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First step would be posting this in pre-allo.
 
Get over it. I'm not saying that to be a jerk... just that is exactly what you have to do. There is no trick to it, other than exposure to the setting until you figure out how to act normal in it.

The more time you spend in a clinical setting, the more quickly you will realize that this is real life, not TV, and that the docs are not rock stars, but people, just like everyone else. (Okay, some of them actually are rock stars... but even they like to just be treated like people, for the most part.) Yes, they want you to show respect and call them Dr. Whatever... they just don't want you to do it in hushed tones and with big doe eyes. Think how weird it would feel if someone treated you like that.

Getting you past this is one of the reasons that you have to do some clinical exposure in the first place.

To you, shadowing is this big exciting event. To them, it is Tuesday. Keep that in mind and don't be weird. Keep shadowing until that isn't something you have to struggle with.
 
I used to sort of be the same way, but what really changed that for me was scribing. With scribing, you get to really get into the physician's thought process and see all their ...humanity, I guess? I would definitely suggest trying to find a scribing gig to 1) help you overcome the whole "star struck" sensation and 2) beef up your application. Definitely keep shadowing though if you're enjoying it! 🙂
 
Thanks for your advice. It's weird because it's only shadowing I get nerves about. I worked in the medical field for a bit, and have no issue with it when I'm volunteering. So it doesn't seem to be because they are doctors, but because I'm not wanting to impact their work if they've been so generous as to let me observe. It's undoubtably weird following someone around all day watching them amd it's been challenging for me to get over that I think.
 
For me, having the physician I scribed for complain about his MSG-induced gastroenteritis really helped bring him back down to earth. And a little gross.
 
wanderingstudent10.10 said:
Thanks for your advice. It's weird because it's only shadowing I get nerves about. I worked in the medical field for a bit, and have no issue with it when I'm volunteering. So it doesn't seem to be because they are doctors, but because I'm not wanting to impact their work if they've been so generous as to let me observe. It's undoubtably weird following someone around all day watching them amd it's been challenging for me to get over that I think.
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I always found thinking of and asking good questions helped with the nervousness. Centering those initial conversations around the medical aspects are good ice-breakers and help build the foundation of your professional relationship with each other.
 
Congrats on the opp! Sounds exciting.

The doctor should know that the point of shadowing *is* for a student to observe, so while it may seem awkward, that is what you are meant to be doing. Was pretty star-struck too as an undergrad so I'd have to tell myself that interacting with the professionals and learning about what they did was part of my job, which helped to lessen the initial weirdness, if you will.

Another thing is to ask questions when there were breaks between patients, which can help with lessening the awkwardness. Also, if you can, have an idea of the type of work that this physician is doing. It won't help you necessarily understand everything that's going on in the clinic, but it will give you some ground before you start. Best of luck!

Random link for shadowing-related tips (the bring-the-notebook thing is the only one that might be difficult to do/unnecessary, at least with my shadowing)

http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2010/06/tips-students-shadow-doctors.html
 
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