Going into the hospital for the first time, I was hesitant to be proactive. I felt I lacked the experience and expertise to be helpful. But as the day progressed, I came to realize that volunteering was about offering support—an extra set of hands to help smooth over gaps in an overwhelmed system. When I was asked to call out patients’ names and direct them to the correct rooms, I started with very little confidence, but over time I began reading off each name with certainty, navigating the busy clinic flow with more ease. It became a hands-on, learn-by-doing experience.

One of the most important lessons I learned is that in the medical field—whether as a professional or a volunteer—compassion and understanding must come first. Caring for patients isn’t just about following procedure or assigning a standard treatment; it’s about being responsive to individual needs. For instance, even a routine dental extraction was adapted based on the patient’s behavior. I saw this firsthand when a bedridden child with a neurological disorder was treated entirely differently than an older patient with thalassemia. Volunteering at this children’s hospital was a powerful experience that taught me the value of empathy, flexibility, and open-minded learning in the world of healthcare.