volunteer/observation hours?

[vinganca]

I've been calling all the hospitals within < 2 hours' driving distance to get my inpatient volunteer/observation hours in, and so far am not having much luck. At most, I'm told they're full and cannot take any more volunteers. I have an interview set up at one that could be promising, but I'm still freaking out a bit.

I've been contacting the volunteer depts and asking to be placed as a volunteer in the inpatient PT department. Would it be of any use to contact the rehab departments directly and ask about setting up observation hours?

I'm not interested in stewing about how hard it is to get in for hours, but any practical advice anyone may have would be much appreciated. Those of you who have been there and done that, how did you go about setting up your inpatient/hospital-based hours? Who did you contact? Did you go through volunteer services, or did you have better luck contacting the rehab depts directly?

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[skibum2]

I went into the physical therapy department in person and asked if I could do some observation hours for PT school. The secretary set up an appointment for me with the rehab manager a few days later. I had a very informal interview with him and was actually offered a job as an aide.

If there is an outpatient PT clinic at the hospital I would try going there and asking about inpatient work. It is more likely to find someone in that office, as they don't have to move around to patient rooms, and the two departments are usually run by the same company. That's what worked for me...hope this helps!

 

[vinganca]

^^ that does help; thank you!

 

[DPTinFL]

From my experience, observating and being a volunteer are different. It is harder to get a volunteering position at a hospital because you need to fill out paper work, sometimes security clearance, go through HR, etc... because you are expected to help, interact, work, be hands on. During observation you are just a shadow and not expected to do anything and therefore is much easier to get.
Call the PT department directly and ask to be an observer, not a volunteer.

 

[vinganca]

During observation you are just a shadow and not expected to do anything and therefore is much easier to get.
Call the PT department directly and ask to be an observer, not a volunteer.

Thank you; I will do that. The only thing there is, when coming to the reference letters...wouldn't it look better to have been a volunteer? How is a PT going to evaluate me if I've just been standing around shadowing?

Or would it not matter? Are 'volunteer' and 'observation' given the same weight by adcoms (in general)?

I'd like to be hands-on, and I've got a possibility for that at a local hospital that's kind of out-of-the-way. (Great hospital, just really far from civilization...and thus maybe not flooded with a deluge of hopeful PT volunteers! One can hope!)

But if that doesn't pan out, I will start calling rehab depts directly and asking about observation. Thank you!

 

[oschrndz]

I am surprised you are having trouble getting a volunteer position at a hospital. Hospitals always need volunteers, that is odd. I suggest for you to get in the hospital and do the preliminary stuff to be a volunteer even if the volunteer positions in the inpatient rehab are "filled". Tell volunteer services you are going to volunteer in a different department or say that you want to get the process started in case an opening becomes available. Sometimes there is a miscommunication between the departments and volunteer services so do call the rehab department directly and show your interest in volunteering in inpatient. If the rehab department say they will take you in then volunteer services must follow through with that. Also, sometimes volunteers flake and stop showing up so that is why you want be ready to take that spot.
Does the hospital have a pediatrics rehab department? If you haven't done hours in pediatrics I suggest you get some experience there. Schools like to see student exposed in such setting.

But don't stress over it, you will get in.

 

[vinganca]

^^ I have gone through the orientation and all that to set up as a volunteer at three hospitals, and have put my name on the waiting lists (yes, there is a waiting list for inpatient PT volunteer spots around here ) but I'm not placing all my hopes on that.

Hospitals do always need volunteers...just not in the PT department. Since PT is the new "hot career" and all, there's a perpetual deluge of people trying to get inpatient hours there.

(yes, I am as bitter and frustrated as I sound. Will improve once I nail down observation hours somewhere.)

 

[lee9786]

Yeah it took me forever to start at the hospital. For some reason it took 5 weeks to do the background check for me. This is after 5 weeks of figuring out the who, what, and where to get shots and physicals.

