For pre-medical students at Brown, volunteering at Rhode Island Hospital is a popular extracurricular activity meant to help them accrue valuable clinical experience. But due to its popularity, many students struggle to land a position, with the waitlist currently sitting at nearly 200 applicants.
According to Neng Jiang ’28, a pre-med student, Rhode Island Hospital is often “the first choice” among students interested in emergency medicine due to its large size and status as a Level I trauma center.
Rhode Island Hospital hosts over 600 student volunteers over the course of a year, with around 150 to 300 students rotating through each month.
Because of this high interest, the application process to volunteer is competitive, often resulting in long periods of time on the waiting list, multiple students told The Herald.
Pre-med student Valerie Xu ’28 joined the waitlist to volunteer at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, the pediatric division under Rhode Island Hospital, this February. But she didn’t hear back until late June.
Jiang, who is still on the waitlist, missed an interview opportunity after being on the list for three weeks.
“They sent me an email that said there’s spots on the waitlist open, and because I was in class, I didn’t reply to the email right away,” he explained. “After class, I checked again, and it said (the spots) had already closed.”
Adrianne Walsh, manager of volunteer services at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children’s, said the hospital is “chipping away at the waitlist.”
“I can’t say I have a definite timeline with waitlist applicants, but we are certainly working on it,” she said.
Once students on the waitlist are called, an interview is scheduled and the onboarding process takes two to three weeks, she added.
Rhode Island Hospital partners with two University clubs — the Ivy League+ Pre-health Society and the American Cancer Society at Brown University — that work with the hospital in receiving and processing applications. Priority is given to first- or second-year students, “with the hope that they’ll stay with the hospital for three or four years,” Walsh said.
Once selected, volunteers are able to choose from over 60 different roles at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children’s, according to Walsh. “We want to make sure that students are in a role that really fits their skill set, and sometimes even just their personality,” she added. Regardless of role, every volunteer is expected to commit to at least 100 hours of service.
“Working with students at Brown is one of my favorite parts of my job, as I love their enthusiasm, interest to make a difference and willingness to receive feedback,” Walsh said.
Kyra Chen ’28 currently volunteers at Rhode Island Hospital but was initially rejected when she applied through the Pre-health Society at Brown. Chen was working in a lab affiliated with the hospital where she met a coworker who was “a longtime volunteer” who convinced her to give it another shot. At her colleague’s urging, Chen stopped by the volunteer office to inquire about open opportunities.
“I always tell my friends if you want to go volunteer, it might be worth it to call them or go to the office in person,” she added. “It shows your enthusiasm and might be faster than trying to go through the whole online process.”
