Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Volunteering at Cedars-Sinai was extremely influential to me as a pre-med student. Through various programs, I was able to confirm my passion for healthcare and understand where I saw myself fitting in. Volunteering was always the best part of my week. Sharing a simple conversation with a patient and providing comfort to their family goes a long way. That is what makes volunteering so special: the impact you can have on people's lives, especially in their most trying/vulnerable times. Now as a medical student, I am confident that my experiences at Cedars-Sinai helped shape my view of quality patient care and helped me get to where I am now.

I have been volunteering at Cedars-Sinai one 4 hour shift per week for 8 years and it has been a wonderful experience. Making a patient or a family member smile during a very stressful time makes my day. Cedars offers many volunteer opportunities and training for each position. It has been great working with such a wonderful team.

Volunteering has been good for me, to know that I’m helping to shape an important chapter in someone’s life and it gives me a good feeling. My supervisors will ask or sent me to a place where I’m not sure if I can handle it and by God’s grace I was able to help and be of service. Volunteering shows me how I can deal with patients and family in difficult situations. Thank you.

I have been a volunteer for almost seven years. My passion for the job is great if not greater than when I started seven years ago. I look forward every Monday and Tuesday to be at my shift at the cath lab on the six floor. I don't look at this as a job, but a way to help families who are experiencing a lot of stress and anxiety. I can't tell you how many times families have come up to me and thanked me for making their wait in the lobby a lot more palatable. I have a great relationship with all the nurses in pre-op and pacu. They have become my extended family. My supervisor Sheila and all her associates have been very supportive of me throughtout this journey. I also consider them as part of my family. I would recommend volunteering, especially at Cedars, to anyone regardless of age, who really wants to help people in need.

I started volunteering at Cedars Sinai when I was 14 – I am now 20, and volunteering through high school and now college has been the most meaningful experience. I have the unique opportunity to immerse myself in the world of healthcare at one of the best hospitals in the country. I get to watch and support nurses and staff as they care for patients and reaffirm my interest in a career in the medical field. I have also had countless interactions with patients that have made me a more compassionate person and better listener. I have also been able to branch off to more amazing opportunities, such as RMI, where I got to participate in a researcher’s project, learning about lab techniques that I now use in the lab I work at. I have also joined the Pre-Med Program, where I shadow a specialist in their elements throughout the summer and intimately see the life of a doctor. Volunteering at Cedars continues to be a highlight of my week and I highly recommend it to anyone of any age.

I have been a volunteer at Cedars Sinai Hospital for 17 years! Being in the pooch program with my standard poodle is the most fulfilling thing I do! First with Venus 17 years and now Rickey this past year. When a nurse, dr, staff, patient or visitor say to me you two just made my day…it makes my day!!! Highly recommend training your dog to be a therapy dog and volunteer at Cedars. You will be surprised how meaningful it is!!!