Volunteers in the red zone: the study of hospital labor in the scope of the COVID-19 pandemic response
Abstract
Based on the study of the cooperation between volunteers and the professional community of medical workers in the scope of the COVID-19 pandemic, a problem of interaction between civic and state organizations in the fields of healthcare and rescue work is discussed. These areas of activity are usually under strict regulation, with considerable barriers to volunteer participation, as the applicants are expected to have relevant professional training. However, existing research suggests, that in everyday interactions between volunteers and staff members within organizations, the erosion of these barriers can be observed, as volunteers get involved in the boundary work to circumvent formal restrictions and make their position more legitimate. Key points from the theory of situated learning are used to describe the practices of the volunteers in their routine work in the hospital during the pandemic. Participation of newcomers is seen as a gradual process of expansion of the boundaries of their participation through learning practices. Based on participant observation, interviews with volunteers, and analysis of the work chats, some features of this participation are described. In particular, the boundaries and boundary work take on increasing importance following the normalization and routinization of hospital life. The position of volunteers is being redefined, and they face the necessity to justify the legitimacy of their participation, which is not the case for the emergency phase of pandemic work. Also, the role of the material objects both volunteer-owned and hospital-based is discussed with the boundary work, namely how reflections on the boundaries and interactions with material objects shapes volunteers’ ideas about which skills they want to obtain. In addition, the article discusses the ways in which acquired knowledge and skills are transferred from one community of practices to another and become shared practices of search and rescue work.
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