Eighteen-year-old Calvert County resident Anna Oswald has won this year’s Volunteer Memorial Scholarship from MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center. A 2013 graduate of Northern High School, she will use the award to help pay tuition at Washington College this fall. She aspires to become a pulmonologist.
Ms. Oswald joined MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center’s youth volunteer program because she was interested in the medical field and wanted to learn more about it. During her time as a volunteer, Ms. Oswald shadowed physicians at the Asthma and Allergy Center as well as the Sleep Lab. She also shadowed respiratory therapists in the critical care unit (ICU) and emergency department.
Volunteering at the hospital allowed her to gain a new perspective. “It gave me a sense of what the hospital environment is like from the physicians’ side and allowed me to see firsthand what I am getting myself into,” she said. “It confirmed that this is what I want to do with my life.”
The $1,000 scholarship, which is funded through efforts by the hospital’s adult volunteers, is awarded to a college-bound senior who has completed 75 volunteer hours and met additional criteria. Because of the strength of this year’s applicant pool, the hospital awarded two scholarships.
MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center is proud of its youth volunteer “candy striper” program, which combines service with education. Although volunteers have no clinical duties, they help out in a wide variety of ways and learn a lot about how a hospital works. The young volunteers, dressed in traditional red-and-white stripes, may deliver magazines or flowers to patient rooms, perform administrative tasks such as making copies and answering phones, and visit with patients. But they also get a taste of healthcare through lunch-and-learn presentations and other educational activities.
MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center has a robust volunteer program. Community members interested in volunteering can inquire with the hospital’s volunteer services department by calling (301) 877-4553. Youth volunteers are interviewed before being admitted into the program.
About MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center:
MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center, a 262-bed full service hospital serving the Washington, D.C., metro and Southern Maryland areas, was founded in 1977 and joined MedStar Health in December, 2012. In addition to its inpatient facility, the hospital operates a state-of-the-art twenty-four bed subacute unit. Throughout the hospital’s history, it has remained a community leader, a strong supporter of health care education, and a dedicated advocate for quality health care services.
