February - June 2017 - The Grace Hospital
My duties at The Grace Hospital Youth Program include: mail, water and meal delivery, gown folding and anything else that needs to be done. I volunteer with a group of girls and we work together to do this. It is very enjoyable; we have a great time while helping patients and staff at the hospital. I enjoy being in a hospital to help, rather than be the patient like I was for so long. It is a pleasant change.
I go every week for an hour and a half and I enjoy it. Being in an adult hospital makes me feel very conflicted. I really loved Children’s Hospital despite the unfortunate circumstances for these reasons: the staff, the environment and the care made me feel at home. I previously thought I hated hospitals - even the food wasn’t so bad, though I ate next to nothing (my parents say it was relatively good). The Grace makes me hope I never have another surgery again. There is a stark difference in adult and children’s hospitals. This isn't to say the treatment there is anything less than great, but it’s definitely not the same. I know without a second thought that I’d much rather work someday in pediatrics if I go into medicine. I think volunteering here is a great experience because it made me so much more grateful for my hospital stay. I get to see how another hospital works and directly observe how the patients feel about it as well (many complain about the food, to no one’s surprise).
I am coming up on my last week of volunteering at the Grace as I'll be away in the summer. I think that I will return as an adult volunteer, depending on my schedule next year. I'll be able to do more things like emergency room etc., so I'll see more of the hospital. I also really want to volunteer at Children's and CancerCare, since I'll be downtown for University anyway, so the Grace might not stick, but it was a great experience for the time I was there. I wish I could've started earlier!
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