Serving as a junior faculty member in a large medical center offered me numerous creative opportunities. I liked the challenges posed by clinical rheumatology. Then opportunities to give lectures, serve on graduate medical education (GME) committees and participate in collaborative research arose. Taking these volunteer opportunities allowed me to meet many students, residents and faculty. These volunteer experiences opened doors for more volunteer activities, such as teaching at conferences, mentoring resident research, drafting board review questions for the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), and supporting the local Arthritis Foundation and Lupus Board.
I loved my doctor-patient and teacher-student relationships; however, having an impact on more than one patient at a time or one resident at a time was not only interesting, but also a pleasant and satisfying distraction from routine demands. Volunteer roles in GME, multidisciplinary teaching and care, and medical missions in third-world settings provided me with nontraditional learning, immeasurable experiences, synergy and personal growth. My volunteer experiences became inherent.
As providers serving patients, we routinely provide service greater than self to facilitate optimal patient care, including tasks like prior authorizations. As volunteers, we, too, are trying to contribute to something greater than self—often providing a service that has the potential to make a positive impact for many.
Many volunteer opportunities naturally tap into our individual occupational skillset, allowing us to influence positive change with many on a shared healthcare mission. Whether improving hospital policy, implementing telemedicine, advocating for the community or taking care of the underserved, service greater than self can be interesting, impactful and satisfying.
Get Involved
Volunteering needs to fit your lifestyle and support things you value. Serving as a parent volunteer to assist as a track coach for your daughter’s grade school team may be ideal, simple and short-lived. When deciding to volunteer, one needs to consider the mission, the time commitment, the people involved and personal goals.1 You want to avoid a Sisyphean experience. There is evidence that volunteering enhances well-being, sustains well-being and provides happiness.2-4 Creating a sense of purpose, developing new relationships and developing a perspective on a volunteer mission adds to a sense of belonging.5
Serving on a remote medical mission for the underserved differs from being on a volunteer committee because it removes one from the hectic workplace and places the volunteer in the present moment, without interruptions, with those in need, while at the same time allowing one to share the experience with others.
