NLA Discussion: Volunteers

[Paul Clay]

At 04:36 PM 4/30/97 +0000, Andres Muro <AndresM at NMAIL.EPCC.EDU> wrote:

>I am submitting some analogies for comparison. Whenever someone talks
>about improving the delivery of medical services, nobody mentions that
>we are going to have 1,000,000 volunteers by the year 2,000 taking care
>of patients. When NASA talks about their programs they do not make
>reference to getting volunteers to help build the space shuttle. When we
>address the need to improve the work of air traffic controllers nobody
>makes references to volunteers. 
>
>I am sure nobody would go to a hospital if you knew that several doctors
>were volunteers, recruited by Laubach (many of them senior citizens).
>Nobody would fly if a single air traffic controller was a volunteer
>recruited by the "Air Traffic Controllers Volunteers of America". Do you
>all get my point?

You're comparing apples and oranges -- where your examples draw from paid,
highly educated professionals performing surgery and building spaceships
compared to something parents do (or should do) from the birth of their
children to the birth of their grandchildren.  If we use your analogy then
no one should be a parent until they complete a course of study and
demonstrate proficiency in the field.  And while I realize that you
recognize the "need" for volunteers IMHO you fail to recognize the
opportunities presented to YOU right now.  Finally the field you have so
dedicated your professional career to is receiving recognition and attention
as never before.  Speak to volunteer groups about the need, the work, and
point them in a useful direction.  Use your experience constructively to
ensure that this new found wealth of a work force is used effectively.  My
experience (one whole whopping year) has been that if volunteers can get the
past the rose colored glasses of what 'they'll achieve' then they've got a
good chance of being effective.  While I may get flamed for saying this -
the volunteers I have the hardest time with are retired teachers. They can't
shift their paradigm to something unstructured that requires creativity
beyond the classroom they worked in, and I have to remind them that if the
educational system they taught from worked then I'd be out of a job!

Paul

Paul Clay <PaulClay at worldnet.att.net>