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What’s happened since september 2007? Hospital wise, I finished volunteering towards the beginning of 2008. I reasoned that focusing more on school would be necessary as I was then starting to do research with the university. Academically, I’m wrapping up my second year at Arizona State University and looking to graduate a year from now. The dreaded MCAT testing is not too far off; I will likely apply to medical school this year. Professionally, I’m still employed with the Geek Squad. Not much has changed there. I enjoy my job still, despite the occasional disgruntled computer owner.
Finals are coming up. I anticipate some decent grades this semester. More on this later.
I didn’t go to the first two volunteering days this month. Exams are killing me. I’ve been procrastinating on studying, but I believe I’ll pull through.
I managed to make it to volunteer this week. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred, besides them calling me “Dr.Sarah” on the way out. It was pretty sweet :]
I imagine I’ll be volunteering more once this first round of exams are out of the way.
Today was the ninth day. This was also the hardest day, schedule wise. I start class at 7:40 a.m. but I leave my house at 6:20 a.m. to get there in time. I leave school at around 9:00 a.m. to get to work. I leave work and go to the hospital; each time, changing a bit of or my entire attire. My energy level was relatively high for having to do so much juggling. The hospital didn’t hold much notable again today. The staff was relatively nice; as a whole. Perhaps it was something in the Jello today? It seemed like everyone was thanking me for being there or asking me why I was there. What are you doing with your life, why are you doing this? Definitely more pleasant than usual.
I’m a pre-medical student, I work for Geek Squad, I’m a volunteer. I’m here because this is what interests me. It’s more than a job for me (not to sound generic). It’s about people working with people, for people. It’s about a overall love of life, the will to live, the desire to live to the fullest possible. It’s about seeing what love can do, what hope is.
School is going to get tough fast.
The hospital is routine. Nothing has happened incredibly out of the ordinary the past three visits. Perhaps only one thing; the old man who told me that I was gorgeous. Many times. I usually don’t take compliments seriously; but when he told me this, it really made my day. He was a nice gentleman, waiting with his wife. She had a heart catheter procedure, I believe. She looked over and smiled. Another thing I notice is the amount of time these elderly couples have been together. Most have been with one another for over 50 years. It really is an awesome concept of time.
It makes me never want to forget anything.
One other point of interest that I’ve noticed at the hospital are cow bell styled walkie-talkies that the janitorial staff wears. They seem downgrading to me, but what do I know? The staff walks around with these things around their neck and will get buzzed by the main office “Lucy, attend to room 4010″. I wonder how they feel about the loud necklaces. When they call for assistance, there is no privacy in the conversation. It’s fully audible to anyone standing within 10 feet, and still boggles my mind. Maybe I think too much about them; when I’m making cigars, I have not much else to observe.
Today was my fifth day in the heart hospital. I have to say, it was not one of my favorite days. It was the same routine as always. Making cigars, listening to nurses, stocking rooms, discharging patients. When I checked into my floor, a woman (perhaps she was a nurse or a specialist) looks at me and says, “Oh, are you volunteering because you want to be a nurse?” From a personal perspective, I am a little tired of people asking this. I have nothing against nurses; in fact, I have utmost respect for them. I could not do their job, every day. Why don’t people ask me if I want to be a Doctor? Specialist? Surgeon? It’s always nurse. If I wanted to be a nurse, I would already be one. I took a class in high school that would have expedited nursing school for me. I took it because I wanted to have some sort of health care exposure and it was the only choice in terms of courses. I have never wanted to be a nurse.
When I reached my floor, I started making cigars (which I’ve concluded, smell like dirty bacon) and overhearing the nurses. Just as in a normal workplace, there are very good employees and there are not-so-good employees. Today, a group of nurses discussed some personal things. Things I doubt I would discuss with close friends. (more…)
Day four. That would be about 16 hours or so at this point. It would be day six, but I’ve been unable to attend twice. Day four of volunteering. This is where I will talk about the things I see on the way of getting into medical school. Thus far, I’m a junior in college. I graduated high school in 2005 in the not so great state of Alabama (sorry, I’m not a fan of college football and humidity). The friends I made in high school are still friends of mine, still great ones. I live in Arizona now, with my family, a job, and school. Throw in volunteering, and it’s an interesting combo.
The first day wasn’t too notable. I was in the process of being acclimated to the atmosphere, the nurses, and my responsibilities. No one really had a set of tasks for me to do; random nurses who had a few minutes to speak to me threw it all together. (more…)
