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Volunteer Services

Volunteers come to UCSF Medical Center, UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion and UCSF Children's Hospital for many reasons but most come to help others and contribute to the community. In addition, volunteers can learn about the medical profession and to be a part of a team dedicated to providing the highest quality health care.

Age Requirement

If you're 16 years of age and older, you're eligible to become a volunteer. Pediatric programs, the Emergency Department and the Ida and Joseph Friend Cancer Resource Center at Mount Zion have a minimum age requirement of 18. Students between the ages of 14 and 18 may participate in the High School Student Summer Program. Applications for the summer program are available during the first week of April.

Commitment

Each volunteer must commit to a minimum of four hours a week for a minimum of three months. A six-month commitment is required in Child Life Services, the Emergency Department and the Ida and Joseph Friend Cancer Resource Center at Mount Zion.

Contact Information

We have many volunteer assignments. The following is a sample of the opportunities available. Please call Volunteer Services for an orientation packet and a complete listing of assignments.

Examples of Parnassus Volunteer Opportunities

• Child Life Services — Child Life Services offers programs to meet the developmental and emotional needs of children and to make the hospital experience a positive one for patients and their families. Pediatric volunteers must be at least 18 years old. There is a six-month minimum commitment for Child Life Services positions.

• All Stars Technology Room — Supervise children and teens who use the Internet, play video games and participate in other technology-based activities.
• Book Buddies — Read to patients and siblings in their rooms.
• Family Resource Room — Provide family members information and library resources about health, illness and coping with hospitalization.
• Pediatric Playroom — Engage children through therapeutic play, recreational activities and arts and crafts. The playroom is a safe, stress-free environment for children.
• Pediatric Prepare — Help prepare children for surgery using board games, video games, stories and art projects.
• School Room — Work with patients and siblings on homework and education activities in the School Room, Pediatric Dialysis Unit and in hospital patient rooms. The school is staffed by teachers, credentialed by the state Department of Education, who work with each child's school to ensure class requirements are met.
• Teen Lounge — Encourage teens to participate in activities, listen to music, play video games and interact with other teens. The lounge is for patients and siblings 13 years of age and older.
   

• Emergency Department — Help make patients comfortable by offering pillows, blankets and reading materials and serving food trays. Volunteers also assist with stocking supplies; serve as "runners" to labs, Radiology and Nutrition and Dietetics; and serve as liaisons between families and staff. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old and make a minimum six-month commitment.

• Fall and Safety Team — Check patients identified as high risk for falls. Each volunteer is trained by a clinical nurse specialist to assist patients regarding safety and the prevention of falls. Volunteers must be comfortable interacting and conversing with a diverse, hospital patient population.

• Gift Shop — Assist customers with purchases; help with displays, gift-wrapping and stocking supplies; and deliver gifts to patients in the hospital.

• Guest Services: Ambassador Program — Greet and assist patients and visitors in the busy Ambulatory Care Center or Surgical Waiting Room.

• Guest Services: Patient Information Desk — Provide information to visitors regarding patient, doctor and department locations as well as answer and transfer phone calls.

• Hospital Nursing Unit — Provide administrative support — filing, copying and collating forms. Volunteers may assist nurses with basic care such as serving and collecting patient meal trays, transporting patients, making beds and running errands. Volunteers must attend a Nursing Training Session before volunteering in a hospital unit. Volunteers must be self-directed and able to work independently.

Examples of Mount Zion Volunteer Opportunities

• Art for Recovery — Encourage patients to express themselves through creative projects such as painting, journal writing, poetry, music and quilting for the Breast Cancer Quilt Project. Volunteers may work with patients at the beside, waiting area or in the Infusion Center. For more information, contact Cynthia Perlis, director of Art for Recovery, at cynthia.perlis@ucsfmedctr.org

• Caring Across Medical Centers — Provide complimentary amenities to patients on the surgical, cancer and long-term care nursing units. Volunteers bring amenities from the Volunteer Office at Parnassus to Mount Zion via the UCSF shuttle.

• Gift Shop — Assist customers with purchases and gift wrapping. Help set up displays and stock supplies.

• Guest Services: Ambassador Program — Greet, escort and assist patients and visitors at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Women's Resource Center. Volunteers also may assist with the lunch program in the Infusion Center where patients undergo chemotherapy.

• Ida and Joseph Friend Cancer Resource Center — Provide information, emotional support and community resources to cancer patients and their families and friends. The center has an extensive multi-media library, specialized database for research, classes and support groups.

Volunteer Requirements

• Orientation — All volunteer candidates are required to attend an orientation prior to placement. Call Volunteer Services at (415) 353-1196 for upcoming dates.

• Application — Please download and complete the application and bring it with you to an orientation. You may call (415) 353-1196 to request that an application be mailed to your home. Do NOT mail your completed application.

• Interview — After attending the orientation, you will be interviewed by a member of the Volunteer Services staff to determine the best placement for you. You will meet with the supervisor of a selected department to determine compatibility and discuss training and work schedule.

• Health — Volunteers must provide health clearance information, including verification of a negative tuberculin skin test completed within the last three months. If the TB skin test is positive, you will need a copy of a negative chest X-ray taken within the past year. A record of vaccinations must include proof of two vaccinations for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) or a positive blood antibody titer, and two chicken pox vaccinations (varicella) or proof of a positive blood antibody titer. The antibody titer is a blood test that measures your immune system's ability to protect against a disease or infection.

  If you don't have medical insurance, please let us know during your initial interview so we can make arrangements for you. In some departments, volunteers also need proof of Hepatitis B vaccination.

• Age — Volunteers must be at least 16 years old to participate in the year-round program. Child Life Services, the Emergency Department and the Ida and Joseph Friend Cancer Resource Center require a minimum age of 18. All volunteers under age 18 must provide a signed Parental Consent Form that will be provided during the interview.

• Fingerprinting — Fingerprinting is required for volunteers age 18 and older working in Pediatrics and the gift shops. Our office will make arrangements for you to be fingerprinted, if needed.

• Time — Volunteers must commit to a minimum of four hours per week for three or six months depending on the assignment area. All volunteers are required to record their hours.

• Dress — Volunteers must wear the UCSF volunteer uniform and nametag while on duty. In accordance with the UCSF dress code, jeans are not allowed.

Summer Student Program

Students from Bay Area high schools can make a difference while learning valuable job skills in UCSF Medical Center's Summer Student Program.

Volunteers must be high school students between the ages of 14 and 18. We ask for a minimum commitment of four hours a week for eight weeks. Orientations are held in June and application information is available during the first week of April.

Contact our office at (415) 353-1196 in early April to request an application.

The following are examples of student assignments:

• Book and Craft Cart
• Caring Across Medical Centers
• Gift Shop
• Guest Services — Patient Ambassador
• Guest Services — Patient Information Desk
• Patient Newspaper Delivery
• Patient Visitor Program

If you work in a UCSF Medical Center department and would like to have a volunteer in your unit or would like to discuss volunteer utilization, please contact the Volunteer Office (415) 353-1196.

You can recognize a volunteer by submitting a H.E.A.R.T.S. (Honoring Exceptional And Random Treasured Service) form.

Registered Volunteers

If you're a registered volunteer, log in to track your hours online.