Share your bliss

My advice to those thinking about volunteering at a hospital..a couple things:

1.) Keep an open mind. Don't be deterred by difficult, unhappy, or angry patients. Sometimes it just takes a bit of time to speak with them to get them to open up, lighten up, and smile. And sometimes they won't ever. But you have to try. They deserve it.

2.) Push your boundaries. It is much more rewarding when you visit with different types of patients each week. This could be age--alternating between pediatric and adult floors, or severity--going to the intensive care unit from time to time. You can learn more, plus, all the patients get attention.

Volunteer at Fairview!

I would highly recommend volunteering at Fairview. It is excellent patient care experience. I have seen a Berlin heart, GI tubes, chemotherapy patients, and a host of other medical problems that are terrible and heartbreaking and interesting. I have leaned so much about other people, myself, and life. I couldn't think of any problem with the volunteering system Fairview has set up. The application and screening process seemed a little extensive, but in retrospect, I am glad they are so selective, such vulnerable patients are at risk here!

Reach for the stars.

Goal: increase confidence

I was definitely able to increase confidence through my time at Fairview. One patient, a 16-year-old girl, was bed-ridden and had been for two weeks. She had requested a visitor, but when I got to her room, she didn't seem to want me there. After chatting with her for a few minutes, I realized the problem: simply, she is shy. I just started speaking freely about my day and the crush I had on my coworker. Soon, she was telling me about her prom dress and the boy who asked her out who she didn't know if she liked but her friend said she should go out with him because he had cute eyes. You know, typical 16-year-old girl stuff. It was so fun. And I felt like my confidence in opening myself up gave her the courage to do so too.


Goal: show initiative

I realized that at the hospital, nobody has time to hold your hand. You are, after all, only a volunteer. If you have a question or concern, you need to find the appropriate person to express you concern to. You have to. You can't be wishy-washy about it. You have to be direct and purposeful. I think this is an important skill to keep throughout my life, especially as a physician. You need to go out and do things yourself. Ask questions you don't want to ask. Go after the tough things that no one else wants to go after.

Insight.

Through this experience, I honestly did some soul searching nearly every week. I don't know if it was the fact that I was in such close proximity to my future career, my future life, but I just love every minute of being in hospitals.

One thing I learned about myself is that I will be a doctor someday. I mean, I know it is impossible and scary and never-ending, but it is the only thing I want to do with my life. Nobody could talk me out of this.

Another thing I learned about is my strong compassion for both the elderly and children. It seems to be the vulnerability aspect that really makes me feel the need to protect them from their illness, disease, dangers, etc. I know these age groups are at opposite ends of..life. So maybe this new knowledge about myself only makes it more confusing as to what area of medicine I am interested in.

I also learned that perhaps I am interested in areas of medicine that see recurring patients. I like the relationship you can build with a relationship, and I like that you can see the patient throughout their life. There is one little boy at Fairview that I have now known for almost a year. This, of course, is very sad that he has been in the hospital this long, but I do love that I have built a bit of a relationship with this boy.

Nurses, and everyone else!

I mostly learned about nurses, because that is who I dealt with the most. They do such great work! And what a difficult job! There was this one nurse who knew the type of baby food her patient liked and went to the cafeteria to get it for him!

I also learned a lot about all the different people that make a hospital work. There are so many different people, all with important roles.

Life of a Physician

It is interesting (and a little discouraging) to see that doctors play a small role in patient care, and this is pretty strictly the job of the nurses. I really like this aspect of health care, and I wish it was more a part of the physician's role.

It is very wonderful to see a patient week after week, and see improvement. It is a great driving force to keep me motivated to be a doctor someday and help so much!

the good and the bad

My Likes:

-I loved playing with little kids and forming relationships with the patients

-I love being in hospitals with all the doctors running around

-I love listening to stories of elderly patients and hearing all their good advice about life

My dislikes:

-.......

Patient Visitor

There are many volunteer positions at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview. My position is called a Patient Visitor. While a very easy and rewarding position, it is not difficult or complex. You visit patients. Plain and simple. Simply perfect.

Patients request visitors, and you get a list of these patients at the beginning of your shift. You can then go around to these patients' rooms and visit with them. I tend to stick to the pediatric floors. On these floors, you see patients from ages 0-18 (my favorite!) I get to play games with 7 year old princesses, rock 30 day old babies to sleep, and chat with 16-year-olds about their brand-new prom dress. It's perfect.

Basics

The University of Minnesot Medical Center, Fairview balances the latest in technology and treatments with patient-centered care. It is the core teaching hospital of the University of Minnesota Medical School, as well as among the most respected in the nation.

It is located on the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus, and is an easy access for pre-medicine and medical students.