During my second year at Ohio State I completed a lot of service hours, all of them extremely meaningful and close to my heart, including serving regularly at the Ronald McDonald House and participating in a Day in the Life of a Buckeye. I spent a huge chunk of my time, though, volunteering at Wexner Medical Center in the admitting office in Rhodes Hall. I volunteered in admitting (also known as registration) for two semesters, and I became very close with all of the women working in the office, and I always looked forward to my volunteer shift despite it starting at 5 AM.
My job as a volunteer in admitting was to greet patients checking in for early-morning surgeries and then escort them to their respective waiting rooms in different parts of the hospital. I assisted the Registration staff in various ways, and I often took on the role of an Ambassador by helping people around other parts of the hospital. Although I didn’t get much clinical experience in this role, it was very valuable for me to see the background of what keeps a hospital running, and I truly enjoyed meeting and talking to the diverse patients that seek medical care at Ohio State.
Some of my favorite memories while working in admitting include having conversations with Spanish-speaking patients without the help of a translator, transporting and comforting a woman in labor to Labor and Delivery, and learning about an elderly gentleman’s time in the Vietnam War. Although there were some exhausting, stressful, awkward, and downright terrifying moments in the admitting office, I cannot underestimate how my people-skills grew as a result of this role, and the friendships I made in admitting over the past year are stronger than I ever expected. Above all, I learned that working in a hospital is like working with your family, and that our job is to serve our patients the best we can. Although I know it’s time for me to seek out more clinical-based volunteer roles, I am very grateful and will truly miss my job in admitting.