Interview and Nerves

I have an interview for a volunteer position at National Jewish today, and my nerves are starting to get on edge. My stomach is starting to tumble and I my cooped up energy is starting to mount. I don't know what to expect, but I want to be able to get a few things across:

1) I am not volunteering for vain selfishness. While I may be volunteering partially to gain access of their library and for possible help in the future with a few of my expenses for college, I am not doing it mostly for these selfish gains. It is about the patient and the visitor first, and I will strive to do my best to serve these people the best I can and to provide for their wants and needs within reason.

2) I cannot say who I will be six months from now. I hope that this will not end up being a killer to getting the position. When I say this, I am not saying that I will not be someone that is a bad person six months from now. What I am saying is that I have discovered that it is best for me to constantly learn from experiences and people, and to never close myself off to these kinds of experiences. They can come in the things we least expect when we least expect it, so we should have the wisdom to see this and take advantage of this. I have changed a lot from who I was 6 months ago, and I will continue to change as I get older, wiser and a bit more humble.

3) I have been handed adversity from every angle, yet I have overcome it and use it to my advantage. This is a really easy one for me, as it seems like I have some sort of adversity every single year. Just recently, it was treating my ever-present knee pain from my Chondromalacia Patellae. I have finished 3 months of physical therapy, and my malaligned patellas are in good shape, but they weren't that way before physical therapy. The only problem I have now is pain, which can be pretty bad at times, and I am relegated to taking pain relievers when things flare up. Even in this, I keep the patient and those that I serve first and refuse to take anything that would detract from giving my full attention to those that I am serving. On top of it, the many other adversities have shaped who I am and have helped me learn important lessons that I am passing on to others, who are both older and younger than me. I want to be able to demonstrate and put into practice what I have learned every day in the way that I serve people, and I want to eventually pass this on to the staff as well.

4) One must constantly learn and adapt in their position to do well. I couldn't say anything truer. Things must be changed and new strategies must be employed for me to do my job well. On top of that, I should have knowledge into a broad range of topics, and I should be open to new suggestions from other people. I should try new things and only toss them by the wayside if they either don't work or aren't right for me or the people that I serve. I also must be willing to find out new things as new situations arise, and I should use this knowledge that I gain in the future, as there will most likely be a situation that will require this knowledge again in the near future.

5) The best attitudes to take with visitors, patients and staff alike is one of humility and empathy. I don't know how many times I have seen physicians not practice these attitudes and end up in deep trouble, whether they cause a sense of distrust in their patients or whether they say or do something stupid, insensitive, or unwarranted. An attitude of humility and empathy can go a long ways in building trust and a relationship between the patient and the physician or nurse. I know this full well and want to take advantage of this. I care for others very deeply and feel for them when they are hurting and confused, both emotionally and physically. It is my job to make them feel better, and empathy will keep me from becoming another burdensome nurse/doctor/person to them. I want to say, "I care," through my actions and my words. However, I must have the humility and wisdom to realize when I am not doing this and when I need to change. I also need the wisdom to say when I am wrong and to ask people for forgiveness, and I also need the humility to know when there is nothing more that needs to be done or that can be done and to be open in communicating this to people. "I know not," or "I cannot do more," are two really scary sayings among medical settings, but they are two sayings that require great humility that should be admired rather than disdained by the patient.

6) I serve people, not anything else, so I must employ empathy for those people that I serve. I need to remember that, as either a volunteer, nurse, or physician, it is people that I serve and nothing else. When I forget humanity, I forget the very reason why I care for people, and I might as well go out and watch a bunch of goats all day. People have their own testimonies, a collection of emotional and physical scars that makes them unique, and I need to respect these stories (and perhaps listen to them if I have the time and the ability). I have seen physicians treat their patients in a very impersonal manner, almost as if they were just another cadaver to examine and cut open. This costs them dearly, as trust and communication may be broken due to the condescending attitude that these physicians employ towards their patients.

I'm feeling better now that I have these things written down. I might just decide to print it out so that I have some of my thoughts down on paper for this interview. To think that I will have more interviews like this, but more intense, nerve-racking and with more on the line, is pretty humbling. For now, I am off to interview for a volunteer position. Wish me the best!