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.
Hours: Monday - Friday, 3-hour shifts between 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m
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.
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.
Hours: Flexible
Admitting and Surgical Waiting
Volunteers receive donated flowers and create beautiful individual bouquets for our patients who would not otherwise have flowers. (No openings at this time.)
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.
Hours: Monday - Friday, morning and afternoon shifts
Friendly Visitor & Health Unit Coordinator (HUC) Assistant
Volunteers are assigned to an inpatient unit to positively impact the patient and visitor experience by providing friendly companionship to patients, reviewing hospital resources (as needed), and assisting unit staff by performing receptionist and clerical duties at the nurses' station. Volunteers must be self-starters and independent.
Hours: Daily, 3-hour shifts vary depending on unit needs.
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.
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 Waiting Room 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.
ED Volunteer
Volunteers help staff and patients in the patient care area of the Emergency Department. Duties include stocking supplies, and making comfort rounds on stable patients. In the waiting room, volunteers support families of patients getting emergency treatment. Volunteers track patient progress, help with communication with medical staff, direct families and patients to hospital and community resources, offer support as families wait for news of their loved ones, and escort authorized visitors to the patient’s bedside. The ED is a busy location that is good for high-energy volunteers.
Hours: Daily, 3-hour shifts between 9 a.m. and 10 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.
Location: 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 specially designed for them.
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)