By Karen Phan
High school students often volunteer to fulfill community service requirements or to strengthen their college applications. You shouldn’t be volunteering solely for those reasons, but if you’re the slightest bit interested in making someone smile and having a meaningful volunteer experience, then you should consider volunteering at a hospital.
You get to give back to the community.
Many hospitals depend on their volunteers for support services, and it’s an excellent way to ‘give back’ for the hospital’s service and care. As a volunteer, you’re improving the patient’s stay at the hospital, whether it be by helping doctors and nurses or by delivering magazines and flowers.
You’re part of an interdisciplinary team.
Effective teamwork is necessary to keep a hospital and the healthcare system up and running. Team dynamics come into play when volunteering at a hospital because most have specialized “committees,” such as gift shop or pediatric ward volunteers, that have their own responsibilities but ultimately work together to promote the wellbeing and safety of patients.
Gain experience in healthcare and explore medical careers.
If you’re interested in healthcare, volunteering at a hospital is an excellent opportunity to become familiar with the field and build your resume. Many high school and college volunteers begin volunteering with a specific career in mind but come to realize that there’s much more to healthcare than surgery or nursing.
Learn empathy, compassion and how to be a better listener.
Hospitals are scary places for patients and visitors, so it’s important that you’re sensitive to their feelings. As you continue to volunteer, you learn to recognize and validate a patient’s feelings. A human connection and the knowledge that you care about them makes their experience far more pleasant. One of the best ways to show patients and visitors that you care is by addressing their needs immediately and listening to them.
Improve communication skills and meet new people.
You interact with many people in a hospital, from your supervisor and nutrition workers to patients and visitors. There isn’t going to be one shift where you don’t meet someone new. Naturally, your communication and social skills improve. If you’re a quiet and shy person when you first volunteer, you’ll surely end your time at a hospital as a more outgoing person.
