Accidentally shadowed a podiatrist - should I list it?

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balopathic45

balopathic45

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My dad set me up with a podiatrist because he didn't know he wasn't an MD. To be honest, the shadowing experience wasn't much different from my ones with MD but should I still list it in my AMCAs?
 
Probably not. It's simply irrelevant. It would be like putting down high school service hours for a roadside cleanup, yeah its somewhat relevant, but no one in admissions actually cares.

You could always talk about it in an interview and maybe compare MD to DPM and why you prefered one to the other, or what differences you saw.
 
*insert rant about parents setting up something that the student should be responsible for*

:bang:

There's a difference between getting a contact from a parent or someone else, and having them set up the whole thing & you meeting the doctor the first day of the shadowing.
 
I put down my time shadowing an NP and PA. When asked about it I said it helped convince me that being a physician was the right path. I mentioned in interviews my time shadowing a dentist and optometrist as well. I have a funny story that goes along with it. Nobody seemed to think it was unusual.

And I didn't realize for years that a podiatrist was not an MD. The one I know is called Dr., works in an office with Ortho guys and does surgery. That is an honest mistake.
 
prehealthadvisor55 said:
*insert rant about parents setting up something that the student should be responsible for*

:bang:

There's a difference between getting a contact from a parent or someone else, and having them set up the whole thing & you meeting the doctor the first day of the shadowing.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
balopathic45 said:
My dad set me up with a podiatrist because he didn't know he wasn't an MD. To be honest, the shadowing experience wasn't much different from my ones with MD but should I still list it in my AMCAs?
Click to expand...
It won't hurt you to list it. Be prepared for a "Why not podiatry?" question, in case you're asked.
 
raiderette said:
The one I know is called Dr., works in an office with Ortho guys and does surgery. That is an honest mistake.
Click to expand...
But they are doctors, Doctors of Podiatric Medicine.

OP, if you list it then make sure you know why you didn't go the DPM route, but be cautious not to talk down about any profession.
 
Ugh damn click bait

I was thinking you tripped and fell into a podiatrist's office and then played it off like you wanted to shadow him
 
I think it really depends on how you want to tell your story. I am a career-changer so I focused my story on why switching to the healthcare field, why medicine, and why now. I listed shadowing a nurse practitioner, a dentist, and physicians, and mentioned how I was able to see patient care from multiple angles. I provided pros for each and said I have tons of respect for all, but kept finding myself coming back to medicine because....

I think it worked for me because it showed that I didn't just limit myself to pursuing medicine but took enough time to learn (and be more open) about other healthcare professions and thought my way through. But everyone is different and what worked for me might not work for you.

Anyways, good luck and I am sure that once you find your story, you will know whether to put your shadowing experience or not!!
 
zero0 said:
Ugh damn click bait

I was thinking you tripped and fell into a podiatrist's office and then played it off like you wanted to shadow him
Click to expand...

That actually happened to me when i was trying to talk to some of those fine PT students (who were close to finishing their degree). Learned a lot about PT school in the process. Good times
 
When I was applying, I was advised by my peers and mentors not to include non-physician shadowing hours for the sake of avoiding possibly unfair questions about commitment. Take it with a grain of salt, however.
 
If you list it people will wonder if you even know podiatry is not MD/DO. Makes you look poorly researched.

But I say, in for a penny, in for a pound, so you should do some shadowing of chiropractors and optometrists as well.
 
I talked about shadowing speech pathology and physical therapy. I even put it in my personal statement because it was integral to my decision to go into medicine. I had to know I did not want to go into those things before I decided medical school was worth it.
 
The point of shadowing is to get an idea of what the work day is like so one can make at least a somewhat informed decision before making a commitment. Unfortunately, we've turned it into a process where it's done to fulfill requirements, check boxes and pad applications. I believe the idea that shadowing a non-MD/DO shows lack of commitment to being a physician is awful silly, but certainly may be present among some people. The bottom line is that there's no universal answer on this because ADCOMs are composed of individual people who have vastly different opinions.

If it were me, I'd put it on the application and be ready to talk about having opportunities to see the broad range of healthcare practice and how it fits together. I'd hesitate wanting to indulge in feeling like I had to hide this (podiatry) from a jealous girlfriend (medicine). If some individual or program was offended or displeased by my exploring options, then that's the type of culture I'd wish to avoid because there's more coming. And believe me, it's coming.
 
And if you're worried about people thinking you've confused podiatrists with medical specialties then you could spell this out indirectly in your application in some way as follows...

Shadowed a clinic DPM through duties of .... And saw the way in which...
Click to expand...

