Volunteering in the Endoscopy Ward

One of my motivations for coming to Australia was getting to see healthcare on an international level and gaining some clinical experience outside the U.S.

So for the past couple of weeks, I have been volunteering in the endoscopy ward at St. John of God Hospital in Subiaco. It’s a really simple job; I take food to patients who have just had endoscopies (i.e. procedures in which the doctor inserts a endoscope or fibrescope into the patients to observes their insides).

I work Mondays 9:30 – 12:30, making sandwiches, coffee, soup, etc. and then taking it to the patients. It’s not the most in-depth clinical experience (i.e. I’m not working in the ER at Presbyterian in Albuquerque), but it’s a really nice way to interact with patients and have a one-on-one experience with them. It also gives me something to do on Mondays when I don’t have school.

Here are just a couple pictures of what I do. Hopefully I can start volunteering on Tuesdays too... maybe working in another ward or something like that. We'll see...

Here is me making sandwiches & coffee

St. John of God Hospital in Subiaco

Once the food is ready, I put it on a tray and take it to the patients.

This is the actual building I work at - Bendat Family Comprehensive Cancer Centre

And finally here is me walking home... It's a rather random picture, but I just wanted to show you how I look most days (hat on, pants on, sunglasses on, sunblock on, and umbrella in hand). Haha, I'm fightin' the Australian heat... NO skin cancer for me!