Volunteering allows people to give back to the community while also gaining benefits for themselves. Carlsbad High student Addie Arterton dedicates her time and effort to enhance her knowledge, help doctors and comfort patients at the UCSD Health Center.
Since 2024, Arterton has given her Sundays to help doctors and nurses stay efficient and organized. She also cares for patients and provides them with support in their health journey.
“A lot of what I do is organizing things so I’ll be refilling the different supplies they need, like gloves, vials, and I do a lot of cleaning,” Junior Addison Arterton said. “It’s really fun. I also do a lot of transporting different specimens, like piss and blood.”
Her work may not seem extreme, but without her efforts, the hospital would not function as smoothly. She arranges, transports and communicates with patients, which helps nurses and doctors complete their important tasks instead of worrying about minor details. Though this job may seem easy, it takes practice fulfilling the tasks with accuracy and timeliness for the doctors.
“It takes a load off of them knowing that you guys are here to help and it is just one less thing to worry about because you guys are here pretty regularly and you know what you are doing,” Doctor Connor Osato said.
The tasks which need to be done very frequently are organizing and restocking their instruments. An assignment such as refilling the glove boxes goes a long way, since if the gloves were not easily accessible, then a nurse would need to stop what they were doing to grab a pair. If Addie had already filled up the box, the nurse would not need to waste their time and could go along with caring for their patients.
“It speeds up the efficiency of the hospital and also makes the patient experience better because the patients do not have to wait as long as the nurses are looking for a pair of gloves,” Arterton said.
Having volunteers who care about their work and fulfill tasks thoroughly help doctors feel less stress about receiving good help. These volunteers who ask questions and feel proficient in completing tasks are huge helpers towards the doctors and nurses.
“Most of the time the volunteers have interest in this field, so they are very good at paying attention to details and asking questions if they are not sure,” Osato said.
Along with helping the doctors, she forms relationships with her patients. Through care, conversation and giving them what they need to feel better, Arterton improves the patient’s experience at the hospital.
“I get them a lot of snacks and drinks, and I’ll be checking up with them for the duration of their treatment,” Arterton said.
Patients with longer treatments see her frequently, and she makes the effort to get to know them personally. Her sharp and caring mind helps the patients feel cared for when she takes the time to listen to the little things.
“I remember a lot of things about them, so if I see a regular, I’ll ask them about how their kids are doing or a trip that they went on,” Arterton said.
Along with acting as a friend for the patient, she also goes out of her way to act as a family member for the patients who show up alone. Her kind heart helps the patients feel loved and safe during their treatments.
“I like talking to people who do not have someone to talk to,” Arterton said.
Arterton’s hard work is benefiting her future and opening her up to new experiences to set her up for her future aspirations of being a doctor. Volunteering is an efficient way to gain knowledge for future career paths.
“I want to go into the medical field, so this is an opportunity for me to experience what it would be like to work as a doctor or be in a hospital,” Arterton said.
Volunteering in a career that is potentially interesting helps solidify if that career is for you. Experiencing real life situations such as helping in a hospital can be great life experience and helps decision making.
“I think it helps gain real life experience. You can see what this kind of nursing, out-patient setting looks like compared to an inpatient setting,” Osato said.
Addie, by dedicating her time and efforts at the hospital, is setting herself up for success in the future. With both college and her future job, she is learning and preparing herself for the next steps of becoming a doctor.
“It benefits the community, but I’d also say it benefits myself because I know for sure now what I want to do in my life, and I’ve gained real-world experience in that field, and I think that’s pretty valuable,” Arterton said.
Not only is showing up at the hospital important, but working hard and fulfilling the duties of the job as best as possible will set her up for success in the future. By slacking off and doing everything mediocre, she is not gaining anything from the experience. But, Addie completes her tasks as best she can to learn the most about the job, and care for the patients.
“Everything you put in and the most effort you put in is what you are going to get out of it,” Osato said.
