For my last semester as a Dunn Sport and Wellness Scholar, I completed my volunteer requirement through volunteering weekly at the OSU Wexner Medical Center. Specifically, I volunteer in the Surgical Prep and Recovery unit within the Brain and Spine Hospital for a shift of three hours every Wednesday evening. This entails getting to discharge patients who have often spent long hours in the same day surgery unit here, as well as turning over hospital rooms to be used the following day by cleaning and prepping beds and completing other housekeeping tasks.
As a third-semester returning volunteer at the WMC, I had the opportunity to request the SPR shift based on my previous hours served. This shift is unique to my experiences at the hospital so far in that volunteers serve on the shift in pairs. This has allowed my leadership here to be very collaborative as I am often given the opportunity to work with another student to complete tasks. This distribution of tasks means that I am frequently engaging my communication skills to ensure that we are maximizing our efficiency.
Being in the hospital is inspirational to me, as I would like to go to medical school after undergrad. My shift has been eye-opening as I realized how much I enjoy getting to work with patients even for small moments. Even a small positive impact from me can go a long way for someone who has spent the day in surgery. Because of service learning, I am able to provide small acts of kindness to people as I pursue my way to med school.