​Jordan Graham

I started volunteering for Seattle Children’s Hospital at the beginning of my sophomore year. One of my first experiences was an assignment to the Child Life department. The Child Life department at Seattle Children’s is dedicated to the well being of a child during their hospital visit, and ensuring their comfort, understanding, and happiness as a patient. Seattle Children’s Hospital is a special place because it has a whole staff of people and volunteers whose main job is to bring joy and playfulness to a patient while in the hospital. As a volunteer, we would visit three patients in one three-hour shift where our main objective was to play with the patient we were visiting. Sometimes this meant bringing toys and games to the room, or bringing the patient to the child life playroom that was located in the hospital. Other times our job was to give the parent or caretaker a break and cared for young infants and toddlers with supervision.

 

Embody care, empathy, and sense of responsibility for the well-being of all people and able to adapt

This experience was extremely valuable to me as it taught me the importance of being a kid, bringing joy to kid’s lives, and embodying care and empathy for every patient I came in contact with. This experience led me to my long-term goal of being in hospital management and organization. Focusing on patient care and workflow to ensure the best experience a child could possibly have is the main objective in my career path. I have learned that at the core of this objective is the ability to embody care and empathy towards all people. I feel a sense of responsibility for the well being of all children in a hospital setting, and this is the driving force behind wanting to make the hospital a less scary place for a sick or injured child. My core value of empathy and care are embodied in the way I demonstrated respect to everyone I interacted with in this role. Whether it was a nurse, parent, or doctor, the shared empathy staff had for the patients allowed for a working environment that demonstrated respect for not only the patients, but for any other people contributing to the unit. This also helped me to learn how to apadt to different situations depending on the demographic of people that I was working with. Whether I was working with a patient one on one, or helping a nurse calm a patient down, or working with the administration team to find a patient. The ability to adapt in a hospital setting is one of the most important aspects of working there. Even as a volunteer, I was expected to adapt to any situation I was thrown into, and be able to adjust my feelings for the benefit of the patient.

 

Able to demonstrate empathy and respect for others

One particular instance that I remember quite well was when I was sent to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance unit for my shift, and my first patient was a little boy, 8 months old, who was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma. His mom and sister wanted to go get some food and be able to take showers, so they were relieved when I said I could be there as long as they needed. This little boy grabbed my heart as soon as I heard his story, as my little brother was diagnosed with the exact same cancer around the same age that this patient was. I immediately empathized with not only this little baby, but also his mother and the rest of his family that spent everyday in the hospital taking care of him. I ensured his family that he would be in good hands while they were gone, and I know that they believed me because I showed genuine care. This experience showed me the true importance of empathy and in this situation, the lesson on genuine respect and care for the well being of a child. I wouldn’t be who I am today without going into the field and experiences the day to day struggles of a family with a child in the hospital, and I gained a more positive outlook on what every person can do to change the experience of a child.