SOS Week 1

Week 1 - Goals for Service:

After experiencing my first year as a Stetson student and Bonner Scholar, I decided to jump straight into another exciting experience of completing my first Summer of Service. I applied to donate my 280 hours of service to helping my local hospital - the hospital in which I was born! Serving at the hospital will essentially double as an internship - not by the definition of my position as a "college volunteer," but through my determination to get the most out of my time spent there. The volunteer director also encouraged me to be curious and to ask the nurses, doctors, and other staff if I may watch the way they operate.

On May 21, I met with the Indian River Medical Center volunteer services director for a final interview. Just half an hour into the interview, I was already getting my ID badge, scrubs, a packet of hospital guidelines to read, and a request to come in at 8:00AM the next day to be trained in the Cardiology & Radiology Hospitality Room.

I met a lively, sweet, elderly woman the next morning in the Cardio/Radiology Hospitality Room where she was waiting to meet her new trainee. I spent the next four hours with her learning the process by which I would be transporting patients' paperwork and my way around the second floor of the hospital to the different cardiology/radiology departments where I would be escorting the patients. 

The following Friday, I met another sweet woman who trained me for the position of manning the Surgical Hospitality Room. Working there will be a different type of experience, as family members of surgical patients are usually there for nearly an entire day. I believe it's important to assist these families by giving them updates of the status of their loved one who is having surgery and being as cheerful and helpful as possible.

I am looking forward to assisting individuals daily and learning as much as I possibly can about how the hospital operates. Ideally, I will also be able to sit in on some medical procedures. Overall, I am glad to be given this opportunity to receive insight about my potential career choice. I hope to find a career that serves people, is intellectually challenging, and is an added joy to my life. 

I'll be updating you all on my medical adventures soon!