How To Become An Emergency Department Volunteer: What It Is and Career Path

What is an emergency department volunteer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Elyse Zavar PhD

Emergency Department Volunteers provide non-medical support to the department by assisting the medical and administrative staff and spending quality time visiting with visitors and patients to promote excellent service delivery.

In this role, you should not undertake duties outside the role description without checking first with your Volunteer Supervisor. Also, you must not undertake any manual handling tasks if you lack the appropriate training. However, it will help if you offer emotional support and empathy. Still, you must under no circumstances provide guidance or a medical opinion on a patient's treatment or assist with anything of a clinical nature.

Since this is not a clinical role, you probably won't be shadowing or aiding staff; however, volunteering in these demanding conditions will expose you to many aspects of the Emergency Department, so being calm and composed in these circumstances is essential.

You can earn a decent amount of salary that equals $33,580 per year or $16 per hour concerning this role's sensitive nature.

What general advice would you give to an Emergency Department Volunteer?

Elyse Zavar PhD

Associate Professor, University of North Texas

Prior to entering the field, gaining hands-on experience through internships and volunteer opportunities can help new professionals not only stand out in the job market, but many employers will recognize and count these as years of experience thus increasing salaries. When offered a position, research comparable salaries and do not be afraid to negotiate salary, among other benefits, when discussing a job offer.

ScoreEmergency Department VolunteerUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,232

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

10.0

Growth Rate 7%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.82%

Asian 4.51%

Black or African American 6.57%

Hispanic or Latino 15.41%

Unknown 5.69%

White 67.01%

Gender

female 62.78%

male 37.22%

Age - 34

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 34

Stress Level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.7

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.6

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become an emergency department volunteer

Explore emergency department volunteer education requirements

Most common emergency department volunteer degrees

Bachelor's

63.9 %

Associate

15.1 %

Master's

8.0 %

Start to develop specific emergency department volunteer skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	47.92%
EMT	7.11%
CPR	3.73%
Direct Patient Care	3.64%
Medical Terminology	3.59%

Complete relevant emergency department volunteer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New emergency department volunteers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an emergency department volunteer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real emergency department volunteer resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming an licensed emergency department volunteer usually doesn't require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed emergency department volunteer in most of states. 35 states require emergency department volunteers to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License Url
Kentucky	Specific course required	Third-party exam required	Advanced Emergency Medical Technician
Maryland	Degree required	Third-party exam required	EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN (PARAMEDIC) AND CARDIAC RESCUE
Alabama	-	-	Registered Intermediate Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
Alaska	Specific course required	State exam required	Emergency Medical Technician
Arkansas	Specific course required	Third-party exam required	Emergency Medical Technician

Gain additional emergency department volunteer certifications

Emergency department volunteer certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific emergency department volunteer certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for emergency department volunteers include Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and Basic Life Support for Healthcare and Public Safety (BLS).

More About Certifications

Research emergency department volunteer duties and responsibilities

Perform and manage procedures including splinting, suturing, electrocardiography and abscess incision and drainage.
Assist in the upkeep of the emergency department, observe doctors and paramedics interview patients from triage through their discharge
Escort visitors and patients to the lab department, radiology department, ER, as well as many other departments.
Provide newly diagnose cancer patients emotional support during their treatment visits in the radiology or chemotherapy department in the hospital.

Prepare your emergency department volunteer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your emergency department volunteer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an emergency department volunteer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Emergency Department Volunteer Resume templates

Build a professional Emergency Department Volunteer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Emergency Department Volunteer resume.