Student Nurse voluntary training

picasso10

i am due to start college in september in diploma in nursing, the course requires voluntary work within the required department of nursing i wish to enter into. i was just looking for help on where to start first as i have searched engined voluntary student nurses and they appear to only accept people who are in university. im looking at my local A&E department for voluntary work for whatever they can give me in hours and day for no time period. anyone with any information on this would be grateful am i hitting a brick wall or is it possible?

dmg24

Your local hospital would be a good starting point - have you rang switchboard?

picasso10

i havent rang no i have the main hospital number to speak to the reception desk but i think she is responsible for directing people to wards and opening times.

dmg24

picasso10 wrote: »

i havent rang no i have the main hospital number to speak to the reception desk but i think she is responsible for directing people to wards and opening times.

They will be able to direct you to the 'back office' departments also. There should be someone who deals with volunteers.

Person_one

Lots of hospitals have volunteer co-ordinators whose job is to sort all this out. Have a look on the websites of your local hospitals, the numbers to call might be listed there.

Where in the country are you? I know a few numbers in the North West.

picasso10

i shall give the reception a call in the morning too see if she can direct me.
i live in the west midlands near birmingham my other question is does it have to be for a limited time or is voluntary work ongoing as i am happy to volunteer as much as i can for one reason being experience and two being somewhere i enjoy and to help out as i know if it was a work placement id be only permitted to two weeks but im happy to not be paid while studying. have checked the website for my local hospital but there doesnt appear to be a volunteer section.

Judas

I would be slightly concerned if your college don't have any pre-set contacts or links to set up placements.

Hospitals etc aren't always keen on taking volunteers for a number of reasons. You will probably find a volunteer position no bother but its whether it is relevant and meets any education requirements.

What are the requirements of the voluntary work in terms of experience and such.

picasso10

Judas wrote: »

I would be slightly concerned if your college don't have any pre-set contacts or links to set up placements.

Hospitals etc aren't always keen on taking volunteers for a number of reasons. You will probably find a volunteer position no bother but its whether it is relevant and meets any education requirements.

What are the requirements of the voluntary work in terms of experience and such.

THIS IS IMPORTANT. If you are thinking of teaching, nursing, health professions or social work, you must have some relevant vocational hands-on experience. This will often need to be voluntary, though nursing students can sometimes get paid care home work. It can be done alongside your course, but must be ongoing until you finish your course.

You should start looking for this experience as soon as possible.

is all it says on my course application they offer a two week work experience mid year but voluntary work must be found by the student

Person_one

picasso10 wrote: »

i shall give the reception a call in the morning too see if she can direct me.
i live in the west midlands near birmingham my other question is does it have to be for a limited time or is voluntary work ongoing as i am happy to volunteer as much as i can for one reason being experience and two being somewhere i enjoy and to help out as i know if it was a work placement id be only permitted to two weeks but im happy to not be paid while studying. have checked the website for my local hospital but there doesnt appear to be a volunteer section.

Just a small tip, punctuation would make it a lot easier to read your posts!

Most volunteer posts at hospitals will let you carry on for as long as you want to. They invest in you with CRB checks, training and a uniform so they want to get the most out of you!

I've done your googling for you, I think you should probably do the rest!

http://www.uhb.nhs.uk/volunteer-how-to-apply.htm

http://www.bch.org.uk/volunteer.php

http://www.swbh.nhs.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=101&Itemid=753

http://www.heartofengland.nhs.uk/templates/Page2____7790.aspx

http://www.bwhct.nhs.uk/jobs/volunteering-intro.htm

Judas

picasso10 wrote: »

THIS IS IMPORTANT. If you are thinking of teaching, nursing, health professions or social work, you must have some relevant vocational hands-on experience. This will often need to be voluntary, though nursing students can sometimes get paid care home work. It can be done alongside your course, but must be ongoing until you finish your course.

You should start looking for this experience as soon as possible.

is all it says on my course application they offer a two week work experience mid year but voluntary work must be found by the student

Ok

That makes it clearer. Your course does not require voluntary work. They are however telling you that without some vocational experience you are unlikely to be able to find a job or proceed afterwards.

Fair enough.

They will also give you a 2 week formal placement.

My advice would be too look for some work as a sessional support worker. This will count and be paid. Probably more vocational than a hospital voluntary position as well as hospitals won't let you near the patients from a treatment/care related angle.

picasso10

Person_one wrote: »

Just a small tip, punctuation would make it a lot easier to read your posts!

Most volunteer posts at hospitals will let you carry on for as long as you want to. They invest in you with CRB checks, training and a uniform so they want to get the most out of you!

I've done your googling for you, I think you should probably do the rest!

Thank you very much, you got alot further via google than i did. Sorry for lack of punctuation i try to respond quickly and get carried away. Thank you for the above links and all your help.