First Day!

So my first day volunteering consisted of only 1 hour, but it was mostly familiarizing myself with my assigned post. From what I've heard, the maximum number of volunteer positions at BT are all filled, so I consider myself very lucky to have a spot. I was assigned (and still currently assigned) to the 3rd floor Nursery! I was so excited and nervous because even though I love little babies I have very little experience with them. A bulk of my time was spent getting to familiarize myself with the "stock room". This is a lot of what I will be doing as a volunteer in the nursery. I restock the nursery cribs and shelves with items such as blankets, bottles, formula, diapers, and clothes. All of these items come from a large stock room in the center of the floor. The first hour I spent flew by very fast because I am working in such a fast past environment, and the nurse that showed me around, Bella, was super busy so she kept me busy with restocking while she was busy going to the individual rooms to assess patients. There were no newborns in the nursery at the time I was there, which I was told was very rare, but I was only there a hour and I will definitely get to see them next time!


Next ---> Babies!

Training

A few days after I turned in my TB test and the final copy of my "contract" stating general rules about patient confidentiality and rules and regulations regarding volunteering at Ben Taub, I had a very quick overview training and tour of the hospital. I had only visited Ben Taub once before so the tour around the facility was very beneficial since I am not familiar with the surroundings. I explored around the hospital with my tour guide, Angela, who is also a volunteer at Ben Taub and has been volunteering for almost a year now. I respect that the volunteer services are very strict about the rules to follow for being volunteer. We have to wear black or khaki slacks with a white collared shirt, as well as a oversized blue vest that is provided by the volunteer coordinator (the blue vest is actually really hideous, but it's so we stick out as volunteers). I got a picture for my ID badge which I must wear at all times and finally, I got to go over my ideal schedule with Elizabeth, the volunteer coordinator. There volunteer availability is from 8-6 Monday thru Friday, so I knew I would have to have a morning shift to go along with my school and work schedule. A total of at least 3 hours per week are required to maintain a good volunteer status, so all in all I got assigned a shift from 8:30-11:30 on Wednesday mornings. The good thing about morning shifts is that there are less volunteers, so there are more open opportunities for patient contact experience!

So..that is all for this blog entry for now :) Next, I will share what unit I got assigned and what I will be doing!

Next ---> First Day!

TB Test

I wanted to do a blog entry about TB testing since my orientation for volunteering at Ben Taub clearly kept emphasizing the importance of getting a TB test when working in a clinical environment. I know I am very behind on blog entries! But I do have a pretty clear memory of my volunteer experience since I started at Ben Taub. I received my skin TB test about 2 months ago and not surprisingly I had a negative result. I have had at least 2 TB tests in the past due to volunteering at other clinical facilities, so I am very familiar with the process. It sounds really weird, but I think the TB skin test is really cool! I like the "bubble" that forms underneath the skin--neat! Ha ha ha...
Anyway, at this point in time I was very curious and anxious about what I would be doing at Ben Taub. The hospital is huge so I figured there would be a lot of different variety of things to help out in. I do admit, the process of volunteering does take a long time so I'm glad I had started applying early. My volunteer coordinator, Elizabeth Tise, is extremely sweet and helpful in trying to get my started as soon as possible! I do owe a lot to her for getting me situated at Ben Taub.

***by the way! Since I sadly neglected my blog :(  I am updating from the beginning of my experience to the end, even though some posts are supposed to reflect on my experience since October. So sorry for not updating asap!

Next ---> Training!