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Q: I enjoy
listening to your broadcast on public radio. My 16-year-old daughter,
who excels in academics, is currently a high school junior and
a freshman at the local university. I found that enrolling her
in the Post-Secondary Enrollment Option Program has kept her happier
in her academics. She wants to become a pediatric oncologist/hematologist.
In pursuing her goal, she wants to volunteer as a tutor/buddy
for children with life-threatening diseases, such as leukemia.
Her plan is to tutor/buddy children while they are in the hospital
going through their treatment.
Her problem is her age. When we contacted those
in charge of the program, they initially said she could volunteer
on that floor at the age of 16. When she turned the proper age,
there seemed to have been a change in the rules. They do not feel
that the patients would want to see my daughter, healthy and with
hair. They also said it would be too traumatic for her to see.
She disagrees, as do I. Not all 16-year-olds have the same maturity
levels. She realizes that there are teachers on staff for the
children, but she thinks the young patients would enjoy her smiling
face.
She is currently a volunteer at a health center.
She started as a "reader" to young children who are
awaiting treatment in the ER or the pediatric ER. My daughter
enjoys this very much. She dresses in scrubs and dresses all the
"little patients to be" in scrubs. She assists in showing
the children all the things they may see and touch while in for
surgery. She helps explain to the children and their parents the
items that look scary.
Do you think that she should be given the opportunity
to interview and be an exception to the age rule?
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