If they can't see that you know the difference between the two from that then they're the ******* and not you. If something like that costs you being at a program, then that's a place you want to avoid because, as I said, there's more coming.
 
st2205 said:
The point of shadowing is to get an idea of what the work day is like so one can make at least a somewhat informed decision before making a commitment. Unfortunately, we've turned it into a process where it's done to fulfill requirements, check boxes and pad applications. I believe the idea that shadowing a non-MD/DO shows lack of commitment to being a physician is awful silly, but certainly may be present among some people. The bottom line is that there's no universal answer on this because ADCOMs are composed of individual people who have vastly different opinions.

If it were me, I'd put it on the application and be ready to talk about having opportunities to see the broad range of healthcare practice and how it fits together. I'd hesitate wanting to indulge in feeling like I had to hide this (podiatry) from a jealous girlfriend (medicine). If some individual or program was offended or displeased by my exploring options, then that's the type of culture I'd wish to avoid because there's more coming. And believe me, it's coming.
Click to expand...


Nice explanation 🙂 -- I suspect many applicants choose MD/Physician (or bust) simply because it's "the best" and most prestigious of the healthcare professions and/or because that's what Mummy and Daddy want, and that they don't even give much real consideration to non-MD healthcare careers because they fall short on the prestige/parent-pleasing fronts.

Shadowing in multiple healthcare fields shows you're at least open to other career options, so focused on healthcare and helping people, not on 'achieving' an MD-only. Similarly, if your goal is academic medicine, shadowing researchers and PhDs might make sense. Or if your goal includes health policy and/or global health, maybe some time in politics.

The point is to find your own narrative and do the research necessary to investigate the career options that are of interest to you.
 
The podiatrists that I know function exactly like orthopedic surgeons, except that their scope of practice is limited to the foot and ankle. So shadowing a podiatrist should give you the same experience as shadowing a surgeon. I would put it down as shadowing without any concerns whatsoever.

I also agree that shadowing dentists, physical therapists, and even a floor nurse would be a great learning experience. In fact, I suspect that shadowing a nurse for a day would be more useful in the long run than another day with an MD. Also, that would give the interviewer something interesting to talk with you about.
 
redferrari said:
Accidentally? How do you shadow on accident? If your dad didn't know, surely you should've haha
Click to expand...

Accidentally, as in my dad mistakenly told me he was an MD and I had no reason to believe he wasn't.
 
balopathic45 said:
Accidentally, as in my dad mistakenly told me he was an MD and I had no reason to believe he wasn't.
Click to expand...

Again...why did you have no part of setting up the shadowing before the day you walked into the office? Like talking to the podiatrist beforehand?
 
I don't think you should list it. [emoji23][emoji23]
 
I worked in veterinary medicine and shadowed all kinds of medical professionals and almost every doctor I have interacted with has been impressed that I know because I explored and not because I assumed. Knowing other parts of medicine will only help you. Many schools even have opportunities to talk/learn with/volunteer with other medical fields during school and they will like that you bring perspective!
 
prehealthadvisor55 said:
*insert rant about parents setting up something that the student should be responsible for*

:bang:

There's a difference between getting a contact from a parent or someone else, and having them set up the whole thing & you meeting the doctor the first day of the shadowing.
Click to expand...

I always find it amusing when pre-med parents try to regulate their children's path into medical school.
 
Turkishking said:
youre in medical school, you should know by now, it's "MCAT".
Click to expand...
Not in medical school, but accepted. I always say MCATs, it doesn't sound correct to me in the singular. Is this a real thing?
 
Well, you did get to observe patient interaction and get exposure to a clinical setting. I think it would be worth mentioning.
Do get around to shadowing an MD/DO though.
 
prehealthadvisor55 said:
*insert rant about parents setting up something that the student should be responsible for*

:bang:

There's a difference between getting a contact from a parent or someone else, and having them set up the whole thing & you meeting the doctor the first day of the shadowing.
Click to expand...

balopathic45 said:
Accidentally, as in my dad mistakenly told me he was an MD and I had no reason to believe he wasn't.
Click to expand...

prehealthadvisor55 said:
Again...why did you have no part of setting up the shadowing before the day you walked into the office? Like talking to the podiatrist beforehand?
Click to expand...

Silly silly OP ... they will always learn eventually to grow up.
 
balopathic45 said:
get off your high horse bud
Click to expand...

I wish I had one... instead I have a high mule since my dad didn't know =(

In all seriousness though I'm not sure what you would expect as an answer to your lack of being foresight and proactiveness. It's honestly better to get this feeling now so you make better choices next time.

That said, in anticipation of more animal comments I'll unsubscribe and will probably forget this by the morning. It's best for the both of us OP.
 
Officer Farva said:
Not in medical school, but accepted. I always say MCATs, it doesn't sound correct to me in the singular. Is this a real thing?
Click to expand...
It's the medical college admissions test. One test. Doesn't really bother me to hear it said incorrectly - we all know what you're talking about - but for some it's nails on a chalkboard
 
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