Volunteer & Healthcare Experience

For the pre-professional student, obtaining valuable experiences is a critical piece of their pre-professional journey.  Students interested in healthcare professions must obtain clinical experiences, and our goal is to help direct students to opportunities.  Within this resource you will find some information about paid and volunteer healthcare opportunities, as well as some non-healthcare service opportunities. 

Additional volunteering and healthcare experience resources can be found on these outside sites:

Virtual Volunteer & Healthcare Opportunities

Healthcare Training & Certifications

Looking for a healthcare training or certification to develop your professional skills?  Here are some common entry level healthcare roles that can be obtained through additional training and certifications.   

Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) work under the supervision of a Registered Nurse (RN) or Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) to give personal, hands-on care to patients, residents, or clients. CNA's provides assistance with taking vitals and essential daily tasks such as dressing, eating, toileting, and personal hygiene. 

To find a full list of approved Nurse Aide Training Programs in the State of Michigan visit the state's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (bottom of the page has a list of programs organized by county).  Below are some training programs offered in the West Michigan area.

Note: Some companies hire for nurse technicians which may not require a CNA.  

Grand Rapids Community College

Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids

Walker Medical Instructional Services

Thompson M-Tec

Emergency Medical Technicians provide basic emergency medical care and transportation for critical and emergent patients who access the emergency medical system. EMT's perform interventions with the basic equipment typically found on an ambulance, and serve as a link from the scene to the local emergency health care system.  Here is some information about EMT training found in Grand Rapids.  

Great Lakes EMS Academy

Mobile Medical Response (Saginaw/Bay City/Mt. Pleasant Area)

 

Medical Scribes work one-on-one with healthcare providers by documenting patient care in real-time, at the bedside, through the use of the electronic medical record.  Here is information about scribe training in West Michigan.    

GVSU Scribe Academy (Helix Scribe Solutions, affiliated with Spectrum & Bronson)

ScribeAmerica (affiliated with Mercy Health)

Under pharmacist supervision, pharmacy technicians supply medicines to patients, assemble medicines for prescriptions, and provide information to patients and other healthcare professionals.

Pharmacy technicians must be certified according to state guidelines.  Many pharmacies will hire technicians and provide hands-on training to prepare for the certification exam.  Some examples of local pharmacies that hire Grand Valley students include Family Fare, Walgreens, CVS, and Meijer.  

Phlebotomists draw and prepare blood for medical testing, transfusions or donation.  Training for the field varies. It should include classroom instruction plus “X” amount of clinical hours; however, not all programs offer the clinical hours. Students interested in this work should research their options and select a program that meets their needs. Note: Most hospitals prefer candidates with certification but will consider applicants without (and will train).

Employers that may provide training:

Schools/Organizations providing training:

 

 

Search for Your Healthcare Experience

In the table below you will find a searchable list of paid and volunteer opportunities.  The columns can be sorted according to your interests, and you may type in keywords to narrow your search.  Click on "view" to learn more about the organization and areas of involvement. 

Try some of these keywords:

  • Type: Paid, Volunteer, Volunteer & Paid
  • Specialty Area: Chiropractic, Dental, Optometry, Pharmacy, Podiatry, Veterinary
  • Categories:  Animals, Art & Humanities, Children & Youth, Clinical Experience, Community Support, Disabilities, Food Security, Free & Low Cost Clinics, Gap Year, Grief, Homelessness/Housing, Hospice, Hospital & Clinics, LGBTQ, Medical Supplies, Mental Health, Public Health, Refugee, Senior's, Women's Health 
  • EAP: Use this to find opportunities to work with underserved populations.  Includes medical and non-medical.  

Volunteer & Healthcare Experience

Category Type Organization Address Website
Youth & LGBTQ Volunteer The Trevor Project Website View
Women's Health, Clinical Experience Paid Simply Born Midwifery Services 802 Merritt St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49507 Website View
Women's Health Volunteer Planned Parenthood Multiple Locations Website View
Women's Health Volunteer MomsBloom 3292 North Evergreen Dr. NE Grand Rapids, MI, 49525 Website View
Women's Health Volunteer Pregnancy Resource Center Grand Rapids and Wyoming Locations Website View
Seniors Paid Papa Pal Multiple Locations Website View
Seniors Paid Beacon Hill 1919 Boston St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506 Website View
Seniors Volunteer Yorkshire & Stonebridge Assisted Living 3511  3515 Leonard St. NW, Walker, MI 49534 Website View
Seniors Volunteer Baruch Senior Ministries Multiple Locations Website View
Seniors Volunteer & Paid Porter Hills 4450 Cascade Rd SE Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546 Website View
Seniors Volunteer Senior Neighbors 678 Front Ave NW, Suite 205 Grand Rapids, MI 49504 Website View
Seniors Volunteer & Paid St. Ann's Home 2161 Leonard St NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504 Website View
Seniors Paid Comfort Keepers Multiple Locations Website View
Seniors Volunteer Meals on Wheels of West Michigan 2900 Wilson Ave. SW Suite 500 Grandville, MI 49418 Website View
Seniors Volunteer & Paid Sunset Retirement Communities & Services Multiple Locations in Grand Rapids, Grandville & Jenison Website View
Refugee Volunteer Treetops Collective 906 Division Ave S, Grand Rapids, MI 49507 Website View
Public Health Volunteer & Paid National Kidney Foundation of Michigan 1345 Monroe Avenue NW, Suite 140 Grand Rapids, MI 49505 Website View
Public Health Volunteer Van Andel Institute (Purple Community) 333 Bostwick Ave. NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503 Website View
Public Health Volunteer & Paid Versiti (formerly Michigan Blood) Multiple Locations Website View
Public Health Volunteer The Grand Rapids Red Project 401 Hall St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49507 Website View
Public Health Volunteer ALS Association Michigan Chapter 678 Front Ave NW, Suite 177, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49504 Website View
Mental Health Volunteer National Alliance of Mental Illness 401 Washington Lansing, MI 48933 Website View
Mental Health Volunteer & Paid Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services Multiple Locations Website View
Mental Health Volunteer Momentum Center 714 Columbus Avenue, Grand Haven, MI 49417 Website View
Medical Supplies Volunteer Project C.U.R.E. Multiple locations throughout the U.S. Website View

Page last modified February 1, 2022
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