Interview question about hospital volunteering

[ilovemedi]

Hello everyone,

I've volunteered at a community hospital for ~two years, doing basic duties like get patients water/food, wheelchair sometimes, some clerical here and there. Nothing 'out of the ordinary'/crazy happened while I was there (patients were recovering & sleeping most of the time).. tbh, since I only volunteered 1 a day (4 hrs) everything was basic.. I did get to talk to patients once in a while (if they wanted to talk) about random things to make there stay comfortable (weather, grandchildren, etc), but again that was it.

My question - when interview time comes around, if my interviewer asks about "one of my most meaningful experiences while at the hospital" is it okay if I say "making the patient's stay comfortable as possible, like getting them water" which is how I felt useful?? is that a bad response??? or would [the interviewer] expect more?

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[music2doc]

Hello everyone,

I've volunteered at a community hospital for ~two years, doing basic duties like get patients water/food, wheelchair sometimes, some clerical here and there. Nothing 'out of the ordinary'/crazy happened while I was there (patients were recovering & sleeping most of the time).. tbh, since I only volunteered 1 a day (4 hrs) everything was basic.. I did get to talk to patients once in a while (if they wanted to talk) about random things to make there stay comfortable (weather, grandchildren, etc), but again that was it.

My question - when interview time comes around, if my interviewer asks about "one of my most meaningful experiences while at the hospital" is it okay if I say "making the patient's stay comfortable as possible, like getting them water" which is how I felt useful?? is that a bad response??? or would [the interviewer] expect more?

You should have a story and it should demonstrate something that school wants to hear. At a school like OHSU, GT, SLU, CU, Creighton, etc. (all underserved focused schools), for instance, you might talk about a pt you met who ended up in the ED due to major access issues and what you learned from him/her. Your response as-is lacks depth, IMO. It might get you a "pass" if the rest of your app and interview were stellar but alone it's a bit lackluster. They should hear excitement and passion in every word. Something that sounds like a "duty" of your position is probably not going to generate that sentiment for the interviewer.

 

[NeuralNetwork]

Hello everyone,

I've volunteered at a community hospital for ~two years, doing basic duties like get patients water/food, wheelchair sometimes, some clerical here and there. Nothing 'out of the ordinary'/crazy happened while I was there (patients were recovering & sleeping most of the time).. tbh, since I only volunteered 1 a day (4 hrs) everything was basic.. I did get to talk to patients once in a while (if they wanted to talk) about random things to make there stay comfortable (weather, grandchildren, etc), but again that was it.

My question - when interview time comes around, if my interviewer asks about "one of my most meaningful experiences while at the hospital" is it okay if I say "making the patient's stay comfortable as possible, like getting them water" which is how I felt useful?? is that a bad response??? or would [the interviewer] expect more?

Sounds good. Also, part of making a patient comfortable is just being there to listen to them. This can make a great segway conversation about the importance of listening in health care if you're authentic.

 

[ilovemedi]

You should have a story and it should demonstrate something that school wants to hear. At a school like OHSU, GT, SLU, CU, Creighton, etc. (all underserved focused schools), for instance, you might talk about a pt you met who ended up in the ED due to major access issues and what you learned from him/her. Your response as-is lacks depth, IMO. It might get you a "pass" if the rest of your app and interview were stellar but alone it's a bit lackluster. They should hear excitement and passion in every word. Something that sounds like a "duty" of your position is probably not going to generate that sentiment for the interviewer.

I didn't mean it to sound like it was my 'duty'. I loved everytime I went, but I didn't do anything major, because I wasn't volunteering at the emergency dept or anything. Also, by 'major access issues' do you mean people who didn't have access to hospitals because of lack of health insurance? at my hospital I believe you needed some sort of insurance.

 

[music2doc]

I didn't mean it to sound like it was my 'duty'. I loved everytime I went, but I didn't do anything major, because I wasn't volunteering at the emergency dept or anything. Also, by 'major access issues' do you mean people who didn't have access to hospitals because of lack of health insurance? at my hospital I believe you needed some sort of insurance?

That could certainly be one aspect of "access." Perhaps some of these people were there for operations and wondered how they were going to afford their care. Perhaps some of these people ended up there because they didn't have a PCP (e.g., condition could have been prevented had a regular checkup been done). Perhaps some of these people ended up there due to their own choices. Perhaps some pts ended up returning to your unit time and time again because of their own choices (which led to repeat exacerbations of a chronic illness or similar). The possibilities are endless. What I am suggesting is that you do more reflection on what you learned. You want to be able to give stories of patient interaction:

"One day, we had a young patient -- about 17 years of age -- who ended up on our psychiatric unit due to her 3rd attempt at suicide over her short lifetime. When I looked at her chart, I realized she had had her first attempt in junior high and that the second attempt was only a few months ago. I went and talked to her and found out her parents were recently divorced after her dad discovered her mom had been cheating with another man. She said she felt it was her fault. I had never realized before what an impact a person's family can have on a person. This girl had almost died multiple times before even graduating high school! She mentioned she had seen counselors on and off throughout junior high but it was just too expensive for her to see one regularly and her parents could never afford any medications for her; not that it really mattered, since she doesn't think medications work anyway and refused them when she did have them. I really wondered after this how I might approach this issue with her. I ended up talking with a few of the nurses and our unit psychiatrist. They suggested some additional questions to ask and then simply listening. We also brainstormed some exercises to help this girl to focus on her personal strengths. I am happy to say it's been a over a year and I have not seen her on the unit since!"


