OakBend Junior Volunteers Destiny Martinez, Heeba Rahman, Luryn John-Miller, Mautin Ashimiu, Chisom Ogbonna, Megana Sundar, Ikeena Okoye, Judith Saju, Amy Cleetus, Anushka Abedin, Heena Patel and Reeya Patel with PHI pilots.
The Junior Volunteer Program at OakBend Medical Center strives to introduce local high school students to the diverse career opportunities within healthcare and to experience the satisfaction from serving others while developing a sense of civic responsibility.
OakBend Medical Center’s 2017 Junior Volunteer Program began in mid-June, and the students had rotations through clinical, as well as non-clinical departments, and also attended interactive bi-weekly presentations by varied healthcare professionals. This experience enriches students’ knowledge base and allows high school students to observe how multiple hospital departments synchronize their operations to provide the best and safest patient care. The program ended on shortly before Hurricane Harvey with students reviewing their experiences with CEO Joe Freudenberger and receiving completion certificates.
The Junior Volunteers commented how OakBend’s program brought value to their future career path and were appreciative of the opportunity to be a part of the program. “What we don’t realize is that hospitals don’t just mean doctors. There are so many different groups of people that work together to keep a hospital running,” said Junior Volunteer Anushka Abedin.
“During orientation, and even during the interviews, we were constantly being reminded that OakBend values compassion and hospitality. Through this Junior Volunteer program, I was able to personally witness this compassion come to life,” commented Chisom Ogbonna, Junior Volunteer.
“I have learned that every single employee that enters the hospital, despite having differences in professional duties, cooperate towards one common goal: to cure and heal every single patient who enters the building, regardless of financial ability. The staff’s compassionate attitudes towards their patients reflect their attitudes towards each other, which makes the working environment a very comfortable, friendly place to be, yet still very professional and respectful,” said Heeba Rahman, also part of this year’s Junior Volunteer program.
And, according to Mautin Ashimiu, “The loving and caring atmosphere at OakBend really made the experience much more fun. All the advice from the nurses that I met has inspired me to really pursue a career in the medical field because of all the lives I can impact.”
In keeping with OakBend Medical Center’s focus on community, the Junior Volunteer Program is primarily meant for students residing in and attending high schools in OakBend’s primary service area. The students are required to commit two days per week during the seven week summer schedule. The volunteer program is an opportunity to learn more about Healthcare professions and make informed decisions about career choices in Healthcare.