There are many benefits to volunteering, and many companies and healthcare organizations encourage their staff to do volunteer work.
It can also help to boost your career. If you have volunteer work on your resume, it certainly will impress healthcare employers for the values that it shows: it shows that you look beyond yourself to the larger community, that you see yourself as part of something larger, someone who is willing to work as part of a team. All of these are values that employers prize.
Volunteering also is a great way to network. You will meet other people in your field from other healthcare organizations. You get to compare notes, to learn from each other, to learn about opportunities that are out there. You also get to meet people from other walks of life, some of whom may become friends. You have an opportunity to learn more about your community through volunteer work.
Also, you get to practice your skills in different settings and in different situations. Again, you learn new things by doing this, increasing your skill set and knowledge, all of which make you more valuable to employers.
Volunteering can also be a good way to reduce stress. When you volunteer, you know you are doing something good for your community and for society, which is good for your mental, emotional and spiritual health.
This is all well and good, you say, but how can I find the time?
First, check with your assignment supervisor to see if there’s a volunteer program where you work. A number of employers have these programs where you volunteer on company time. Some do it in the form of a yearly project. Others allow employees to devote a certain percentage of their time every month to volunteer work. Employers do this because they realize the value of volunteering, not only for their employees, but for the organization itself in terms of happier, more well-rounded workers, increased productivity, enhancing their image in the community, and improving relations with the community.
If the healthcare organization does not have such a program, you might want to suggest starting one, explaining to the leadership all of the advantages of such a program.
If a company-sponsored program is not an option, it might be worth looking at what else you can trim from your schedule to make room for volunteering. There is a lot of time during the day that we really do waste without even realizing it – watching television, surfing the Internet, playing video games, perusing Facebook, reading the newspaper.
Look for activities where you can cut back on the time you spend on them, and put that time to good use volunteering. You can start small, devoting just a little time each week or month to volunteering –whatever you can spare – and then build from there.
MedPro Healthcare Staffing is a Joint Commission-certified healthcare staffing agency dedicated to helping travel healthcare professionals find the job that best fits their skills, interests, and work styles. We work with all of the allied health professions, including PTs, OTs, speech therapists, pharmacists and nurses. Give us a call today.
