Shadowing again...awkward?

[aspirevet]

So a while back I shadowed one of my local vets. It was pretty awkward. First, they stuck me with a tech which I was totally fine with because I got to follow her into a few appointments. Then I met with the vet and got to follow her around as well. The whole day was great but there were a ton of awkward moments. For instance, they have a treatment room with three different stations in it. So basically three different cases can be going on all at once. It was a bit awkward because all I did was just stand there and TRY to stay out of everyone's way. I thought about asking a question or two but everyone looked so busy it didn't seem like the right time. Also, a lot of times the vet would be doing paperwork or something so I would hang in the treatment room with the techs. They were nice and all, but they rarely talked to me and so I again felt like it was awkward to ask a bunch of questions (they always seemed busy as well).

The most awkward parts were during and after lunch. Something I had never heard of was that the office had an almost three hour lunch break. The vet told me I could stay and eat lunch here or I could leave and then come back when the break was over. I felt like it was almost a little rude to just leave for the break and then come back...Maybe it was just me but I decided to stay anyway. It took me about 30 minutes to eat and then I basically just sat there for another 2 hours. Then after lunch we had appointments. They were pretty interesting but a few of them were far apart or a no-show/late. So there were times when nothing was going on and I had absolutely no idea what to do. I would just be standing there or sitting there with the vet doing paper work and the techs really no where to be found. There were a few techs wandering around doing things and I wanted to ask if they needed help but they weren't really doing things I could help with.

So I'll be shadowing a few more times soon and I need advice! What on earth do I do during these awkward moments???

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[dalmatiandoc17]

Perhaps there are some educational books around? At the clinic I'm at now they have a lot of books for the docs about exotics medicine. I generally don't have any time that I can't learn from the RVT or DVM or help out (I'm not just a shadow) but if I do I generally peruse through those books and try to learn something.

 

[Abnerrs]

We had people come shadow at our clinic too. Questions were always welcome. Unless it is a life or death situation I think that it is definitely fine to ask. And definitely offer to help! They might let you do some cool stuff, or they might ask you to do something like laundry. And while that may seem lame, I can not tell you how much something like that is appreciated, and they might be more willing to share the cool stuff later. Even on lunch, if there are others there, ASK!! That's what you're there for.

 

[MysteryCat]

I think that the first few times are generally awkward. I'd say, just try to make friendly conversation at the slow points. Also, if you don't feel comfortable asking questions during the busy times, write them down and ask when it's slow! It'll give you things to talk about (to the techs or DVM), and it'll be a way of learning and showing interest! Hope this helps.

 

[Falina]

Personally I love it when a shadower asks questions! It gives you the ability to teach somebody something, which I think is really cool.

When we're slow at my clinic, my coworkers and I will usually be walking around "working", but it's mostly just busy or catch up work to ensure that we're earning our keep. If a shadower said "what kinds of blood tests can you run here?" I'd love the break in monotony.

When you start up again, I'd ask the tech about it. Chances are that they won't mind
I'll also back up dalmationdoc's response by saying that an educational book would be good for spanning lunches. Good luck!

 

[LetItSnow]

Eh. It was your first time there. They didn't know you and you didn't know them. Dead time just happens at some clinics.

You can...

...make normal conversation.
...ask a tech how/why they're doing what they're doing.
...pull some radiographs and look at them to start getting a feel for it.
...pull some old case files and read them and start to see how they're written.
...talk to the vet about a hundred-and-one topics from managing employees to difficult clients to how to get experience to get into vet school to interesting cases they've had lately, etc.
...bring your own stuff to read (I bring all sorts of random texts to read if there is down time.
...take a break and go get some coffee.

*shrug* Don't think so hard about it, ya know?

 

[aspirevet]

Thanks everyone! I think I'll bring a little notebook to jot some things down in during the break (what I've done and learned, questions, etc.) and I'm also thinking about bringing along a book I have to read for school. Hopefully it will be less awkward this time! I'm pretty sure last time was a slower day because the vet apologized once about how slow things were going. But I think this time will be more exciting!

 

[tropictuco]

Where I shadowed, they used to leave the latest copies of JAVMA and Clinician's Brief laying around a lot. I read those when it was slow. Eventually, my vet let me have all of his copies of JAVMA since like 2008 so I started bringing them from home to read when it was slow. I had my own little stool in a little corner of the main office where I was out of the way but they could still quickly get my attention if they needed me for something. It's going to be different wherever you shadow but those are just a few suggestions.

Oh and I've definitely been known to bring textbooks as well if I needed to. If you want to be very formal, you might ask if it's ok if you study when it's slow.

 

[catnips]

Just wanted to say thanks for this post, because this is exactly how I felt like on my first day of shadowing and I was wondering if it is just me lol.

They were really nice but I was trying so hard to not bother them that it stressed me out. I just didn't want to be in the way of what they are doing. Hearing that some vets and technicians actually like being asked questions relieves me, I will definitely be more "out there" and talkative next time.

So remember, you are not alone, the first couple of times might be awkward but I think itll pass once we get to know them. I ask to help out a lot, not just for the cool stuff but with the laundry, or mopping around and stuff like that to keep busy when things are slow. They didn't make me clean anything but actually let me do some cool stuff after that. I think showing you are interested is all that matters.