By Kai Yamanishi

Aubrey Frey, a junior, is a volunteer at the ED (Emergency Department) Triage Desk in the emergency room at St. Luke’s hospital in Cedar Rapids. She is the first person someone arriving at the emergency room will meet after walking through the door. Her job is to get basic information from patients arriving at the emergency room before sending them into triage to be assessed by a nurse.

The patients she sees are walk-ins, those who came to the emergency room because of something about themselves or a loved one they have noticed. She said that a lot of new parents come in with their babies, worrying about a cough or swallowed pill. She also sees a lot of patients with mental disorders. Her other responsibility is directing families who arrive to support their loved one to the correct room. The job isn’t always easy though. “You’re going to get a lot of people yelling at you. Like, ‘That person just went in front of me. How did that happen?’” she said. “You just have to be calm, and stay focused on what you’re doing.”

Frey said that there are many benefits to volunteering at the hospital. When she works there, she gets a dinner pass. She said, “It’s just a really friendly environment. They appreciate their volunteers a lot, and don’t take them for granted.” She also said that they sometimes host volunteer celebrations which all of the volunteers are invited to.

Another benefit for Frey is meeting good friends, who will be fantastic references for applications to medical programs in college and beyond. One of these people is the volunteer coordinator, Barbara Burns. “She’s just a great lady,” Frey said of Burns. “If I needed a reference, I’d probably go to her.”

Frey described the process of getting a volunteer position as fairly simple. First, send in an application. Second, go in for an interview. If accepted, applicants will be scheduled for an orientation session, followed by specific training in one area. For Frey the two orientation and training sessions took a total of six hours: four for the orientation, and two for the training. To apply for a volunteer position, interested parties should follow the process on the hospital website.

Frey said that it was her friends who told her about the volunteer opportunity at the hospital. “Bri Rubner, Ryley Hoffman, and also Gracie Hill … said that it’s a great place to work. And I’d also heard that since I want to become a doctor, it’s good to get hands-on experience working in a hospital … and I thought that now was a better time than any.” Frey also recommends the volunteer work. “People who are wanting to work at the hospital should just do it, just because it’s a great environment. And you’re going to learn a lot of new things.”