Over the weekend I heard from the lady in child life. She told me that to volunteer with the department there was a four month requirement. I was frustrated because when I contacted child life back in September, they never mentioned a fourth month commitment. Similarly, the lady in volunteer services never mentioned a four month commitment either. I began thinking about it and decided that a four month commitment could be a good thing. I am wanting to become a child life specialist and must serve a 600 hour unpaid internship before I sit for the exam. I have already submitted my applications for the 600 hour internship (which has to be served after graduation). However, if I don't get an internship at one of the eleven hospitals I've applied to, at least I will have volunteer experience under my belt for my applications due in the fall. I also found out that there is a required shadowing day to volunteer with child life. I was so excited to hear that this was a requirement because I was looking for a shadowing opportunity during my volunteer experience.
Today I went to Greenville and got my volunteer badge made. My volunteer badge allows me to park in gated parking and be identified throughout the hospital. After I got my volunteer badge made, I ventured down to the uniform shop in the bottom of the hospital. I felt like I was behind the scenes of an extraordinary operation. It made me stop and realize how big the hospital really is, and how many professionals are needed to keep it running. I had to wait about 20 minutes for the uniform lady to return from lunch. After some time, I was able to purchase my coral colored polo shirt embroidered with the hospital logo and volunteer services. After my three hour adventure at the hospital picking up my uniform and volunteer badge, I headed back to Spartanburg.
Before I headed to the hospital I was also able to speak with someone from child life about what hours I will be able to volunteer. She explained that there were certain shifts. She also mentioned that I would have to complete an orientation through child life. I will complete my orientation tomorrow at 10:00 am. At that time I will set up my volunteer shifts. There is a morning shift, afternoon shift, and night shift. I am going to try and plan my shifts to work around my spring schedule, so I can continue to volunteer after interim. I am excited about all the progress that was made today with my interim experience and I am so thrilled to learn all about child life during my orientation tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment