Volunteer hours vs observation hours question

[bettafish293]

Hi everyone!

Last semester, I did a small observation period with an SLP at a hospital and loved it. As much as I'd like to keep observing them, they only offer a certain number of hours to accommodate more students at my university interested in this field, as it is a learning/teaching hospital. I recently found out that I can volunteer within the outpatient/rehab center of the hospital, where the SLP's work. I'm not entirely sure what I'd be doing as a volunteer yet, and I don't know if I would even be working with the SLP's at all, but I have read on this forum that volunteer experience can look good on a resume.

I am torn between volunteering with the hospital or finding another SLP--perhaps working in the schools, a private practice, or another hospital because I am really interested in working in a hospital setting--to observe/shadow. In terms of grad school resumes, does it look "better" to have a lot of shadowing/observation hours and no volunteer hours, more volunteer hours than shadowing hours, or 50/50? I don't have time to do both this semester.

Thank you!

[Crimson Wife]

I can tell you that the clinic where my daughter does her in-person sessions has its volunteers doing clerical work. Things like prepping session materials for the SLP's, filing, data entry, etc. Not worth the 60+ minute each way drive from my house when I can work 1:1 with kids doing literacy tutoring at my daughter's school in our neighborhood.

I can't speak to whether volunteering vs. shadowing looks better on an application but if what you'd be doing volunteering is things like photocopying, laminating, and then cutting out pictures, that's not really going to teach you how to be a better SLP the way shadowing would.

[SpeechLaedy]

I totally agree with @Crimson Wife. Whichever will add valuable experience is the best. If you can observe/shadow SLPs there and volunteer in another area of the hospital, I think that would be great. Volunteering in another department may give you a separate, but also important, character-building experience (learning how to empathize and connect with a variety of patients, etc.). Both would serve as great points of interest in your personal statement or in any interviews you attend. Maybe you can call/email someone to find out what the duties of volunteers are there. Good luck! 

Edited February 25, 2017 by SpeechLaedy

[slpgrad620]

Personally, the only observations I did were at my school's clinic for the 25 hour ASHA requirement because it's impossible to find volunteer/shadowing opportunities here. The only experience I have is volunteering to teach children and helping out a Senior Citizens group. 

I agree that if volunteering at hospitals, which often doesn't let you shadow SLPs or professionals but involves more paper work or just talking to families (even though that could be a plus to talk about any experiences with certain patients and their loved ones), I think I'd go for the shadowing option if you can find one. It's not a matter of what looks better but I think it's what you get out of it that could help you possibly write about a unique and personal experience or eye opening moments in your personal statement to make you stand out more. Good luck! 

[pbandj]

As @SpeechLaedy said, volunteering in another department may provide important opportunities for interacting with other disciplines and patients, which could be a great talking point with interdisciplinary collaboration skills becoming increasingly attractive. I would encourage you to still consider opportunities that are "outside" of speech-language pathology for this reason. However, I agree with @Crimson Wifethat if the volunteering is simply paperwork, shadowing would be more beneficial. 

In the end, what matters most is how much you get out of the experience. Hours upon hours of volunteering and/or observation are meaningless if you can't explain how it helped your growth as a clinician and person. Enthusiasm and passion are important, and they're hard to fake. Choose what has the most value and makes you most excited and you will succeed! Best of luck!

Edited February 26, 2017 by pbandj

[jmk]

All of my "volunteering" was a combination of volunteer work (making communication boards, making folders), and observation. I personally liked this model best. I got to see "everyday" tasks that SLP's did, while getting in observation. Also, I feel like I made some pretty strong connections! 

 

Places I volunteered: A hospital.I had to do 50 hours in a non-clinical department (gift shop) before being allowed into the clinical department. My shift was 4 hours, one day a week. It was about 2 hours observation, 1 hour helping at a cognitive skills group, and 1 hour clerical. I got to see a barium swallow study / dysphagia therapy / evals, and help out in a cognitive skills group! 

&& Two pediatric clinics: 1 day, 3 hour shifts at both. I usually would observe 1-2 therapy sessions depending how long they were, then do cleaning/clerical. 

 

 

[bettafish293]

19 hours ago, jmk said:

All of my "volunteering" was a combination of volunteer work (making communication boards, making folders), and observation. I personally liked this model best. I got to see "everyday" tasks that SLP's did, while getting in observation. Also, I feel like I made some pretty strong connections! 

 

Places I volunteered: A hospital.I had to do 50 hours in a non-clinical department (gift shop) before being allowed into the clinical department. My shift was 4 hours, one day a week. It was about 2 hours observation, 1 hour helping at a cognitive skills group, and 1 hour clerical. I got to see a barium swallow study / dysphagia therapy / evals, and help out in a cognitive skills group! 

&& Two pediatric clinics: 1 day, 3 hour shifts at both. I usually would observe 1-2 therapy sessions depending how long they were, then do cleaning/clerical. 

 

 

That's great! How did you list your experiences in your resume? Did you just put _____ hours volunteering at ____ Hospital, ____ hours volunteering at ___ pediatric clinic, etc. or did you just use them for your SOP? Did you officially document the hours for your resume? Also, did you ask for letters of recommendation from the SLP's you worked with or any other staff at the hospital or pediatric clinics? I'm so sorry for all of the questions, but what you've done sounds exactly like what I'm hoping to do!

[jmk]

1 hour ago, bettafish293 said:

That's great! How did you list your experiences in your resume? Did you just put _____ hours volunteering at ____ Hospital, ____ hours volunteering at ___ pediatric clinic, etc. or did you just use them for your SOP? Did you officially document the hours for your resume? Also, did you ask for letters of recommendation from the SLP's you worked with or any other staff at the hospital or pediatric clinics? I'm so sorry for all of the questions, but what you've done sounds exactly like what I'm hoping to do!

On my resume: 

I put my Objective first then 

• Clinical Experience: 
  • So for one of the pediatric clinics I put the clinic, the city it was in, the dates I volunteered then: 
    • Observed individual and group speech therapy sessions with clients
    • age 2-14 years
    • interacted with clients when appropriate during songs and games

 

• • For the hospital I put again the city, the hospital name, and the dates I was there then 
    • Volunteer in both the Volunteer Services Department, and
    • Inpatient-Rehab Speech Pathology Department
    • 175 hours completed (75 nonclinical, 100 clinical)
    • Observed dysphagia therapy and language evaluations
      • Assisted in dining rooms during meal time
        • Assisted in the cognitive therapy group with scheduled activities

 

I actually didn't heavily use or rehash the experiences in my SOP if a resume was also requested. I did talk about how my job (working with kids) introduced me to speech, and how my experiences led me to wanting to work with adults. 

 

& I didn't ask for letters (though I could have). I used two CD professors, and my boss. I worked at a pediatric OT clinic for 3.5 years, and my boss was basically a family friend at that point. I knew he would write me the best letter of rec as he knew me best, and truly wanted me to succeed. 

[bettafish293]

@jmk Thank you so much! Also, congrats on your recent acceptances!