15 May 2009

In this economy, many students may find it difficult to find a paid summer job.

Volunteering in a health care setting won’t fill your pockets with cash, but it can be a valuable learning experience that helps you prepare for a health career.

Where to find your first (unpaid) health care job

It won’t be hard to find health-related volunteer opportunities in your area. Start by defining what you want to get out of the experience.

• What types of health professionals do you want to work with?
• What health setting appeals to you?
• Are you interested in working with certain types of patients?
• Do you want to learn more about specific health issues?

Your answers to these questions will help focus your search. For example, if you want to volunteer in a hospital, visit your local hospital’s website or call the volunteer coordinator. If you want to help children who have cancer, call the pediatric oncology department or a non-profit organization devoted to the cause.

Talk to teachers, advisors, family members and neighbors. It may take a little effort, but you will find the perfect health-related volunteer opportunity.

Make the most of your volunteer experience

Approach your volunteer “job” with the same commitment you would give to a paying position. Be on time, be ready to learn, and accept every assignment with enthusiasm. The more you put into the experience, the more you’ll get out of it.

• Respect the rules. As a volunteer, there will be many things you can’t do, because you’re not a trained health professional yet. While you can’t perform medical duties, you can ask to observe. But don’t ignore your non-medical responsibilities.
• Ask questions. People like to share their knowledge, so take advantage of every opportunity to learn something new. But be respectful. Don’t interrupt people at work. Ask questions during a quiet moment, away from patients and visiting family. Ask about available books, journals or other resources you can look at to further your knowledge (when you’re not busy, of course).
• Seek mentors. Volunteering in a health setting is a great opportunity to build relationships with health professionals. Again, be respectful of people at work, but make it known that you’re interested in a health career and would like the opportunity to work with or observe health professionals in that field. Ask if you can observe a procedure or shadow a health worker for a few hours (after your other duties are completed).
• Be open to new opportunities. You may be absolutely positive that you want to become a physical therapist – and that’s great! But don’t blind yourself to other career paths that may be just as interesting. Volunteering gives you a chance to explore new options without committing yourself. Work in other areas, too. You may be surprised to find there are many career paths that appeal to you.
• Collect references. As your volunteer work comes to an end, ask the people you’ve worked with to provide you with a letter of reference. Most will be happy to write a letter for you, even if you don’t have an immediate need (such as a college or scholarship application). At a minimum, gather business cards or write down the full name, title and contact details for everyone you might want to use as a reference in the future.

Showcase what you’ve learned

Volunteer work is just as valuable as paid work to colleges and prospective employers. In fact, it may be more important, because the work is directly related to your chosen health career.

Include your volunteer activities on your resume, under an appropriate heading, such as “Health-Related Experience.” If all of your paid jobs have been in non-health fields, you may even want to put your health-related volunteer experience first.

• Keep a record. As a volunteer, you may be asked to do one thing one day, and something entirely different the next. Over time, it’s easy to forget all of the valuable skills you’ve learned. Keep a record of the various tasks you perform: a simple list that notes exactly what you did, which health workers you assisted, and any new knowledge or skills you acquired. This will make it easier to update your resume to accurately reflect everything you’ve learned.
• Spotlight skills. Present your volunteer positions with the same detail as your paid work. Describe your responsibilities and highlight your achievements.
• Learning counts. The real value of volunteering isn’t always what you do – it’s what you learn. For example, say you helped inventory surgical supplies. In the process, you probably learned a lot about the equipment used by the surgical team. Include that new knowledge in your job description.
• Give yourself a title. The word “volunteer” alone doesn’t tell anyone what you did. It just tells them you didn’t get paid. Tell the whole story by adding a job title that accurately describes the work you performed, such as “Volunteer Nurse’s Assistant” or “Volunteer Medical Records Clerk.” If one title doesn’t cover everything, use several. Underneath the organization’s name, list your various volunteer roles followed by what you did and what you learned in each role.

Volunteering in a health care environment is a great way to learn new skills, meet health professionals, and begin preparing for your health career.