Issues to Consider Before You Apply

Part 1: Ask yourself these questions:

• I want to gain clinical experience by practicing the skills I have learned at school.
• I hope that by volunteering I will be better able to work through my grief at the loss of a loved one.
• I have a story to tell and want to share my experiences with others.
• I have a month or two of unexpected free time and would like to volunteer on a short-term basis.
• I hope that volunteering will lead directly to employment at Cincinnati Children’s. 
• I need to be busy all the time.

If you answered yes to any of the questions, Cincinnati Children’s may not meet your goals as a volunteer. 

If you answered no to all of these questions, please continue.

Part 2: Consider these statements and decide if they are true for you:

• Have I carefully and realistically considered my schedule to make sure that I am able to commit to a weekly volunteer time for six consecutive months?
• Am I comfortable in a clinical environment where I will see children who are sick or in pain and parents under stress?
• Will I be able to treat my commitment to volunteer similarly to the seriousness with which I treat work or school obligations?
• Am I comfortable submitting personal references and having a background check? 
• Do I enjoy new situations and the challenges of a large and dynamic hospital campus?
• Am I willing and able to maintain professional boundaries with patients and families?

If you answered, “no,” to any of these questions, Cincinnati Children’s might not be the best volunteer experience for you.

If you answered, “yes,” and would like to move forward, please continue by reading the steps for becoming a hospital volunteer.

Contact Information

Still have questions about becoming a weekly hospital volunteer? Email us at volunteerservices@cchmc.org.