What Does a Candy Striper Look Like?

What Does a Candy Striper Look Like?

For many people, the term ‘candy striper’ conjures up images of young women wearing red and white striped pinafore uniforms. This was an iconic sight in hospitals during decades past.

Although candy stripers have become less prevalent at many hospitals, some still provide volunteer opportunities for teenagers. For some high school students, volunteering at a hospital serves as an invaluable introduction to the healthcare field and often serves as an launching pad into medical career choices.

Candy stripers have been around since the 1940s, when a junior high school in New Jersey started an initiative that paired female volunteers with patients. These girls would create pinafores from red and white seersucker fabric known as “candy stripe.”

These young women provided patients with meals, delivered flowers or mail, sat with them, brought books and magazines, assisted nurses with light janitorial work, delivered lab samples and sterilized equipment – just to name a few of their responsibilities. As their duties expanded, so too did their skillset.

Bonnie Schuyler, a senior at Diman Regional Vocational-Technical High School in Fall River, was recruited as a candy striper when she was 13. Although she initially had no interest in becoming a nurse, Bonnie found comfort in helping others and finding ways to make hospital stays less stressful for those she cares for.

She began volunteering in the early 1980s and continued throughout her college years. She worked in various departments such as the front office, gift shop, patient rooms and other parts of the hospital.

Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River has recently updated their volunteer programs to include a diverse group of individuals from all ages and genders, according to Cynthia Turgeon, the volunteer manager at Charlton. These new job descriptions and duties are now more inclusive, according to Cynthia Turgeon.

Hospital volunteers carry out a variety of duties, such as clerical and janitorial tasks, at the request of their volunteer coordinator, nurse or physician. Generally between 13-18 years old, these individuals must also complete either a character reference form or parent consent form before beginning employment in a healthcare setting.

High school students sometimes volunteer for college credit, or to fulfill community service requirements. No matter their motivations, many find the experience gratifying and beneficial.