People might find it surprising that I consider my first job as the catalyst for my professional career. My jobs have taken me everywhere from a shoemaker, to guest packing parts factories as a collegiate job to pay a trip, to counseling, to Rehab Therapy to a mental hospital, to working in an insurance agency, and finally to my current profession of teaching. However, my very first job prepared me for the world of work.
My first job was as a candy striper at the age of 13. I can hear people saying, well, volunteering shouldn’t be like that. Believe me, Candy Stripers were expected from the same organizations that others were hired for. But first, anyone born in 1980 probably has no idea what a Candy Striper is.
Candy Striper is used by a teenage girl, at least 13, who agreed to go through the training; strike the time on the clock, and volunteer to serve in some part of the hospital. You could be working everywhere from answering the phones at the front desk, to delivering meals, to gifts and flowers by taking to Gazofilacia< /a>. The name Candy Striper comes from the fact that the uniform was a striped red and white pinafore. Very few hospitals have this program now, and even fewer have a voluntary adolescent program called the Candy Striper program.
Like the program started in 1940 as a social outing for a group of students in a New Jersey high school. The girls sew dresses in the school were brought from the teacher material red and white striped material. But their name stuck and the project began to grow through the United States. Currently, more volunteers are used for clerical duties, as patient privacy is a concern. Although I was with the Candy Striper, I had full access to the patient rooms. There are five ways in which he prepared me for real life and future work.
1) Discipline is important.
We received two weeks of training before we were allowed to work in the hospital. We covered everything from affinities, to compassion for the sick, to the use of blood pressure and temperature . Therefore, after that, I do not know whether it is not allowed to do some nursing duties. Then we discussed work habits, such as being on time, dressing appropriately, and what not to talk about at work.
2) Be consistent.
The next step is to introduce yourself to the unit or area where you work. We are carefully warned not to show up late, designated, and bad call. We were dissuaded from calling unless we were sick or in case of an accident. What a great experience for 13 years. I learned right away that any work, even volunteer work, was serious business. We were encouraged to be firmer.
3) Learn to be respectful collaborators.
I noticed that so many young 13 and 14 year olds were rude and very negative. I quickly noticed that those same girls never showed up for work again. Nothing was said to everyone, but I quickly got the message. Be rude to co-workers or bosses and you’ll have no job.
4) Be kind to who your customers are.
It’s probably impossible to do any job where somewhere on the line, you don’t have clients. Even the president has clients. These, of course, are considered voters. In training, we are taught that patients and families are our clients. We would be polite at all times and if we raised an issue, we would contact our supervisor. This document seems to be what a lot of people in the world could use today. Remember the adage that the customer is always right.
5) Be flexible in a job and willing to transfer to other duties as needed.
During the two summers I worked as a Candy Striper, I noticed that the Candy Stripers who stayed and started to earn college scholarship money were the ones who were flexible and willing to work in different areas of the hospital. Those who did not want to do that, as they were asked, did not come to him. I quickly learned that by making the scene yourself and being willing to be flexible, you would want to be seen as a valuable member of the company. I started by answering the phones at the front desk, then graduated to serving food. Finally, my job was to take flowers and gifts into the rooms.
Who knew Candy Striper could learn so much? Above all, I realized that there are rewards for things well done. We had an annual banquet where prizes were given and the most valuable prizes for each year were four full nursing school scholarships at the hospital. While I did not choose the field of nursing, I maintained an average in school and was accepted to college with honors. I credit what I learned as a Candy Striper with helping me stay on track in school and was chosen as one of the first four high school juniors who were allowed to enter college a year early.
I’m a far cry from being a nurse now, but the rules in the world of work are pretty much the same no matter where you go. Parents I advise you to let your child volunteer somewhere in your community and start learning what is needed for the rest of his life.
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