Preparing for the next emergency starts long before a disaster strikes and student health volunteers can play an important role in helping communities prepare, respond and recover.  When students make the choice to volunteer, they are giving an important gift to their communities and while opening the door to so many opportunities, such as developing valuable professional skills, learning things about the field that aren’t in their textbooks, and meeting new friends or future colleagues.

When it comes to health preparedness students have a lot of opportunities.  For example, they can staff vaccination clinics, donate blood, help with public education campaigns, and more.  By volunteering before a disaster strikes, you are better equipped to help your service organization and your community if there is an emergency in your area.

As a college student, it is often hard to find time to volunteer and balance classes, but I find that it is worth making the time to serve my community. Once a week I volunteer at Prince George’s County Hospital and donate my time to help in a busy healthcare setting. Every day I help doctors and nurses treat their patients in the emergency room. Sometimes that means answering patient questions, raising their concerns to their healthcare providers or just listening to the problems that they are having. Because I have been volunteering at hospitals for years, I decided to get CPR certified. After my CPR certification I then became a Certified Nursing Assistant. 

My experience as a health volunteer has taught me about how to communicate with patients effectively and juggle multiple tasks efficiently.  I have learned about the different healthcare roles in the hospital and have seen firsthand the impact providers have on a patient’s life. This has given me a well-rounded perspective on the healthcare field. Also, it has inspired me to one day become a doctor that provides the excellent care that I have witnessed as a health volunteer.

This week is National Volunteer Week and I encourage you to take some time to consider how you can volunteer in your community.  If you are not sure how to get started or want to learn more about volunteering, join our upcoming twitter chat on student health volunteers on April 21st from 1-2pm ET.  

Topics will include:

• Why volunteering matters to students and how it helps you and your community
• When is the best time to make the choice to volunteer and how volunteering before a disaster strikes makes your community more healthy when disaster strikes
• What are some common barriers to volunteering and how to overcome them
• What is unique about student volunteers and what special skills they bring to preparedness, response and recovery programs
• Where young people can learn more about volunteering

Come join the chat by using the hashtag #NHSSchat and share your opinions on the importance of student health volunteers! To learn more about the Twitter chat, visit www.PHE.gov/sites/ASPR1/nhsschat.