Hospitals ‘school’ teens in volunteer programs
Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Thursday, August 06, 2009
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Ramya Matam, a rising senior at Paul Laurence Dunbar High, volunteered at Central Baptist Hospital. "I got a feel of how everyday life is as a doctor or a nurse," she said.
Teens from several Fayette County schools explored career possibilities this summer during two- and three-week sessions at Saint Joseph and Central Baptist hospitals.
“Most of the young people have some interest in the field of health care,” said John Walker, director of Volunteer Services at Central Baptist. “They’re trying to figure out if this is really something they want to do.”
Ramya Matam, a rising senior at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School volunteering for the first time, aspires to be a pediatrician.
“I like working with kids. I want to help them get better and stay healthy,” she said. “Not only did I learn things about the medical profession, but I met amazing people.”
Leslie Coulter, director of the mother/baby unit at Central Baptist, said the teen volunteer program offers a realistic view of what all goes on in a hospital, from patient care to public service.
“A lot of times, people have the image of health-care workers in starched white and don’t realize what the job entails,” she said.
Coulter beamed as Ramya described her new-found respect for nurses. “I understand how hard their job is,” the teen said.
Ramya’s days were filled with opportunities to help: running errands for the staff, bringing ice and fresh linens to patients, observing technicians checking blood pressure, and assembling bundles with diapers, sponges, wash cloths and other items to go home with newborns.
“I got a feel of how everyday life is as a doctor or a nurse,” she said. “I know it’s definitely what I want to do.”
John Keck, who might want to be a cook one day, opted for a non-medical route in back-to-back sessions at Saint Joseph. In environmental services and nutritional services, his duties included cleaning the steel panels and restocking the cafeteria.
While the Lafayette High sophomore saw the program as a chance to “get my foot in the door and help find a paying job,” he said it also brought unexpected benefits.
“Before, I was really quiet, but now I’m starting to be a little more social,” he said. “It’s helped with my people skills.”
Ramya Kondaveeti, a 10th grader at Paul Laurence Dunbar High, found volunteering at Saint Joseph quite different from previous stints at Goodwill, in a dog park and as a host for a neighborhood kitchen tour. At the hospital, she got practical, hands-on experience as she fielded calls from patients’ rooms and wheeled discharged patients out to their cars.
“I’ve learned a lot about the roles of nurses and the atmosphere of the offices,” said Ramya, who wants to be a plastic surgeon. “Now I know what goes on.”
Yu Dong, who will be a sophomore at Lafayette, said her time at Central Baptist also confirmed her career direction.
“Watching what people were doing was a good experience for me,” said Yu, who restocked pharmacy supplies, made labels for medicine bottles and observed as technicians set up equipment for chemotherapy treatments.
Central Baptist this year offered an intense, two-week bonus session for a handful of particularly motivated students, allowing them to visit a variety of units and have additional opportunities to observe medical procedures and talk with hospital professionals. They also had a daily debriefing and kept a journal.
“Whether it’s surgery or patient advocates or chaplains, they’ll see and get a sense of the breadth of the hospital,” Walker said.