Year of Synopsis
This year I had the privilege of volunteering for Grant Medical Center, a nonprofit faith-based adult hospital in downtown Columbus. They are a Level One trauma center, and ranked #16 by U.S News and World Reports for Ohio hospitals. Four of their main focuses include Trauma Care, Surgery, Neuroscience, and Orthopedics. The staff are incredibly kind and helpful, always happy to answer any questions I had while on the job. They would show me around the hospital, and took the time to get to know me personally. My volunteer coordinator, Betz Steele, was wonderful and personable. She took pride in her volunteer staff, and always accommodated for me whenever I needed it.
Betz started me out working on the Woman and Infants department, where I got to spend time with the newborn babies. I helped stock patient rooms with heating pads and other various toiletries, and helped the nurses whenever they needed something. Everyone on the floor was extremely kind and treated me as an equal, eager to teach me new things when the chance arose. I was then switched to work in the Service Excellence department, which involved distributing and picking up “Power of One” forms. These forms gave staff and patients the opportunity to recognize someone in the hospital’s hard work, and give them a “shout out”. I loved doing this job, and reading how appreciative everyone was of each other. The volunteer attire was a blue polo with a nametag, and anytime a staff member saw me walking with the cart, they immediately thanked me for donating my time to help out the hospital. Being able to give back and help out was truly an inspiring experience.
I was able to take away a multitude of lessons and skills from working in this environment, whether I was able to learn on my own or through the help of the staff. Working on the Woman and Infants floor, I was able to learn by listening to the daily routines of the nurses and doctors, and learned some of the procedures they would often talk about. This sparked my interest in neonatal care, something I may want to pursue in the future. Working on this floor allowed me to see the medical side of the hospital. However, working in the service excellence department allowed me to see a completely new side of the hospital, the side run by non-medical staff. It takes an incredible amount of work to ensure a hospital’s success, and I got to meet very hardworking and driven people who made it all happen. Overall, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity I had of working alongside staff at Grant Medical Center, and hope to continue in the future.