By Debra Wood, RN, contributor
Sept. 29, 2009 - Caring doesn’t stop when the paychecks do, according to nurses around the country who have discovered the joy in practicing as a nurse volunteer.
Joleen Bechtel, RN; Shirley Sawyer, RN; Dorothy Chick, RN; and Stephanie Harvey, RN, are nurse volunteers at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. Photo credit: Lawrence Memorial Hospital
“It’s extremely rewarding,” said Joleen Bechtel, RN, who participates in the nurse volunteer program at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Lawrence, Kansas. “I enjoy the patient work and the camaraderie with other people in the hospital.”
Bechtel retired from the IV team at Lawrence in 2007. She grew restless after a few months at home and decided to help out at the hospital, but as a traditional volunteer she could not assist patients who asked for her help.
“I was frustrated about my inability to use 46 years of nursing experience,” Bechtel said. “I wasn’t allowed to help patients at all.”
Then a friend told her about a nurse volunteer program at another hospital, and Bechtel brought the concept to Lawrence Memorial. She now works one or two days each week on the same IV team she had retired from two years ago. She changes central line dressings, checks IV sites and scrubs to assist with peripherally-inserted central catheter lines.
Some patients notice her identification badge says “Nurse Volunteer” and are amazed she would spend her free time helping them.
In fact, patients might run into four or five nurses who currently volunteer at Lawrence Memorial, working four- to six-hour shifts. Half of them, like Bechtel, are former employees. The nurse volunteers must have an active license and at least two years of experience. They work under the direction of a staff nurse and have varying responsibilities, depending on their expertise and interest.
Most of the volunteers are retirees, who do not want the daily grind but are caregivers at heart, said Allyson Leland, director of volunteer services at Lawrence Memorial.
“The nurse volunteer program provides them an outlet,” Leland said. “They can get back to the basics of why they love nursing and actually use their skills without the pressure of day-to-day nursing.”
When Lawrence Memorial decided to start its program, LeLand turned to Sally Rundquist, RN, who initiated a program at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis in 2002. As a nurse manager at the hospital, Rundquist recognized the need for additional help on the units.
“I felt it was a creative way that we could, perhaps, help the nurses do the work they need to do,” Rundquist said. “And I knew when I was ready to retire, I wanted to be a volunteer nurse and do the things nurses do, which is go to the bedside and take care of the patient. We didn’t have a program that would allow nurses to do that.”
To get things started, Rundquist wrote a proposal, which administrators accepted. She now works part time as the clinical supervisor for the volunteer nurse program.
Thirty-six nurses volunteer in St. John’s Mercy’s program, primarily in their area of expertise, giving baths, taking vital signs and conducting the admission history. They can spend additional time with patients who need more attention.
“I have nurses everywhere in the hospital,” Rundquist said. “Sometimes it’s being a good listener, and sometimes it’s being there to observe things that need to be acted upon.”
Volunteer nurses receive three days of orientation and can attend educational in-services. The program has attracted younger nurses who have relocated to St. Louis and want to try out St. John’s Mercy before applying for a position. Other nurses are retired or younger and do not want full-time employment.
“The desire to provide care tugs at their heart strings,” Rundquist said.
Rundquist now consults with other hospitals that want to start volunteer nurse programs. New Hanover Regional Medical Center in North Carolina patterned its 4-year-old program after the one at St. John’s Mercy.
“It’s very hands-on, but dictated by their comfort level,” said Eileen McConville, director of volunteer services for New Hanover Regional, adding that volunteer nurses often pick up on subtle cues about patients’ conditions.
Twenty nurses volunteer, reinforcing discharge instructions, making follow-up telephone calls, rounding on patients in the emergency department and performing many nursing duties at the direction of the unit’s nurse manager. They cannot give medications, document in the chart or take off orders.
Pam Moffett, RN, volunteers at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in North Carolina, keeping her skills current and reaping the rewards of spending time with patients.
“We do everything except the paperwork,” said Pam Moffett, RN, a nurse volunteer since the program’s inception. “I do a lot of patient education. I work with new moms and high-risk pregnancy patients.”
Moffett retired 10 years ago, but she missed the patient contact and started to volunteer at the hospital about eight years ago. She thoroughly enjoys her new role.
“I love being around other nurses and keeping up with the technology,” Moffett said. “The patients like it that you have chosen to be there. We have time to spend with them.”
Capital Region Medical Center in Jefferson City, Missouri, started its program, called Nursing with Passion, about a year ago.
“We wanted to bring back talking to patients and spending time with them,” said Gail Maddox, RN, manager of the progressive care unit at Capital Region. “They lend expertise and assist wherever we are swamped. They change dressings and help patients to the bathroom.”
Volunteer nurses receive a stethoscope and lab coat and float to any unit they feel comfortable working on, including specialty units. After the hospital has checked competencies, they can start IVs, insert urinary catheters and document their care.
“What we thought was a wonderful program here has gone on to get national recognition and be in many, many other hospitals across the nation,” Rundquist said.
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