2023 Junior Volunteer Award Winners

These three pictures are connected by the springs that hold each other up, representing how all of them are connected through resilience. The color of the springs, green, show connection as these pictures are all connected by resilience. Resilience, defined by Merriam Webster dictionary is, “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change”; for this reason I used springs to represent resilience as they bounce back easily from being pressed down. In the top picture, I drew myself smiling as I introduced myself to the patient, the lift to my name tag represents introducing myself. I drew myself doing this because it took resilience for me to introduce myself to different patients, as they all had different behaviors. I recovered easily from patients varying from smiling and understanding, to those who shouted at me and were in worse conditions (such as one who had cancer, and shouted at me to close the door). This is why there is the drama mask on the patient, to show that there were multiple patients I’ve met with different behaviors (smiling mask and the sad mask). The blue wallpaper also represents calmness, as I showed myself to be calm on the outside to the patient. The picture in the middle shows nurses connected by green springs, whilst helping a patient in the hospital bed. Again, the green springs mean connection and resilience. I made all the nurses connect with each other, and look similar to intend for them to be the same person doing different things. I did this because I wanted to show how hard nurses work to make their patient feel the utmost; as I remember shadowing Regina, she had told me that whatever the patient needs, no matter how small or trivial, she will always do it, to make the patient feel the best. For the nurses specifically, it shows resilience as they are ‘recovering’ from change, such as helping out the patient in different scenarios, like checking to see what they need, the iv pole and their medicine or additional information on the computer (which varies depending on what the patient needs). Since the patient does not have a face, it resembles the many patients a nurse would have to help, resilience is crucial as change is something that a nurse has to deal with for every patient.  

However they all do not have a face, including the patient, to resemble that it could be anyone in that situation, and most nurses are in the same shoes. The last picture shows a man with an iv pole and birthday balloon, while walking down the hospital hallway. This shows resilience as the birthday balloon represents the man’s hope in the midst of hardship, the hardship meaning his illness or whatever he faced to be put in the hospital. This hope is what kept him resilient, to whatever changes he had to face because of his illness. Him trudging down the hallway also represents hope, as the exit is near, both the balloon and him walking down shows that he ‘let go’ of his hardship. Again, this hope that helped him let go of his hardship, made him resilient as he recovered from change. I drew three different perspectives because healthcare is not only what the trained and licensed professionals provide, but volunteers and patients have to ‘provide’ as well. Providing as in an effort to restore or maintain physical, mental, or emotional well-being (Merriam Webster Dictionary), which is possible through resilience, recovering from misfortune or change.  

The world of healthcare is a blend of science and compassion, working together to heal and restore lives. The two interlace in a way that offers foundation and support within our society. It is said by Sentara itself, “we improve health every day,” and I am grateful to have been given the chance to see this blend foster an effective and beautiful environment. With that said, throughout my time I noticed healthcare is like a supportive relationship. 

During my first shift at the Emergency Department, I was quick to be overcome with so many emotions, primarily, anxiety and excitement. While I was not in a position where I could help patients directly, it felt awesome to see that I was able to help the nurses. My most frequent task was sanitizing and replenishing rooms after a patient's dismissal. The nurses' expression of gratitude held significant meaning for me, especially after seeing first hand how demanding their jobs are. The nurses move from room to room, conducting check-ups and treatments on patients and genuinely tending to their well-being. Within everything I saw and the conversations we had, I developed a meaningful understanding, appreciation, and relationship to them and their work. 

Healthcare is like a relationship because it requires trust, communication, and mutual understanding between patients and medical professionals to achieve the best outcomes and ensure health and wellness. Like an ecosystem, it relies on interconnected components working in harmony to maintain overall health and balance. Without a patient in need, a willing provider, science, and compassion there wouldn’t be the healthcare community we have today.