Should I take this Shadowing Opportunity?

[nabilesmail]

Hey guys, So I applied to a Medical Preceptorship and was accepted. Pretty much I get to shadow different fields of pediatrics (surgery etc...) at County Los Angeles hospital. This program lasts 5 days May 14-May 18 and I'm pretty sure they are probably 8 hour days. The only problem is that I'm taking my MCAT on May 31st and feel 5 8 hour days + all the time I need to spend on orientation, getting TB tests, going to get my measles verification, etc... takes away from valuable mcat time.

I already have about 25-30 hours shadowing a Internal Medicine doctor and was planning on getting another 20-25 or so by the time I apply (most of it being after my MCAT).

Do you guys think it would be better to do this program or be con tent with 40-55 hours of shadowing a internal medicine doctor.

Thanks!

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[235788]

...... I'd do it.


30 hours is small peanuts. Get that up.

 

[AspiringDoctor0]

You want to shadow 3 or 4 different kinds of doctors, if you haven't already. I've only shadowed for 50 hours, but it's been with a family doctor on rounds, pediatricians, and a GI; apparently med school adcoms like to see that you have a broad perspective when it comes to observing.

And if you haven't volunteered (both hospital and in the community), I would make that a priority over shadowing if you're short on time. That's not to discount shadowing, but I have read that adcoms pay more attention to your volunteer experience when evaluating your application.

 

[nabilesmail]

You want to shadow 3 or 4 different kinds of doctors, if you haven't already. I've only shadowed for 50 hours, but it's been with a family doctor on rounds, pediatricians, and a GI; apparently med school adcoms like to see that you have a broad perspective when it comes to observing.

And if you haven't volunteered (both hospital and in the community), I would make that a priority over shadowing if you're short on time. That's not to discount shadowing, but I have read that adcoms pay more attention to your volunteer experience when evaluating your application.

Well, I have done two projects teaching underserved kids in the community. I have 80 hours of hospital volunteering. I get out of finals May 7th and was planning on doing 5 hrs a day (+ MCAT after) at the hospital until I apply Mid June except for 4-5 days of extra shadowing (with the Internist I mentioned). I plan to apply with about 150 hours of hospital volunteering + 50 hours shadowing an Internist, so you guys recommend to do the preceptorship? Is it that much more important to get multiple doctors to shadow? Even though 50 hours would probably be the result either way? Note: This does take away more time from my MCAT than if I just did the normal Internist route

 

[Myro]

Let's say those are 8hr days which would be 40hrs and including the extra stuff (forms, tests, etc.) of about 5hrs. That's 45 hrs of your time that you can spend studying so close to your MCAT date. Think about it like this. Let's say you do take the gig and get the shadowing hours but then you end up bombing your mcat. You'll be telling yourself, "wtf good are these shadowing hours since I have to take the mcat again and reapply!"

And by the way, lots of students don't even have shadowing on their app. Seeing as how you already have 30hrs and 20 more hours to come, as you mentioned, taking away precious mcat time for a matter such as this simply isn't worth it, imo.

I say skip it or see if they can move the dates back.

 

[nabilesmail]

Let's say those are 8hr days which would be 40hrs and including the extra stuff (forms, tests, etc.) of about 5hrs. That's 45 hrs of your time that you can spend studying so close to your MCAT date. Think about it like this. Let's say you do take the gig and get the shadowing hours but then you end up bombing your mcat. You'll be telling yourself, "wtf good are these shadowing hours since I have to take the mcat again and reapply!"

And by the way, lots of students don't even have shadowing on their app. Seeing as how you already have 30hrs and 20 more hours to come, as you mentioned, taking away precious mcat time for a matter such as this simply isn't worth it, imo.

I say skip it or see if they can move the dates back.

I dont think they can move it back, its an official program. I don't think I'm going to bomb my mcat but I do want a top score, I am aiming for top schools- I'm scoring about 34-35 right now but I mostly make careless mistakes rather than content ones (except verbal I suck)..

and I think it would be more like 40 + 10 since theres a lot of driving going on + I AM TB pos so I have to do a chest ray to show that I'm neg for the disease. Any other advice. But yeah I see what your saying, I just dont want my lack of shadowing variety to be a downfall in my app for mid range- upper range med schools :]

 

[nabilesmail]

I guess I'm doing it lol. I called to ask a bit about it and ended up enrolling for sure on accident haha.

Here is the description "The preceptorship program is designed for pre-medical students with at least junior standing and an interest in learning more about the field of Pediatric Medicine. Each student will be paired with a faculty mentor at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). Students will shadow physicians in five different CHLA departments usually during spring break

The program is co-sponsored by the USC Office of Undergraduate Programs and Children's Hospital Los Angeles. The program's goal is to increase students' understanding and appreciation of the art of pediatric medicine and to help them gain familiarity with the health issues facing underserved communities. Some of the CHLA departments included in the program are General Pediatrics, the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, the Pediatric Emergency Department, the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit, and the Cardiothoracic Operating Room. Students will also have an opportunity to attend Resident Noon Conference each day of the program. A more specific list of topics will be announced at a later date"

Hopefully I will get a good experience out of it. The guy also said that there will be downtime in which I can study. It is going to be from 8 am to 5 pm everyday. :/

 

[deleted103644]

Shadows cannot live in the dark. They are servants of light.

 

[Praefectus]

You might hit the point in your studying where the marginal benefits are outweighed by the amount of time put in. If you're scoring 34-35 consistently right now, I doubt you would be burning precious studying time.

 

[nabilesmail]

You might hit the point in your studying where the marginal benefits are outweighed by the amount of time put in. If you're scoring 34-35 consistently right now, I doubt you would be burning precious studying time.

But I'm really aiming for a 37+ :/

Bah, hopefully everything turns out alright!