Hi everybody. I’m a first year DPT student. I’ve been a little anxious to see what the actual clinic is like before our first clinical in the fall. This semester has a lighter workload than my first semester, so I have more free time on my hands and was thinking about trying to observe in a clinic. I never felt like I got much from my volunteering experiences a few years ago. I wouldn’t want to actually apply for a part-time job, but ask if I would be able to shadow for a few hours on the weekend or a Friday so I could get used to the environment and see what goes on (and maybe try a few different clinics too). My questions are: is it appropriate for a first year student to shadow / volunteer like this, and do you think doing this would be beneficial or not? Thanks for any input!
Shadowing Question
- Thread starter E-SPT
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If you're able to handle your course load, then absolutely why not! Go for it!
Yeah, why not. It is good to get familiar with the environment you will be in later on. You will probably be more relaxed when you actually start clinical as well. But as jdaniels360 said, make sure you are able to handle the schoolwork first.
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I think it's a great idea. I'm also a first year student, and our program actually has us shadow in a couple of clinics for a half day each week during our second semester (and doing some hands on stuff here and there in addition to shadowing). I'm already feeling a lot more confident about our first full-time clinical in the fall because of the experience. I think it could be really valuable.
You got it. No problem.
