Hospital volunteers, also known as candy stripers in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
, work without
regular pay in a variety of
health care
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health ...
settings, usually under the direct supervision of
nurses
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ca ...
.
The term candy striper is derived from the red-and-white striped
pinafores that female volunteers traditionally wore, which are culturally reminiscent of
candy canes. The term and its associated uniform are less frequently used in current clinical settings.
Another hospital volunteer organization sponsored by the American Red Cross, was the "Blue Teens" who wore blue-and-white striped pinafores. The female adult volunteers of this organization were known as "Grey Ladies" and wore light grey uniforms.
In the United States, volunteers' services are of considerable importance to individual patients as well as the
health care system
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
in general. Some people volunteer during
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
or
college
A college ( Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
(and more rarely at the
middle school
A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...
level), out of curiosity about health-care
profession
A profession is a field of Work (human activity), work that has been successfully ''professionalized''. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, ''Professional, professionals'', who adhere to ethical standards and who hold the ...
s, an interest in learning to be of service in a community volunteer organization, or in order to satisfy
community service
Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always perform ...
requirements as required by some schools. Additionally, other people choose to volunteer at later stages in their life, particularly after
retirement
Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload.
Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
.
History
Candy Stripers originated as a high-school civics class project in
East Orange, New Jersey
East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...
, in 1944. The uniforms were sewn by the girls in the class from material provided by the teacher – a red-and-white-striped fabric known as "
candy stripe". The students chose East Orange General Hospital as the home for their class project.
Red Cross pins and patches were also worn on the uniforms indicating completion of required Red Cross training.
Usually a hospital sponsored either Candy Striper or Blue Teen volunteers but not both.
Duties
Duties of hospital volunteers vary widely depending upon the facility. Volunteers may work in staff reception areas and gift shops; file and retrieve documents and mails; take out trash; clean; provide administrative backup; assist with research by following strict sterilizing procedures for laboratory glass and plasticware, known as autoclaving; help visitors; visit with patients; or transport various small items like flowers, medical records, lab specimens, and drugs from unit to unit. Other volunteer tasks include running a music or art therapy program, where volunteers draw or play an instrument for the patients. Some hospitals even utilize volunteers to cuddle newborn babies.
A few hospitals ask their volunteers to help out with janitorial duties, such as stripping and remaking beds with clean linens. Other "advanced volunteers" include patient-care liaisons and volunteer orderlies. These volunteers must operate on the orders of a nurse or a physician and are given special training to permit them to work with patients. They are also more common in large hospitals, particularly university-affiliated hospitals and teaching hospitals, as they allow pre-medical students to gain experience in patient care by taking pressure off a busy care team.
Some hospitals manage their volunteers from a dispersal unit and assign them to tasks based on real-time labor demands, while other hospitals assign volunteers to a single unit for the duration of their service. Female volunteers traditionally wore pink-and-white jumpers, while male volunteers traditionally wore light-blue tunics or shirts over dark slacks. Today, male and female volunteers often wear a uniform shirt,
polo shirt
A polo shirt, tennis shirt, golf shirt, or chukker shirt is a form of shirt with a collar. Polo shirts are usually short sleeved but can be long; they were used by polo players originally in India in 1859 and in Great Britain during the 1920s.
...
or some other short-sleeved shirt with slacks. Some volunteers (particularly "advanced volunteers") will wear
scrubs, but this is usually avoided so volunteers are not confused with medical personnel. All volunteers wear ID tags within the hospital that prominently indicate the volunteer's status and position.
See also
*
Medical volunteerism
References
{{Reflist
External links
StoryCorps Interview - Oral History
Volunteer Management Professionals of CanadaAssociation for Healthcare Volunteer Resource Professionals (AHVRP)
Volunteer
Medical volunteerism
Hospital staff