Volunteering at Swedish Hospital
What: Volunteering on Department 8 West
Where: Swedish Hospital, Edmonds Campus
When: 4pm to 8pm February 16th
Event Organizer: Evelyn Hinchman
Contact: Evelyn.Hinchman@swedish.org
2.
The Swedish Hospital Volunteer Department organizes all the volunteering that happens
at the hospital. The goals of volunteering is to provide for the patients at the hospital and help
support the healthcare workers. Another goal is to experience what it’s like working in a healthcare
setting and determine if I like it.
at the hospital. The goals of volunteering is to provide for the patients at the hospital and help
support the healthcare workers. Another goal is to experience what it’s like working in a healthcare
setting and determine if I like it.
3.
My duties on 8W, the Oncology Department, is to help clean the department and help with
communication among the nurses. I answer call lights and help the patients with simple things,
like delivering food and helping with the TV. Here is a picture of me in my uniform with my
volunteer badge.
communication among the nurses. I answer call lights and help the patients with simple things,
like delivering food and helping with the TV. Here is a picture of me in my uniform with my
volunteer badge.
4.
Volunteering at the hospital, specifically the Oncology Department, has really opened my eyes
and shown me other aspects of life. I’ve seen how uncomfortable and unhappy people are at
the hospital because of the pain they are in, and it has given me more empathy towards people.
I also see how little actions can help improve the mood of people. I bring someone coffee or tea,
and it makes them smile. Also, just a smile will make others smile and it warms my heart. Anyways,
the role science plays in society is huge. Without science and research, there would not be
treatments for cancer or pain medication or anything. The nurses I interact with know so much
about the human body and use it to improve the lives of the patients in the hospital. I can also
see how the stuff I am learning in Animal Biology is stuff the nurses know and that they use to
help their patients. It’s very important to learn biology and how the human body works, because
it is very applicable in hospital situations.
and shown me other aspects of life. I’ve seen how uncomfortable and unhappy people are at
the hospital because of the pain they are in, and it has given me more empathy towards people.
I also see how little actions can help improve the mood of people. I bring someone coffee or tea,
and it makes them smile. Also, just a smile will make others smile and it warms my heart. Anyways,
the role science plays in society is huge. Without science and research, there would not be
treatments for cancer or pain medication or anything. The nurses I interact with know so much
about the human body and use it to improve the lives of the patients in the hospital. I can also
see how the stuff I am learning in Animal Biology is stuff the nurses know and that they use to
help their patients. It’s very important to learn biology and how the human body works, because
it is very applicable in hospital situations.
5.
While volunteering in the hospital, I could see so many emotions among all the patients and
nurses. The nurses were frequently stressed and tired, the patients were in pain and upset.
The family were frequently sad. I realized that the reasons these people feel this way is because
of hormones! The nurses were stressed, so there was probably cortisol or epinephrine in
their bloodstream due to endocrine pathways. They probably also have melatonin in their
bloodstream because I volunteer in the evening and they are frequently tired. Biology is
interdisciplinary because it applies to everything. We are animals and we interact with many
different living things. Biology informs us on how we work but also how others work. When
people are sick, there is a biological explanation for it and a scientific way of treating it. The
people in the region surrounding the Swedish Hospital I volunteer at can visit the hospital if
they are sick or injured, and receive care that is rooted in science. The care uses biology to
understand what is wrong and how to treat it.
nurses. The nurses were frequently stressed and tired, the patients were in pain and upset.
The family were frequently sad. I realized that the reasons these people feel this way is because
of hormones! The nurses were stressed, so there was probably cortisol or epinephrine in
their bloodstream due to endocrine pathways. They probably also have melatonin in their
bloodstream because I volunteer in the evening and they are frequently tired. Biology is
interdisciplinary because it applies to everything. We are animals and we interact with many
different living things. Biology informs us on how we work but also how others work. When
people are sick, there is a biological explanation for it and a scientific way of treating it. The
people in the region surrounding the Swedish Hospital I volunteer at can visit the hospital if
they are sick or injured, and receive care that is rooted in science. The care uses biology to
understand what is wrong and how to treat it.
6.
How does pain medication work to block neurological pathways throughout the body and
provide pain relief?
provide pain relief?
How do the medication that relaxes people, such as Xanax, work on the endocrine pathways
and reduce cortisol or epinephrine in the bloodstream?
and reduce cortisol or epinephrine in the bloodstream?
How does coffee, or caffeine, work in the brain and affect melatonin levels?
What is inside the chemotherapy drugs that the nurses administer and how does that
help treat cancer?
help treat cancer?
Hi Hannah!
ReplyDeleteI think its awesome that you spend four hours of your time each week to volunteer at Swedish Hospital. I have never considered that the reason people experience those negative emotions in hospitals is due to hormones, so your post was definitely insightful to read. I just researched a little bit about your question about melatonin and found that caffeine actually depletes serotonin levels, and there isn't as strong of a correlation between caffeine and melatonin levels. Based on your experiences at Swedish so far, do you want to pursue working in a healthcare setting?
Hi Hannah!
ReplyDeleteI also have volunteered in exactly the same field as you did, although it was at Franciscan, not at Swedish for me. I'm glad you enjoyed your experience! Are you interested in becoming an oncologist?