Volunteers provide a wide variety of essential services in health care settings, from patient care to administrative assistance. Many volunteers in the healthcare field are skills based volunteers, providing skilled services at hospitals or clinics in an effort to improve the quality of life of the individuals in those setting. In the healthcare field, people tend to seek volunteer opportunities to gain work-related experiences.
All my life I was interested in the medical field. Any medical conditions would grab my attention and I would get so interested about learning the different illnesses out there and even different body parts and their functions. I was also attracted to the idea of helping people. My parents are well educated, which partially explains why i take education seriously. My father is a Doctor of physical therapy. Seeing my dad as a physical therapist and how he’s helping others motivated me to do the same.
My mother has a bachelor degree in french literature. Although I had no definite career plans, from childhood, my parents instilled in me values, such as compassion and respect for others, stressing the importance of giving back to the community. I have patterned my life similarly. My decision to become a doctor did not come in a moment of blinding revelation, but as a result of a variety of experiences which began during my high school years. Before, attending college, however, I knew I would enter a profession which involved helping others.
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At the moment I am taking science courses as a part of my graduation requirement and so far not performing poorly. Academically, I chose to take science courses and even AP courses in high school such as psychology. I even volunteered in a hospital in my last year of high school. As I progressed in school and maturity, my interests evolved into the people-oriented aspects of medicine. But, the science courses at my high school left me ill-prepared for the rigors of a college curriculum. Ultimately, it was my experience as a volunteer at the pediatrician medical office which left the indelible mark on me and influenced my decision to become a physician.
For my service learning project I decided to volunteer at a pediatrics office. My experience volunteering there taught me alot. I did things such as taking vitals such and temperature, height and weight, asking patients reason for the visit, escort the patient to the doctors personal office or evaluation room, filing, and charting. I would also help other staff if they needed me to bring them anything. I would also sit at the front desk often answering phone calls or making phone calls. Towards the end of the day I would help clean up the office.
Working with children was harder than expected. Obviously, many children are afraid of the doctor, I personally was always afraid. To calm down the children and make them less afraid I would give them little treats such as lollipops or small toys. I would talk to them and read them books in the waiting room to make their doctor experience a little better. I often got a lot ideas from the doctor himself. He would give me advice about getting into medical school, what to expect, and how the job is itself.
Overall I learned a lot by volunteering and got an idea of what it would be like if I ever decided to go into pediatrics as a specialty. The experience gave me a good sense of what primary care entails, from infant check-ups to teenage angst. Doing my volunteer there just proved to me that I truly want to continue my path towards the medical field. I enjoyed every moment. All of the physicians revealed their love of their work to me. Day after day, I realized that’s really what I want to do as a career.
