Advice On Shadowing Doctors

[MountainTops]

Good day, I promise I'll make this short and worth your time.

My name is Hayley. I'm a rising junior and I'm on the pre-med pathway. It has been a rough year with the pandemic and opportunities and challenged but I'm making it work. I have a quick question because I appreciate the input of others who may have more wisdom than me.

My boyfriend of 4 years was diagnosed with glioblastoma, inoperable, terminal, surrounding his spinal cord. He was stage 4, and baffling to his doctors, he is now stage 3 and recovering, his tumor is shrinking and it's incredible but scary and as a woman of science I am even skeptical. Needless to say it's been a rough year for me but I'm trying my best. I began shadowing for the first time ever in Spring 2020. I shadowed a gastroenterologist and a radiation oncologist who specializes in head and neck. I did 20 hours with each and I'm an out of state student, and money is a concern for me so I couldn't rent an apartment and stay for the summer, I had to leave the state.

Going back next semester should I continue to study this radiation oncologist, for obvious reasons this is a passion of mine. Or should I try other specialties? There are so many areas of medicine, each with something new to teach you. There's pros to staying with one specialty for a long period of time and growing with knowledge and experience and commitment. But pros to seeing other specialties. Should I stay with it, or should I go? I've been doing cancer research since I was a freshman and cancer centre with directors and should I stay or should I try other specialties which I am curious about. I'm curious of everything.

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[gyngyn]

You don't need more than 40 shadowing hours if they are in the outpatient setting (preferably in a primary care specialty).

 

[Catalystik]

Good day, I promise I'll make this short and worth your time.

My name is Hayley. I'm a rising junior and I'm on the pre-med pathway. It has been a rough year with the pandemic and opportunities and challenged but I'm making it work. I have a quick question because I appreciate the input of others who may have more wisdom than me.

My boyfriend of 4 years was diagnosed with glioblastoma, inoperable, terminal, surrounding his spinal cord. He was stage 4, and baffling to his doctors, he is now stage 3 and recovering, his tumor is shrinking and it's incredible but scary and as a woman of science I am even skeptical. Needless to say it's been a rough year for me but I'm trying my best. I began shadowing for the first time ever in Spring 2020. I shadowed a gastroenterologist and a radiation oncologist who specializes in head and neck. I did 20 hours with each and I'm an out of state student, and money is a concern for me so I couldn't rent an apartment and stay for the summer, I had to leave the state.

Going back next semester should I continue to study this radiation oncologist, for obvious reasons this is a passion of mine. Or should I try other specialties? There are so many areas of medicine, each with something new to teach you. There's pros to staying with one specialty for a long period of time and growing with knowledge and experience and commitment. But pros to seeing other specialties. Should I stay with it, or should I go? I've been doing cancer research since I was a freshman and cancer centre with directors and should I stay or should I try other specialties which I am curious about. I'm curious of everything.

Forty hours of shadowing is generally felt to "be enough" for med school application purposes. About 50 hours is the average listed. The shadowing you have is enough for specialties; you still need some primary care shadowing to add to your list. That's not to say you can't continue with the radiation oncologist if you're having fun, but having more won't add to your candidacy.

 

[MountainTops]

Forty hours of shadowing is generally felt to "be enough" for med school application purposes. About 50 hours is the average listed. The shadowing you have is enough for specialties; you still need some primary care shadowing to add to your list. That's not to say you can't continue with the radiation oncologist if you're having fun, but having more won't add to your candidacy.

Okay thank you so much, I understand. I hope this isn't a silly question, but what do you mean by primary care shadowing?

 

[Catalystik]

Okay thank you so much, I understand. I hope this isn't a silly question, but what do you mean by primary care shadowing?

(Ideally, Office-based) internal medicine, pediatrics, Family med, OBGYN, or psychiatry.

 

[MountainTops]

(Ideally, Office-based) internal medicine, pediatrics, Family med, OBGYN, or psychiatry.

Thank you so much