Boost your learning experience by volunteering

Boost Your Learning Experience by Volunteering

By Blake Pappas

Volunteering has always been a great pastime, as well as a wonderful service for your community. But volunteering also has direct benefits on your skills and knowledge, especially if you're going to school. It's a valuable asset to add to this experience to your college application, but you can also learn a lot about the workplace while you volunteer. This rings true especially for people who volunteer in the medical field. 

Volunteering can give you the experience you need, and show you the ropes of the nursing profession. You can only learn so much from the lectures and books in nursing classes. The real learning process begins when you start working at an actual hospital. This experience can help better prepare you for a nursing position. Many times, upon graduation from the nursing program, the facility where you are volunteering may have permanent positions available which you may be offered to fill. 

Volunteering as a "candy striper" can introduce you to everything licensed nurses do. This means doing small jobs like admitting patients, taking their blood pressure and recording their height and weight; to big jobs like taking blood, running tests on patients, and taking care of them throughout the night. Being a nurse requires a lot of care and dedication. 

When you volunteer, a registered nurse will be your mentor to show you around the hospital and help you as you learn the job. This is an opportunity not to be missed. The extra knowledge of the job can also help you when you're taking tests for school, and can possibly help you get ahead of other students in your class.

If you are about to attend college, it's always beneficial to mention that you're a volunteer. Adding this experience to your college application could actually help you get into the school of your choice. It also goes without saying that volunteer experience is a highly respected item to be able to list on a resume.

Volunteering benefits everyone involved. There are plenty of people’s lives you can positively impact and the rewarding feeling in return is immeasurable. And, if you want to be in the medical profession, getting a firsthand look at what you will be spending your life doing is a plus. Volunteering benefits the people you care for and your education. The possibilities are endless. You could discover a deep passion for the nursing field and eventually want to take it one step further by pursuing an online MSN nursing program while working full-time. 

Blake completed his undergraduate degree from Arizona State University and is currently pursuing an MBA.  Blake has also recently worked with non-profit organizations and within higher education.