Module 4: Preventing Unprofessional Behavior
Reflect On Your Motivations For Volunteering
What do I want? You should spend time assessing your reasons and goals for volunteering before you make any commitment. Why do you want to volunteer? Answering this question takes significant self-reflection. If you are motivated by a strong sense of social justice, altruism, compassion, and enjoy hard work, you may be well on your way to being a high-impact volunteer. You will gain the most and have the highest impact if you have taken the time to honestly evaluate your strengths, weaknesses, motivations and expectations.
Know What You Will Be Doing
In order to avoid surprises and minimize the common causes of unprofessionalism, volunteers must take their training and preparation seriously. Before arriving at a worksite, health volunteers should investigate and understand:
- The resources and limitations of the local health system
- Customs, demographic information, culturally appropriate dress, and traits of the local work and living environments
- The hierarchy of authority within the local work and living environments