 3. There are always opportunities to volunteer with special needs children, which can give you an unadulterated (literally)patient's-eye view of the health care system. Contacting local epilepsy, CP, or special needs support or rec centres will usually get you some more info on that, or you can do it on one of many online "peer mentoring" sites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 007 Posted November 28, 2003 Report Share Posted November 28, 2003 Hi, Lots of hospital volunteer programs only recruit for September and then for the summer too. I would call your local hospitals and find out more. Quite often, if you want to volunteer in July/August at some of the bigger hospitals in Ontario you need to apply in March. There are lots of other health realated organizations though. You can check out what sort of opportunities there are through clubs at your school. I know here at Queen's, there are lots of clubs that you can get health-related experience even through unlikely clubs. Also, places like Extendicare, or as mying suggested, St. John's Ambulance recruit more often. 007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest seonagh Posted November 28, 2003 Report Share Posted November 28, 2003 Thanks for all of the advice and suggestions. The palliative care org is through the hospital here and even the volunteer services folks were a little aloof as far as explaining the volunteer services they had. The one opportunity they do have is a "greeter" service to help people orient to the hosptial or show them where to go etc. I have a meeting to fill out an application for that in a few weeks. St John's ambulance is a great idea. I know that they put folks at the hockey games and things to provide first aid and that way I would be getting the first aid courses I would eventually need if I do ever get in :b I'm thinking as well that the AIDs coalition and the Cancer society locally may have some need of people for health care related work. I guess the biggest surprise was that the hospital volunteer services folks seem to discourage it and have expressed that they really want older people (I'm 30) that are retired. I wonder if they have had bad experiences with younger volunteers in the past??? Seonagh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest justanotherpremed Posted November 28, 2003 Report Share Posted November 28, 2003 Yes, it is very frustrating. Especially when you consider that there are many other challenges that the average pre-med goes through. GOOD LUCK!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eJaya Posted November 28, 2003 Report Share Posted November 28, 2003 Yes, it is sometimes tough to volunteer at a hospital. I know that in London and Toronto, there were always waiting lists. You may want to try a clinic (I volunteered in one that was run just twice a week by nurses who gave free checkups to the homeless) or a nursing home where you can help at mealtime to feed, help change bandages, etc. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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