On Becoming a Hospital Volunteer

I recently became a volunteer at Alta Bates Medical Center, and the process wasn't as easy as I expected it to be.. Here are some things you should be aware of:

First of all, in order to volunteer at Alta Bates, you have to fill out an online application that opens the first and third (?) friday of every month at 9am. The application closes after the first 35 applicants so make sure to apply at 9am sharp (a lot of people have told me that they weren't able to submit their apps even though they started exactly at 9am...). Once your application is processed, you'll get an email asking you to go through a background check (costs money, although I don't remember how much) within the next 72 hrs of your submission. After the background check gets processed and approved, you'll be contacted by the volunteer coordinator to set up an interview, once again, by the next 72 hrs of receiving the email. You need to bring a few things to the interview: 1) MMR immunization 2) Chicken Pox immunization 3) TB test results 5) Flu vaccination form or declination form and 5) $25 for a uniform (shirt). The immunizations were the main reasons i didn't volunteer for so long.. I was too lazy to go get them checked haha. But when i finally did, I had to get a TB test and blood test done since i didn't have a TB test within the last 12 months and I don't have any records of my Chicken pox immunization. When I went to get the blood test done, I asked the nurse to have it tested for chicken pox and MMR since I didn't want to have to request the MMR immunizations to be mailed to me from my hometown. Luckily, TB was negative and antibodies were all positive. As for the flu vaccine, I opted to decline it which meant I had to drive down to Oakland to pick up the declination form, getting lost about 5 times along the way... For future volunteers, I suggest just getting the shot since going to Oakland is a big hassle and takes up a lot of time. I had my interview with the volunteer coordinator this past Friday (who was extremely nice). I was prepped to answer typical interview questions such as "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" or "What are your short and long term goals?" or "Why do you want to volunteer at a hospital?" but as it turned out, the interviewer was on the phone for most of the "interview", trying to resolve a crises (I suppose that's what it was). After she was done talking on the phone and sending out mass emails, she asked me if I had any questions for her, signed me up for an orientation date, and then I walked out of there with a bowl of fruit in my hands.. no interview questions! So now I guess I'll wait until the orientation, after which I should have more information to share with you regarding the whole volunteering process :)

If you have any questions regarding anything- premed, berkeley, life in general- leave a comment!

-K