UVA undergraduates should apply through the Madison House's medical services programs.
We've grouped these summer positions by service location. Sign up as a summer volunteer.
University Hospital
At our top-ranked hospital serving central Virginia, volunteer opportunities include direct and indirect patient contact.
Escort & Wayfinding
A customer service position for those who like to walk. Volunteers assist patients and families by walking with them to their first destination. Friendly, gregarious people are wanted in this role. Basic wheelchair training provided. Contact: Kim Garofalo.
Hours: Monday - Friday, 3-hour shifts between 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m
Patient Ambassador
Friendly visiting with inpatients in their rooms, volunteers welcome patients and families to UVA and describe available services and amenities. Volunteers encourage patients to sign up for MyChart. Contact: Kim Garofalo.
Hours: Flexible and include evenings and weekends
Driver, Patient Courtesy Shuttle
Help patients and families navigate across The Link, a corridor between University Hospital and the West Complex, driving a 3-passenger golf cart. A great sit-down job for someone interested in providing great customer service and saving many steps for frail patients. A valid driver’s license is required. Contact: Kim Garofalo.
Hours: Monday - Friday, 3-hour shifts between 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m
Harmonies for Healing
Soothing music can transform the busy hospital atmosphere into a calmer, more relaxing environment. Volunteer musicians are invited to help create this feeling by playing in our lobby spaces. Audition required. Contact: LaDelle Gay.
Hours: Flexible
Oncology Unit Friendly Visitor and Administrative Support
Volunteers support patients and families during their stay by providing companionship, empathetic listening and a cheerful diversion with shared activities. Provide clerical support for the unit. Contact: Maureen Oswald.
Hours: Flexible and include evenings and weekends
OR Procedure Check in Area/Surgical Admissions Suite
Volunteers receive donated flowers and create beautiful individual bouquets for our patients who would not otherwise have flowers. (No openings at this time.) Contact: LaDelle Gay.
Hours: Monday - Friday; 5:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m., or 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Substitutes also needed.
Inpatient Therapy Assistant
Individuals who plan to apply to Physical Therapy School (Pre PT) may apply for this role. Volunteers assist therapists with delivering therapy interventions to adult inpatients under the therapist’s guidance, i.e., retrieval and set up of equipment, assistance with gait training, wheelchair transport and other duties to assist the therapist. Must be able to stand, push, pull and lift 25 pounds. Contact: Maureen Oswald.
Hours: Monday - Friday, morning and afternoon shifts
Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center
At our nationally recognized cancer center, patients receive all the treatment they need in one central location. Volunteers provide support and comfort to patients in their battle against cancer. Contact: Maureen Oswald.
Flourish Boutique
A positive image boutique designed to help those facing cancer look and feel their best. Help patients to feel more vibrant, confident and better able to face the challenges of cancer. Volunteers run the cash register, stock items and offer excellent customer service. The boutique is a great place to learn retail.
Hours: Monday - Friday, morning and afternoon shifts
Infusion Hospitality
Volunteers provide hospitality by serving refreshments, comfort care items, empathic listening and practical support to patients receiving intravenous medications. Need substitutes too.
Hours: Monday - Friday, 7:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., 2 to 4-hour shifts
Clinic Hospitality
Volunteers provide refreshments and empathetic listening to patients and their caregivers in the many waiting rooms of the Cancer Center. Great opportunity to work in pairs.
Hours: Monday - Friday, morning and afternoon shifts
Harmonies for Healing
Volunteer musicians play instrumental music in a corridor to benefit patients in nearby rooms. Music creates a pleasant and healing environment for patients, families and staff, providing comfort in a challenging environment.
Hours: Flexible and include evenings and weekends
Emergency Department
This level I Trauma Center provides treatment for approximately 61,000 patients annually. Volunteers support our patients and families during their stay. Contact: LaDelle Gay.
ED Clinic
Volunteers assist staff and patients in the patient care area of the Emergency Department. Duties include stocking supplies and making comfort rounds on stable patients.
Hours: Daily, 3-hour shifts between 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
ED Lobby
Liaison volunteers staff the waiting room in the Emergency Department, supporting families of patients receiving emergency treatment. Volunteers track patients' progress, facilitate communication with medical staff, direct families and patients to hospital and community resources, offer support as families await news of their loved ones and escort authorized visitors to the patient’s bedside; a busy location, suitable for high-energy volunteers.
Hours: Daily, 3-hour shifts between 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Individual Locations
Outpatient Surgery Center
Volunteers meet and greet patients who are having surgery, escort to the assigned surgery suite and ensure communication with family while the surgery is happening. Volunteers support patients and families throughout their day. Substitutes also needed. Contact: LaDelle Gay.
Location: Barry Battle Building
Hours: Flexible, between 6:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Hours: Flexible
UVA Children’s
Children and their families are special. They receive special care in a warm, friendly environment especially designed for them. Contact: Kim Garofalo.
Inpatient Pediatric Bedside Visiting
Help staff lead educational and play activities for children. In addition to group activities, volunteers may make bedside visits to read a story, play a game, or give parents a break. Evening and weekend volunteers spend their time making bedside visits to pediatric patients and their families.
Hours: Daily: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m., 1 p.m. - 3 p.m., 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Clinic Welcome Greeter
Volunteers meet and greet patients and families who are waiting in the clinic waiting room area. They offer various age-appropriate items to help ease the wait of a stressful medical appointment. These individual activities help children, parents, and siblings relax and promote a positive medical appointment experience.
Location: Battle Building
Hours: Monday - Friday, 3 hour shifts; 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon or 12:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Therapy Assistant
Help pediatric patients receiving physical and occupational therapy with patient care activities and routine activities. An excellent opportunity to observe and learn about pediatric therapy services.
Location: Battle Building
Hours: Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. (shifts vary)