CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Every Friday evening at the front desk of the emergency department at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown, 17-year-old Rylee Power asks COVID-19 screening questions to incoming visitors and patients and assists them with where they are going.
Wearing a yellow gown, gloves and face shield for personal protective equipment, the teen does this volunteer work, which she has done at the hospital since Grade 9, even in the face of a pandemic.
When she was little, Power was inspired by her mother, who is a nurse, as well as her two older brothers, who also used to volunteer at the hospital.
“I remember always wanting to be old enough,” said Power. “It was just something I thought was cool, because my brothers did it, and I just always wanted to be like them.”
The teen has volunteered across several departments since she started. Last summer, she assisted with chemo dialysis, serving beverages, keeping the patients who are hooked up to the machine for up to six hours company, and compiling medical packs for the nurses.
She has also worked at the information desk, giving visitors directions and delivering the Sunday’s newspaper, and in diagnostic imaging, where she showed patients where to get ready for their mammograms.
“One of my goals going into the program was that I wanted to do every different area each summer to see what each area was like,” said Power. “I enjoyed it, every single one of them.”
Seeing all the different cases coming in and learning about each patient is part of Power’s preparation to pursue a career in healthcare.
“It's just so cool to be exposed to all of that stuff,” said Power. “I watch Grey's Anatomy and all those medical shows, but actually seeing it in real life is really cool … that’s why I like volunteering at the hospital, because I can see what the hours are like, if I see the same people every shift and see what they actually do.”
Power is also there for both patients and staff when they are feeling down.
“I like to be the smiling face when they're sad,” said Power. “That’s rewarding at the end of the shift when you may have helped or comforted someone who was going through something tough at that time.”
The teen loves working with children as well, and is a counsellor at Camp Seggie, a Christian youth camp in Rice Point, P.E.I. Last summer, her fourth year there, she worked at day camps from Sunday to Friday and then volunteered in the hospital’s chemo dialysis unit on Saturday mornings.
During the year, Power volunteers with KICK, a program for elementary-aged children, on Thursday evenings at First Baptist Church. Whenever there is a cancellation, such as a snow day, the program’s director, Pam Schut, gets emails from parents whose kids are sad about missing it.
“That always makes me feel good, because the kids look forward to it throughout their weeks, which is nice,” said Power. “I really like working with kids. It's my favourite part of volunteering.”
At school, Power is the secretary of the student council, which recently wrapped up its Halloween festivities. She keeps on top of homework by completing it with friends at lunchtime and immediately after school so she can focus on volunteering in her spare time.
Some people comment on how unusual it is for a teen to be spending her Friday nights at the hospital, but Power enjoys having it as part of her week. The hospital has shifts throughout the week and could always use some more volunteers to fill them.
“People think that just nurses do that kind of thing,” said Power. “I guess people don't realize that there are volunteers there.”
