Service Learning at Swedish Edmonds Hospital by Shane Hall

Volunteering at Swedish Hospital

By Shane Hall

Unlike traditional service learning projects, mine is based on volunteer services I currently provide at Swedish Edmonds Hospital.  What is unique about this project is that I applied for the position and volunteer 4 hours every week instead of signing up for individual events, reaching (as of yet) 270 total volunteer hours.  Although seemingly uncharacteristic of a project pertaining to animal biology, I donate time helping certain organisms who we are all familiar with from the kingdom Animalia: people.  In the past, I have seen some projects focus on studies that monitor the health and safety of wildlife creatures, while others work towards protecting ecosystems by ensuring safe environmental conditions.  These projects seem to have an emphasis on how we can improve and protect the animals and living organisms around us.  Working at Swedish has been no exception to this, as my work involves administering a hospitable environment for both visitors and patients.  This is an important concept for the hospital to embrace because it is necessary to create an atmosphere that promotes healing for said patients.

Depending on what work a volunteer conducts at Swedish Edmonds, their title and responsibilities differ.  In my case, I work as a Surgery Liaison for the Volunteer Services Department.  My role is to provide hospital information for incoming visitors with a primary focus on keeping up-to-date information regarding the current status of patients in surgery.  The link I share between visiting families and their loved ones in surgery are crucial in confirming that the family knows the whereabouts of the patient and the estimated time until visiting with him/her is possible.  Although I spend most of my time working at the main lobby’s front desk, other duties I have include ensuring that the lobby is clean and restocked with refreshments for visitors, transporting wheelchairs or other supplies to patient facilities throughout the hospital, delivering food trays to patients, answering call lights, and performing patient discharges.        

Picture of myself in uniform outside of Swedish Edmonds prior to my shift.  Don’t I look snazzy?  I unfortunately could not capture any photos of myself working at the front desk due to HIPAA regulations.

The goal of Swedish Edmonds’ Volunteer Services Department is to provide the hospital with services that would be otherwise impossible to fulfill by employees.  Volunteers fill the necessary gap that contributes to the well-oiled machine that is the hospital’s workforce.  The hospital’s mission is to “improve the health and well-being of each person we serve”.  By extension, this is also the mission of Volunteer Services and what we volunteers strive to achieve for all people we meet, patients and visitors alike.

Regarding my experience at Swedish Edmonds, working at this position has strengthened my desire to pursue science in the field of medicine.  I have always wanted to attend medical school since I was essentially a toddler, but serving my community through the significant role I hold at the hospital has continued to feed my willingness to learn and experience everything I can in order to participate in a working medical environment.

Additionally, what I love about working at Swedish is the exposure I receive to medical and biological knowledge, some of which I can relate to the material discussed in class.  While working at the hospital, one cannot help but hear certain key phrases pertaining to a patient’s health, especially when I spend much of my time working in the ER, Surgery, ICU, and other patient housing departments.  Although I am not directly contributing to the work that these healthcare professionals are undergoing, I consider getting acclimated to this environment to be beneficial for myself and my future career, whatever it may be.

Although I cannot disclose internally-used Swedish emails, you can contact Volunteer Services at (425) 640-4341 and ask for either Raegan Fisher or Evelyn Hinchman, both of whom are volunteer coordinators and wonderful people I know personally.  Either one can provide confirmation of my attendance. 

If anyone is interested in volunteering at such a great facility for more hours or simply for gaining experience in a healthcare workplace, you can go online to Swedish.org and select “About Swedish”, “Support Swedish”, and “Volunteer” where you can select the facility with which you want to volunteer.  You can then select “How to Apply” and follow the steps to submit an application!     

Here are a few questions I have had since volunteering at Swedish:

1.  What are some techniques used by the hospital’s healthcare professionals to promote patient well-being?

2.  What are some ways we can show empathy to visitors whose family members or loved ones are admitted to the hospital in critical condition?

3.  What are some innovative ways we can provide a clean, sterile, and safe environment for incoming visitors?

4.  How does worker morale affect patient healing?