The Art of Volunteering: Finding Satisfaction in Your Work

“It is in giving that we receive.” -St Francis Assisi During my Catholic school years, I was required to memorize this line from the prayer of St. Francis. But like all imposed spiritually, it had a shelf life of twenty minutes after class was dismissed. And I did not give it a lot of thought until I learned of the ministry of a diminutive Albanian nun working in Calcutta. Mother Teresa embodied the idea of giving. The order she founded, The Sisters of Charity, incorporated the St Francis admonition into their morning meditation. They still today exemplify “giving.” I would not understand the complete phrase, however, until I began my work with the Association for the Advanced Care/Global Volunteers (AAWC/GV): a global outreach program working under the umbrella of Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO). In January of 2009 I traveled to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I lectured and taught in the Sihanouk Hospital Center of Hope and surrounding hospitals. Although, I received tremendous satisfaction in my years in the operating theater in the United States, it paled in comparison to the sense of fulfillment from my time in Cambodia. It was addicting: crack cocaine for the soul. In February of 2010 I volunteered to join the University of Miami’s Medishare program after the earthquake in Port-a-Prince, Haiti. We faced all of the challenges of delivering medical care in a resource-poor country compounded by the natural disaster. The personal satisfaction of practicing in Haiti far outweighed the physical hardships: communal living, a scarcity of water, oppressive heat, and the rumble of aftershocks. One afternoon while making rounds in the adult med-surg tent I came to understand the “receiving” part of the St. Francis’ prayer. A well-dressed Haitian man entered the tent and encouraged the more than 200 patients and family members to join him in song. The sound rose to a crescendo: Everyone singing along filling the tent with as harmonious a melody as I have ever heard. I could only stop and listen. Later, I asked the interpreter what they were singing. “Thank you Jesus for loving me,” he replied. In the face of devastation, hardship and squalor the spirit of the Haitian patients was undaunted. My thoughts return almost daily to the tent in Port-a-Prince and the songs of hope. It makes the problems I face today seem minor and insignificant. I have received as much as I have given, perhaps more, in volunteering over the past several years. It is an experience I would recommend for any clinician. But how, you may ask, do I find the time? How to parse the week, meet my pressing obligations, leave my family yet again. Well, since I started this rumination with St Francis, let me refer to him again: “Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” To start “giving” today, please see the “How to HVO” instructions in the table below on volunteering. You may also check with my web site www.serenagroup.net for fund-raising and donation ideas.

“How to HVO”: Volunteer

Placement Process There are multiple steps to the placement process. The process varies slightly from country to country and project to project. We strive to make this process as quick as possible but potential volunteers should be aware that final approval could take several months. • Fill out a Volunteer Profile Form (VPF), https://www.hvousa.org/volunteerToolkit/formspolicies.shtml • You will be contacted by an HVO recruiter to discuss various program opportunities • Submit a copy of your CV to the HVO recruiter • Volunteer’s VPF and CV are sent to the US based program director for assignment approval for the specific program of interest. The program director will: • Review volunteer’s credentials • Check references • Contact the volunteer to discuss the program and their potential role • Inform HVO recruiter if the volunteer is approved • If approved by the program director, HVO sends a request to the site for approval • Once approved by the program director and the site, you will then work with the HVO recruiter to finalize dates and other administrative tasks • See your travel medicine specialist to ensure that you have the appropriate vaccinations and that you are taking the appropriate prophylactic medications • Contact the AAWC/Global Volunteers with any questions on the materials to be presented. You can always contact Dr. Serena (Chair of HVO Wound Management Steering Committee) at serena@healingwounds.com. Other things to keep in mind: • Recruitment is done on a year round, rolling basis • All volunteers must be active members of HVO and AAWC ➢https://www.hvousa.org/waystogive.shtml ➢ https://www.aawconline.org/ • Interested in Volunteering? Please contact: April Pinner HVO Volunteer Coordinator a.pinner@hvousa.org (202) 296 – 0928 x15 Dr. Thomas E. Serena MD FACS MAPWCA FACHM is the founder and CEO of the Serena Group™ family of companies operating wound and hyperbaric centers across the United States, providing point-of-care services for nursing facilities, managing inpatient wound care teams and consulting for more than two dozen industry partners worldwide. Dr. Serena is the medical director for New Bridge Medical Research, a not-for-profit company dedicated to advancing the science of wound healing. In this capacity, he has conducted more than 50 clinical trials, published over 100 scientific papers, and given more 250 invited lectures across the globe. He is the vice president of the American College of Hyperbaric Medicine; He sits on the board of the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care; and is a former board member of the Wound Healing Society. Currently, he serves as chairman of the AAWC Global Volunteers. He has taught wound care and conducted research in Rwanda, Cambodia and Haiti.