I don't really get the whole observer vs volunteer concept. I'm technically a volunteer at the hospital and I can't touch patients. I just try to stay out of the way and carry the walker or follow behind in a wheelchair if needed. I'm simply an observer and I had to go through all the loopholes to get in. I am able to do things at the outpatient clinic I'm volunteering at. I really can't do much more than prepare/take off hot and cold packs and fold towels though.

 

[teacher2PT]

Do you have any contacts in a public school or school district? I would think you could easily link up with a PT who works for the schools, do a few observation hours there, and I'd think that therapist would have friends in other settings you could go observe. Sometimes all it takes is connecting with one PT who, after he/she meets with you a couple times can recommend you to a colleague and then from there you suddenly have plenty of people to observe. If you don't have contacts with a school, draft a letter that you can send to multiple principals stating that you'd like to observe PT if possible in their school or district. You might even contact your local district and see if there's a school that has a multitude of kids with disabilities; that school will likely have lots of kids needing PT. PT is one of the services covered by special ed law, so it's provided in every public school district. Most school personnel are happy to have observers. Good luck!

 

[vinganca]

good thought. But I need hours in an inpatient setting.

I mean, I'm doing hours in an outpatient clinic also (as well as an SNF if I can possibly swing it with my schedule) but the inpatient hours are the most important as this is what all my schools require. Unfortunately they also seem to be the most difficult to get.

I do have a contact with the PT dept at one of the hospitals in my area that I've been holding off on using just cos I feel like I should get things set up "on my own". But really, I should just take him up on the favour...the important thing is not how I get in for the hours; I just have to get them done!

 

[teacher2PT]

I forgot that little detail (the setting you need) when I responded I say use your contact...I have found it can be difficult to get your foot in the door. I have my neighbor to thank for my current observation setting: she was an OT there for several years so she knew the director extremely well. Good luck!

 

[Lizarde]

To volunteer in the hospital I had to take a 1/2 day orientation and get a TB test, all at the hospitals expense. So that could be why they aren't accepting volunteers. But honestly, observing is not much different. As a volunteer I was able to help with cleaning, folding, organizing, and fetching things but I couldn't actually touch a patient. The best interaction with the therapist was literally observing and asking questions.

For an inpatient setting, try a nursing care center type of place that is not inside a hospital.

 

[BumpTest]

Just to put my 0.02 in, but I gathered inpatient hours by becoming a volunteer. I did have to go through a TB test and paperwork but it was relatively easy. Try contacting a volunteer coordinator at a hospital. It worked for me! Also, do try a SNF or a rehabilitation facility.

Best of luck!

 

[vinganca]

Try contacting a volunteer coordinator at a hospital. It worked for me!

In my area, it is incredibly difficult to secure a volunteer placement in the inpatient rehab department in any of the hospitals. That's why I made a post asking about other alternatives.

I have contacted volunteer services at every hospital within 2 hours' driving distance from home, and have been told at every single one that they won't be able to place me in the PT department, as they have more people queueing up to volunteer in the PT dept than they can possibly use. At one hospital, I'm on a waiting list and am told that a spot might open up no earlier than February. At another, I'm on the waiting list and they can't/won't even tell me when (or IF) a spot might ever open up. At the others, they just flat out told me they couldn't place me and that was that.

If SNF is considered inpatient, that could be a viable alternative. But I really want to do observation hours in a hospital since that would allow me to gain familiarity with a variety of settings (acute, inpatient, outpatient) as well as patients with various ages, backgrounds, needs, etc.

 

[lee9786]

It took me almost two months to get through all of the leg work to get me volunteering at the hospital. I guess it's my location but they have no other volunteers in the PT department. The volunteer coordinator even made a comment regarding how scarce it is. If it took me this long to get into a spot where nobody was at I can only imagine how long it will take when you have to deal with a waiting list. I'd call up the PTs at the hospital and talk to them directly.