SOS Week 7

Volunteering is partaking in an activity without compensation and, therefore, is often accomplished to the bare minimum. Serving, on the other hand, is a gift one performs out of love for another living being and is undertaken with dedication and enthusiasm. Serving at the Indian River Medical Center absolutely changed my definition of serving. At first, I was not sure if I would be burnt out by the end of the summer from putting in so many hours in such a short amount of time at the same place. Yet, serving my time in such a dense manner actually made it a more worthwhile, rewarding investment. I met at least 100 new people - volunteers, staff, patients and families - and became close with many of them. We faced challenges together, the main one being the struggle for consistent communication between staff, patients and their family members. The reason for the lack of communication was simply because of the hectic schedule the doctors have to juggle. During surgeries and such, unexpected situations come into play and can cause a delay and/or extension of the time patients and their families have to be at the hospital. The volunteers and I tried to lessen this tension by communicating with the doctors, giving updated statuses to the waiting family members, offering them directions to the cafeteria, café, or gift shop, and engaging in conversation with them. Many people appreciated the assistance and acknowledgement. In return, I learned a valuable skill of being comfortable in professionally and effectively communicating with “coworkers” and “customers.”
The best part about my summer of service was getting to know so many new, wonderful people and knowing that I contributed a large amount of my time and energy to making life easier for others. I strongly believe that living a stress-free life is the healthiest lifestyle, and I feel I reduced the stress of staff, patients, and families at IRMC by being positive and helpful in every way I possibly could. The “worst” part of my service was not actually a negative component, but was simply the fact that I wish I could have worked more in-depth helping people. Nonetheless, I have that to look forward to in my career in the medical field. 
The person who comes to mind when I think about their attitude towards my summer of service project is Maureen Luther,
the director of volunteer services at IRMC. She was never short of cheerful and kind, with both her words and her actions. She always praised me for my service and made me feel as though the work I was doing there, although simple, was important to many individuals. She inspired me to keep up my hard work by bragging about my “Audrey standard” and by telling me the positive things said by other staff members and volunteers at the hospital. I felt that my work was paying off and making the difference that I had hoped it would for others.
In the same way, a wonderful woman named Judy who worked in the cardiac catherization department would generously thank me for my service and for doing such an excellent job in the position of communicating with the families of patients who may be in raw emotional states due to unfortunate results about their loved ones. She always (and I mean always) had a cheerful, warm aura about her that could make anyone feel comfortable and safe. This, of course, is vital for a person who works next to unwell patients who need support and compassion. Also, Judy was very careful to make sure she always fairly tended to everyone under her care and was very precise about her communication of information. Judy is a true inspiration, and reminded me of who I consistently aim to be, showing me that it is absolutely possible.
Dedicating my summer to service rather than “selfishness,” as the statement phrases it, was somewhat scary. Two hundred and eighty hours of my summer would cut it straight in half. It actually consumed more than half of my summer vacation because I spread out my hours more liberally. I did come in contact with several people who were impatient or difficult to deal with, which made me somewhat uncomfortable, but I realized that it was an important, character-building experience. I also understood the reasons behind people’s emotions and I kept the patients and families in my prayers. I sometimes fear that I may be in their shoes one day, facing the reality that I have, or a loved one has, a serious medical issue. Yet, that only makes me more understanding of the patients and makes me want to work towards advancing preventative care and cures. Looking forward to a career in health is where my hope lies and is what gives me courage to work towards it through my education and experiences.
In my service, I occasionally get exhausted of the type of work I do because I am anxious to be in a higher position, such as the doctors. However, reflection helps me to connect the dots of my smaller tasks to the "larger picture” and the tremendous good that is done in other’s lives. I also realize that my service does not quite yet reach a global level, but my goal is that one day I will be able to serve others with medical care that will globally improve individuals' health. Working on a global scale, I can only imagine, will be extremely different than working in an American hospital. Even so, serving at IRMC, I was exposed to more elderly, sickly people with which I usually come in contact. I was given a glimpse into the lives they live each day - the pain, discomfort, stress, taking of medications, and probably countless other things I do not know about. My heart goes out to them and my compassion for people, in general, has grown substantially. As a result, I feel a greater calling to become a medical professional and to not waste any time in trying to help others. This explains my “community need, work challenge, or public issue” that I have "given the most deliberate, critical, analytical thought to this summer” and “one issue or challenge [I] would like to be a more respected authority on.”
Overall, serving at Indian River Medical Center was an easily enjoyable experience because of the wonderful people I was able to work alongside every day and because I was learning about my passion for health and helping people. By the time my last day of service came around and I got my hours signed off, it officiated an incredible accomplishment and stamp in my future in health care.
:)