Tales from a teenage volunteer | va palo alto health care | veterans affairs

My name is Alexander Bhargava, and I am a 15-year-old student. I had the great chance to volunteer at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Palo Alto over the course of this summer, and I wanted

to share my wonderful experience with others in hopes to interest other students to volunteer in a hospital setting. I was interested in volunteering at a hospital because both of my parents

work in hospitals, and I wanted to see what the experience was after hearing them talk about it. More specifically, I wanted to work at VA because the mission of VA is “to serve those who

served” and it really resonated with me. I was thrilled to be accepted into the VA program, and throughout this summer break I’ve spent around 110 hours volunteering at VA Palo Alto in

varying departments. I spent my initial time in Pulmonary Service and got a basic introduction into how a hospital clinic works. From there I worked in other departments, which included

escorting Veterans to their appointments, and working in food services to help with meal preparation for hospitalized Veterans. In every department I went to I felt welcomed and valued.

After these initial experiences, I asked to work in the Office of Information Technology (OIT) as I am interested in computers, and I wanted to see how they are used in a hospital setting. I

had a great experience in the Office of Information Technology. Nee Cho introduced me to the whole team. The entire office was very welcoming, and even on my first day I felt part of the

team. I had great conversations with Thien, and I went all over the hospital with Gordon. The thing I enjoyed the most was visiting several clinics in VA with my supervisor, and I was able

to observe first-hand the use of computers and technology in patient care and how important they are. For the first time, I saw physicians and clinicians working with patients. As a kid

growing up around electronics and computers, I’ve always been inclined to say that technology is the greatest tool that humankind has ever created and I still stand by that, but at the end

of the day, technology remains a tool and cannot replace the human interaction in health care. My experience volunteering at VA can be summarized into one word: eye-opening. Throughout my

whole life I have been exposed to health care, from both my parents being physicians and my health problems, but I have never actually been on the other side of the glass, so to speak. What

I valued most about my experience was the ability to see what it's like to help people. I want to continue volunteering at VA because I believe that there is no other experience that

can be as fulfilling as working in a hospital that treats Veterans. Learn more about volunteering at VA Palo Alto health care