What does that story demonstrate to you? What are some of things I learned from that situation? Most importantly, would someone who navigated that issue with a patient (before medical school) be someone you would want as your doctor someday?

I don't volunteer in a hospital setting -- I have worked in several different tech roles instead -- so my experiences haven't really been quite the same as yours, but something like that would be good. While the above story is a true story from my point of view as a tech (with some very significant changes to protect identities, etc.), I could see some of our in-patient hospital volunteers having similar stories -- perhaps not about SI, but certainly about something involving similar principles (access issues, biopsychosocial influences on disease processes, empathy, lessons learned, patient suspicion of medicine/healthcare, in-depth clinical experience, etc.).

 

[ilovemedi]

I don't volunteer in a hospital setting -- I have worked in several different tech roles instead -- so my experiences haven't really been quite the same as yours, but something like that would be good. While the above story is a true story from my point of view as a tech (with some very significant changes to protect identities, etc.), I could see some of our in-patient hospital volunteers having similar stories -- perhaps not about SI, but certainly about something involving similar principles (access issues, biopsychosocial influences on disease processes, empathy, lessons learned, patient suspicion of medicine/healthcare, in-depth clinical experience, etc.).

Wow, yeah I have never encountered a suicidal patient before. However, I have encountered a depressed patient that I'd had seen for a few weeks while volunteering there. And me and another volunteer made him feel more comfortable by forgetting he was at a hospital for a little while. Also, I volunteered about 2 years ago so I don't remember every experience per se, only the important ones. (I'm going to start at volunteering again at another hospital this April mainly because the last time was during the start of my sophomore yr; and for my yr off I want more clinical experiences).

 

[music2doc]

Wow, yeah I have never encountered a suicidal patient before. However, I have encountered a depressed patient that I'd had seen for a few weeks while volunteering there. And me and another volunteer made him feel more comfortable by forgetting he was at a hospital for a little while. Also, I volunteered about 2 years ago so I don't remember every experience per se, only the important ones. (I'm going to start at volunteering again at another hospital this April mainly because the last time was during the start of my sophomore yr.)

I would encourage you to think back to that depressed patient since you worked with him for a few weeks. Consider what you could have learned from that experience and learn it now! (There's nothing wrong with learning as you reflect on something. Heck, the time away gives new perspective, so think back to it and try to reconstruct some of what was said. Consider how you might approach that situation if presented with it again as a premed or later as a medical student or physician. If you can't remember details, don't be afraid to fill in the blanks. Try not to embellish, but if you have to make up some dialogue that got you from point A to point B and it's reasonable/possible, I think that can be fair; just remain honest. Don't make your role out to be something it wasn't.)

Also, I'd suggest going for patient advocacy types of volunteering positions. These tend to be the best for in-pt since they involve you in the case management and clinical aspects of the day-to-day business of the floor you're on.

 

[hmainn]

When I would think about my basic volunteer time at a big hospital that I did a couple years ago, I couldn't really think of anything crazy or super memorable. But when I read some volunteer journal entries, I was amazed by how many wonderful people and stories I had encountered.

I recommend everyone to keep some sort of volunteer journal. It's definitly difficult to remember small but great events once they are far removed by time. Once application time comes, you can not only recall the story, but also some intricate details which will give the personal statement a nice touch

I actually realized a lot more things, since I was reading them again with more life experience. Recalled on a few special ones during my interviews, and I had all the interviewers smile (except the notorious stonefaced one)...

 

[Owlie]

I'd say something about how you didn't just make a change in others, but how others made a change in YOU.

 

[candav]

I'd say something about how you didn't just make a change in others, but how others made a change in YOU.

Yes! I have never heard of this question being asked in an interview, but I imagine a "This is how I helped them..." response would seem a bit narcissistic. Why not talk about a experience you had with a patient that taught you something about medicine?

 

[Owlie]

Yes! I have never heard of this question being asked in an interview, but I imagine a "This is how I helped them..." response would seem a bit narcissistic. Why not talk about a experience you had with a patient that taught you something about medicine?

Great add-on to my statement! I'm sure this can be said in many different questions as well. It would be a good thing to bring up either way!

 

[music2doc]

Yes! I have never heard of this question being asked in an interview, but I imagine a "This is how I helped them..." response would seem a bit narcissistic. Why not talk about a experience you had with a patient that taught you something about medicine?

I'm going to have to say this is very circumstantial. If you were a volunteer on an in-patient oncology unit and walked in on a 20 y/o female patient attempting suicide with her bed sheet draped over the bathroom door after being informed she had breast cancer and the only viable option was a complete mastectomy, I would absolutely talk about the results of your vigilance in checking on patients, your empathetic approach, your alertness to the situation (i.e., noticing she had the bed sheet in an odd location, etc.), and so on. (We will assume she never made any SI statements prior and was, therefore, not on a watch.)

Of course, if all you did was get the patients water, you probably don't have much to talk about in terms of your contribution; however, you were almost certainly appreciated by the pts. The truth is that we, as clinical staff, often get overwhelmed with the rest of our duties and, frankly, patient requests are the first thing to go when I have 2-3 admits to do (each taking 30-45 min of my time between everything else), 7-10 patients to chart on (about 10-15 min/patient), q15m rounds (5-10 min/round every 15 min -- v/s, s/s, etc.), and so forth to do each shift. (That was how my in-pt shifts as a tech were.)