As a volunteer reader in the waiting room your role is to provide a positive reading experience for the children, and to model reading aloud for parents. Some parents may have never seen good reading aloud techniques themselves. You may find yourself reading to one child or to a group of children, depending on who is in the waiting room.

You should not feel responsible for maintaining order or supervising children in the waiting room; parents need to be responsible for their children even when you are present. Remember that pediatric waiting rooms are often hectic places with both sick and well children of various ages coming and going. Sometimes there may be many children interested in reading with you, and other times there may be only one. Be flexible, and expect a different experience each time!

Before you begin volunteering, the clinic will probably have some routine orientation/training requirements. For example, volunteers may attend a hospital-wide volunteer training, take a TB test, or pass a background check. These requirements will vary depending on the size of the setting that you are in. Once you start reading, most clinics will have a volunteer reader schedule where you can sign up for available time slots. Also, there will most likely be a place for you to sign in and out to record your hours at the clinic. Volunteers typically commit to a minimum of one or two hours per week, but this is quite flexible depending on your availability and the needs of the clinic.

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