Advice on setting up physician shadowing

[CanadianRN]

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While searching through these forums, I have come to the realization (reluctantly) that I need to shadow a few physicians despite a decade of working as a nurse. I will take the opportunity to see parts of medicine that I have been less exposed to. At the end of the day, I am sure I will enjoy it. =)

How do you go about setting up shadowing with a physician? I recently moved to the U.S and I have no contacts here other than my wife. As it happens, my wife is a physician but I do not want to get her work involved at this stage as it introduces uncertainty in her own career. As for myself, I have not started working in the U.S yet (waiting for RN license) so I have no contacts through work. I do not want to wait until I get my license to start this process.

Specifically, I am interested in shadowing a family physician with a dynamic practice that includes some ER, anesthesia, hospitalist work, or does deliveries. Any advice on setting this up would be amazing!!

Thank you.

 

[el_duderino]

Try to identify some local physicians who do the type of work you're looking for. Use your insurance company's physician list, Google for local practitioners, etc. Then just call the office and ask if the physician, or any of the physicians in the practice, are accepting students for shadowing.

You could also try find the numbers for pre-med advisors for local colleges/universities, then just calling and saying you're a nontraditional med school applicant new to the area looking for shadowing-friendly physicians. Could be worth calling the admissions office at a local med school or a teaching hospital....

 

[CanadianRN]

Thanks jonythan. That sounds pretty straight-forward. We don't have physician shadowing in Canada, so I really appreciate the advice. I will look into these options.

 

[jebelali]

Thanks jonythan. That sounds pretty straight-forward. We don't have physician shadowing in Canada, so I really appreciate the advice. I will look into these options.

Ya, which sucks! They always look at me weird if I suggest I shadow them!

 

[QuantumJ]

It can be hard if you don't have any connections. Generally, I found clinics nearby in the fields I was interested in. I then sent an email to the administrators/office people and they either forwarded it to a doc or ignored it. I had to email maybe 5-6 clinics to get 1 positive response. The ones that do go out of their way to let you though resulted (in me at least) for very enjoyable experiences.

 

[Shjanzey]

This was quite tough for me. I tried reaching out to my local medical school physicians, none of which ever replied to my emails. I spoke to every doctor I knew and ran into a brick wall.

The best opportunities came from my volunteering opportunity. I met a Neurosurgeon there that only dropped by once. I struck up a conversation and that turned into my best opportunity. I basically learned to be a "shadowing *****" for lack of a better word. I shamelessly prostituted myself to anyone with the title Dr. and it finally payed off. It seems like more and more there is red tape going up at hospitals and clinics that are making it more difficult for people to shadow.

 

[Quik]

I found a great opportunity shadowing an Ortho by cold-calling/emailing his office repeatedly until I got a response. It took several attempts, but by being persistent and following up eventually I got a call back and since, it's been a fantastic opportunity. Send your resume in with the introductory email; I would at least presume that doctors might be a bit apprehensive bringing anyone who "dreams to be a doc" into their practice without being able to vet them first. Expect it to take several attempts; most physicians are extremely busy and getting around to that curious pre-med might not be at the top of their to-do list.