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April Volunteering Update

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April Service Hours: 9 Total Service Hours: 30.5 This month, I continued volunteering as a Birthing Companion through Tulane’s Labor Support Initiative program. I also volunteered at French Quarter Festival with some of my classmates. It was nice getting to listen to the live music while volunteering. I originally signed up to work the coffee station, but they ended up placing us at the beer station, so we helped with serving beer. In class this month, we did not go through any new modules and instead had time to prepare for our cumulative Medical Pharmacology final exam. This exam tested us on the information we learned in Medical Pharmacology throughout the school year. Our other classes continued as normal, and we finished our presentations for the semester, along with our last Cell Control Exam. This semester has definitely flown by. I am very grateful for all of the new things I have learned and the new experiences I have had, and I am looking forward to seeing how these experienc...
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March Volunteering Update

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March Service Hours: 12 Total Service Hours: 21.5 This month, I continued my volunteer work with the Tulane Labor Support Initiative as a birthing companion. I attended my labor support shifts and also had a recruitment shift at University Medical Center. During my recruitment shift, we were able to recruit some clients to participate in our labor support program so I am looking forward to working with some clients in the future. I also had the opportunity to volunteer at Book Festival this month. I volunteered at the information desk and helped answer questions and give directions. I also had the opportunity to attend a discussion with Dr. Francis Collins titled “Faith, Science and Ethics: Dr. Francis Collins on the Big Questions” moderated by Don Lemon. Dr. Francis Collins discussed his experience as director of the National Institute of Health (NIH) for Presidents Obama, Trump, and Biden and he spent a lot of time discussing his experience directing the NIH during COVID-19. He share...
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February Volunteering Update

February Service Hours: 8.5 Total Service Hours: 9.5 This month we had our in-person birthing companions training session for the Tulane Labor Support Initiative. During training, we met the leadership team as well as other new volunteers. We also practiced different techniques that we can use to assist clients during labor. Some things we learned are the hip squeeze, with and without the robozzo scarf, as well as massage therapy and breathing techniques. During my first birthing companion volunteer shift, I was unable to get the chance to work with any clients, but I am looking forward to hopefully getting to work with clients during my upcoming volunteer shifts. As birthing companions, we are also expected to play a role in the recruitment of new clients from the prenatal clinic. I have had two recruitment shifts and even though we were unable to recruit clients I am still hopeful that we will get some clients recruited in the future. In class, we have completed the Endocrinology mod...
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January Volunteering Update

J anuary Service Hours: 1 Total Service Hours (Spring Semester): 1 This year I have started a new community service opportunity. I will be a Tulane Birthing Companion through Tulane’s Labor Support Initiative. This means I will have opportunities to support individuals before, during, and after giving birth. This can look like attending appointments with the clients, offering techniques to improve their labor experience like music, breathing techniques, massages, and serving as someone who can advocate for the patient. We also recruit clients from University Medical Center and Tulane Healthy Mother’s Clinic.  So far I have only completed our online training and our in-person training is scheduled for Saturday, February 1. I am looking forward to getting to work with clients, nurses, physicians, and other birthing companions. I am also looking forward to having the opportunity to have a positive impact on the pregnancy and birthing experience of the clients I will get to work with. ...
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November Volunteering Update

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November Service Hours: 6 Total Service Hours: 12      During November, I continued to focus my volunteering time on the Trinity Community Center. I participated in more Fun Fridays and also did some more tutoring. After my most recent tutoring session, I got to help out with library time. A student and I worked together to read through a Captain Underpants book. This brought me back to my childhood as I remembered reading some of those books when I was younger. Even though the book was difficult for the student I was reading with I made sure to use it as an opportunity to help build his reading confidence and show him that with some guidance reading a difficult book can still be a fun experience. In class, we recently completed the Renal and Pulmonary unit and are ending this semester with the GI and Neoplasia unit. I enjoyed the Renal and Pulmonary unit because I feel that both are areas that come up often concerning various medical problems and diseases but I have neve...
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October Volunteering Update

     This month I continued my volunteering at Trinity Community Center. I was also able to tutor some students when I volunteered this month. My first tutoring experience was more difficult than I anticipated. The student I was working with was not very interested in doing his homework and since I had never worked with the student before I had to figure out what approach worked best for this student. He eventually started to get the hang of things and I figured out the best way to guide him through the spelling assignment, so despite the rocky start, it all worked out in the end. This experience was also beneficial for building my confidence during my following tutoring experience with a different student working on a reading assignment who was more motivated to do her assignment but also found herself getting easily distracted. I also got to experience another “Fun Friday” where we carved pumpkins which was very fun. In class, we are currently rounding out the Cardiovas...
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September Volunteering Update

My name is Olufunke Adeleye but I go by Funke and this is my first blog post where I will share things about my volunteer experiences as a Pharmacology Masters student at Tulane University. This month I started my community service by volunteering at the Trinity Community Center. Trinity Community Center is for the youth of Hollygrove and provides them with academic and social support. I originally thought that I would help with tutoring but when I arrived I discovered that they do Fun Fridays. So when I arrived the students were eating their snacks and afterward, we started off with the kids playing outside on the playground. It was fun hanging out with them, pushing kids on the swing, helping kids on the monkey bars. Being out on a playground again reminded me of how much I enjoyed playing on playgrounds as a kid. Next, we went inside and the younger students worked on an arts and crafts activity and the older students worked on deconstructing computers. I helped with the arts and cr...
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