What are some do's and don'ts during shadowing?
DO let the doctor lead the way- you are "shadowing" remember? Let
them lead the way in and out of the rooms and all that jazz.
DO open up some. If you just sit like a fly on a log, the physician will
not be able to write you a good letter.
DO come prepared with your A game. Make sure you've had plenty
of rest, you've eaten, etc.
DO NOT do anything that could violate HIPAA. If you don't know
what that might entail, look it up.
DO NOT do things like chew gum, play with your cell phone, etc.
DO NOT talk just to talk. If you don't know the answers to the
questions the doc might ask, say so. You're not expected to know
just yet!
How should I dress?
I always just wore dress pants or khakis with a nice top- also, NO open toed shoes in medical settings!! I wouldn't worry about really dressing up. Just make sure you don't look dressed down enough to get confused with a patient or family member of one.Advice for girls- don't wear anything you can't move fast in, particularly the shoes. I could barely keep up with my doc between patient rooms. He would BOOK IT after each visit and heels would have killed me on those linoleum floors!
How involved should I be? (ie simply stand back and observe or ask the doctor a lot of questions) This will really depend on the vibe you get from the doctor and the kind of day it is when you shadow. I usually kept quiet at first until I felt out the situation. In my experience, the docs will ask you between patients, while they are doing paperwork, if you have any questions. I would only ask legitimate questions that you come up with while observing so it doesn't seem forced.
As far as in the rooms go, I shadowed in a pediatric clinic and while I primarily kept my mouth shut, there were a few opportune moments to interact with both kids and parents. I took those and ran with them, but that is just my natural tendency. Allowing the doctor to see me interact with patients definitely helped my letter of rec. Also, be warned that even though patients get told up front that you are a student observer, they have NO idea (unless the doc says you are considering medicine as a career) that you aren't a medical student. They think you KNOW stuff. Lol I once had a father stop me in between patient rooms and ask me to watch his baby while he ran out to his car. Dress clothes make you seem important to patients, so be ready for anything!
What about a letter of rec? Should I ask for one? If so, when and how do I handle the letter? I never addressed the letter until after the shadowing and I did so via a written letter. I chose this method because I felt most comfortable with it. I don't like to bother docs because I know how busy they are- the letter allows them to address it on their own time. Plus then they have a tangible thing to post up and remind themselves to get back to you. It's really up to you how you want to do it.
What are some good questions to be asking the doctor? I think it just really depends. I started with basics, asking them about their background in school, residency, etc. Throughout the experiences though I would start to ask more clinical questions, partially for the knowledge gain, but partially to show that I had some knowledge and wanted to expand it. I also asked questions about the patients...how to handle certain types of patients, etc
To people who have shadowed before: are there any things that you may have not done but wish you had during your shadowing experience?
I wish that I had the opportunity to shadow longer lengths of time (not per experience, but a greater number of times with the same doc). I always presented the option of that to the doc, but I never pressed for it because again, I didn't want to burden them unless they could take me on.
WHEW! That was a lot. Hopefully it's helpful though. Good luck and most of all, have fun! 🙂
