While working on your Master’s of Health Care Management degree, you may want to get in some precious work experience to pad up your resume. Most job-seekers know that having no experiences can only hurt your chances for the job.
Getting experience with such a hefty schedule can be difficult, though. So why not try volunteer work? These volunteer opportunities are not only relevant to the degree you are working on, but they will look amazing on any resume. The best part? You can easily make time for any of these opportunities. Most of these volunteer opportunities are extremely flexible, meaning you can work them around your schedule, instead of the other way around.
1. Candy Striping
Each hospital will have a program similar to this, though it may be under a different name. You volunteer under the hospital doing simple cleaning and cooking tasks, as well as interacting with customers. You can even volunteer as much or as little as you like! This will give you the experience that you need, as well as get you more familiar with working in a health care setting. Even if you are squeamish about certain health care aspects, you can talk to a supervisor about only working where you are comfortable.
2. Nursing Homes
Many nursing homes are understaffed and always looking for volunteers. Even if they do not advertise looking for help, simply stopping in at your local nursing home could easily wield great results. Most nursing homes will accept volunteers with welcome, open arms. This is another great opportunity that can help you get acquainted with what working in a health care position looks and feels like. For the most part, volunteering in a nursing home just means visiting and spending time with residents. You could even help set up events and activities for the residents to enjoy. Again, this could be volunteering just an hour of your time a week, depending on what your schedule looks like.
3. Ronald McDonald House
This is more a professional-like volunteer experience that would give you more knowledge in the management side of healthcare. It is a well-known organization that will also look good on any resume. Since this is a foundation that is present in every state, simply looking for open positions that are close to you can be done easily online. Volunteer work could be answering phones, helping answer questions, and more.
4. American Red Cross
The American Red Cross is always looking for volunteers to help out, especially when they travel around to do blood drives. Even if you are not comfortable working in an environment with blood, there is plenty of volunteer work that is away from the patients. Since American Red Cross is such a well-known company across the country, volunteer opportunities will vary depending on where you live. Either way, this is an volunteer opportunity that will give you the experience that you are looking for, as well as look very good on your resume to potential employers.
5. Free Health Clinic
Most cities, especially more urban cities, have free health clinics available to those that cannot afford health care. Since these clinics are free, most of the workers in the clinics are all volunteers. They tend to be understaffed and will usually take in volunteers to help out, even if you don’t have health care experience. This will give you a broader view of health care when it comes to poverty, which will no doubt help you in your studies. If you think working at a free clinic is for you, simply search for a free clinic that is close to you and contact one of the workers or volunteers in charge.
Related resource:
Top 20 Graduate Programs in Health Care Management in the West