Volunteering can be a first step to the career of the young nursing student, who wants to get into the hospital of their dreams, and also for a migrant newcomer. With the volunteer experience, chances to get a better job position or join particular educational program increase.
According to some research on 2014, 1 out of 4 Americans are volunteers. In fact, even the US President Barack Obama, became a regular volunteer at the charity Martha’s Table and distributed food to the needy.
Free labor is used in almost all fields ranging from working with children or the elderly to the multi-million dollar Hollywood filmmaking. Therefore, to protect volunteers and their rights from the fraud and possible abuse, the US Department of Labor has set six clear criteria for when internships in commercial companies can be not paid:
– When an internship is a training;
– When the learned experience is useful for the intern;
– When an intern does not replace the worker, but rather works under his direction;
– When the employer does not receive direct benefits from the activities of the intern;
– When the intern does not necessarily get job placement after the internship;
– When the employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to payment for the time spent in the internship.
Benefits and Cases for Nursing Students
Volunteering in a hospital will give you a sense of belonging. If you are a nurse-to be, you will have a deep connection with the local community. The sooner you will embark on the medical ground, the better nurse you will be. Exposing yourself to a real hospital environment will give you the chance to see the different relationships among patients, doctors and nurses. It would give you a better idea on how to deal with people coming from different background.
Volunteering will help you develop professionally. Not only will you get an insider’s view from work, you would also be able to make connections that would be beneficial for your future career. Moreover, if you do well in your internship, some medical institutions would offer you a job after you complete the training program.
Volunteering is helpful for immigrant nurses who have a degree in their native country but would need experience to work in the US. It is often one of the most important conditions of recruitment, having practical experience in the field would go along nicely with your degree and the training you accomplished so far.
Volunteering would bring change in your life. It would bring a sense of accomplishment that you’d made a difference in the lives of other people. It would also give you a lot of opportunities to go abroad and help the less development countries in need of extra medical assistance. There is a huge selection of volunteer programs with different requirements.
Here are some of them:
http://www.volunteermatch.org/
http://www.idealist.org/
https://www.usa.gov/volunteer
Hospice as a Place-To-Be For Volunteer Nurses
Hospices are organized on the basis of the Catholic Charity Center which focuses on health care. It’s funded by Medicaid national program, which determines how much sponsorship, what particular services each institution should get and the distribution of volunteers in each institution. Usually, each Hospice performs up to 11% of services at the expense of the labor of volunteers. Under Medicaid funding, each patient has approximately 143 dollars. This amount allows HOSPICE to employ a social worker and a priest, buy the necessary equipment and medicines.
There is a huge variety on what a hospice volunteer could do, from providing psychological support for patients to even giving legal assistance to the family. Volunteers also help in the organization. A special training is organized for the volunteers such as teaching about self-care techniques or taking care of patients in critical conditions. It is a great tool for those who want to improve their practical skills.
Universities also establish programs that allow students to volunteer abroad. These experiences will provide you with great recommendations for your future work. In fact, employers of prestigious companies give preference to students who not only have a good academic standing but also leads a prolific social life. Therefore, being a volunteer is extremely useful for medical students because not only would it look great in your resume, it would also give a better outlook on life.