Any quick way to shadow a DO?

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

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Other than cold calling DOs? I used the AOA registrar and I'll be calling a few doctors ( I'm hoping this isn't too rude). But yah, are there any programs for referring students to DOs who frequently shadow?

 

[Pesquisador]

serenade,

I had success stopping in to the clinic with a simple handwritten note. First time I actually stopped in, and when of course the doc/manager was busy, I just wrote a note on a sheet of blank paper. Not too tacky for most docs, and he actually emailed me about coming to shadow a week later. You might give that a try?

 

[hallowmann]

I don't think cold calling is particularly rude. Most of them know its a requirement at a lot of DO programs. That being said, getting a busy doc to answer/return a phone call may be tough. If you can see them in person or get introduced to them by say someone in the hospital/clinic you are volunteering at, that would be your best bet though.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

serenade,

I had success stopping in to the clinic with a simple handwritten note. First time I actually stopped in, and when of course the doc/manager was busy, I just wrote a note on a sheet of blank paper. Not too tacky for most docs, and he actually emailed me about coming to shadow a week later. You might give that a try?

So basically you went into a random clinic and left a note with your email on it?

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I don't think cold calling is particularly rude. Most of them know its a requirement at a lot of DO programs. That being said, getting a busy doc to answer/return a phone call may be tough. If you can see them in person or get introduced to them by say someone in the hospital/clinic you are volunteering at, that would be your best bet though.

Yah, this is true. I think I'm going to ask the director of volunteering about it.

 

[NontradCA]

It may depend on your GPA.

Lol wut

 

[mik30102]

I had great luck writing letters to random DO's in my area. I originally called (no exaggeration 25 offices) and had 0 luck. Sent out 5 letters and got 2 responses. I think the letter is a lot better since there is the chance it bypasses the office staff, and it also looked more personable. I also included a copy of my resume in each.

 

[Buckeye1992]

Call and talk to some office managers. They are usually very helpful.

 

[NeuroLAX]

serenade,

I had success stopping in to the clinic with a simple handwritten note. First time I actually stopped in, and when of course the doc/manager was busy, I just wrote a note on a sheet of blank paper. Not too tacky for most docs, and he actually emailed me about coming to shadow a week later. You might give that a try?

Call and talk to some office managers. They are usually very helpful.

These.

Other than cold calling DOs? I used the AOA registrar and I'll be calling a few doctors ( I'm hoping this isn't too rude). But yah, are there any programs for referring students to DOs who frequently shadow?

Are you a shy person? I ask because you say you hope calling people isn't too rude. Show some initiative- stop by the office and ask to speak with the office manager so you can drop off the note. This way you're not just a name and number on some bright colored sticky-note that may or may not make its way to the office manager and/or physician's desk. Who knows, they might even let you back to quickly meet with the DO to ask him/her yourself. The least s/he can do is say Y/N, at which point you'll more than likely be told to speak with the office manager. If it's a Y, then the office manager will work with you to set up dates and times.

What are you waiting for?!

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

These.



Are you a shy person? I ask because you say you hope calling people isn't too rude. Show some initiative- stop by the office and ask to speak with the office manager so you can drop off the note. This way you're not just a name and number on some bright colored sticky-note that may or may not make its way to the office manager and/or physician's desk. Who knows, they might even let you back to quickly meet with the DO to ask him/her yourself. The least s/he can do is say Y/N, at which point you'll more than likely be told to speak with the office manager. If it's a Y, then the office manager will work with you to set up dates and times.

What are you waiting for?!

I think I like this idea. I'll write up a letter for a few of these doctors and go to their office and drop off a letter.
And admittedly I'm not shy, but I have my reservations when breaking norms of conduct I guess. But yah, it'll take me a while to drive and drop these letters off though haha.

 

[NeuroLAX]

I think I like this idea. I'll write up a letter for a few of these doctors and go to their office and drop off a letter.
And admittedly I'm not shy, but I have my reservations when breaking norms of conduct I guess. But yah, it'll take me a while to drive and drop these letters off though haha.

Don't be lazy with your future.

 

[wjs010]

I had to email different places in the area. On luck was shadowing an orthopedic surg.. It's great but sucks having to drive 40 min for it. There are hardly any DOs in louisiana

 

[HeronsBeak]

I looked up DOs in my area, there were 8. I sent 8 letters with my résumé with each and got one response. Not bad, but those are probably about the odds of cold contact.

 

[GypsyHummus]

I looked up DOs in my area, there were 8. I sent 8 letters with my résumé with each and got one response. Not bad, but those are probably about the odds of cold contact.

DOs for some reason are actually really hard to get ahold of to shadow.

 

[survivordo]

I would suggest visiting in person if possible, if not then a letter or even e-mail is best. Try to do something where the doc doesn't have to immediately respond, they are busy people!

Survivor DO

 

[NeuroLAX]

DOs for some reason are actually really hard to get ahold of to shadow.

This just indicates a lot of people don't visit their office in person.

 

[GypsyHummus]

This just indicates a lot of people don't visit their office in person.

I called around 5 DO offices, and each nurse that answered the phone said that they dont take students to shadow. Its too bad

 

[StudyShy]

Any of those people in the south eastern Michigan/northern Ohio just have to come to work with me, and I'd help pair them up with a doctor. All of our ER docs x one are DO. 🙂

 

[GypsyHummus]

Any of those people in the south eastern Michigan/northern Ohio just have to come to work with me, and I'd help pair them up with a doctor. All of our ER docs x one are DO. 🙂

Yeah, Michigan and Ohio have lots of DOs lol. My area has like 5, and we are a big city

 

[StudyShy]

Yeah, Michigan and Ohio have lots of DOs lol. My area has like 5, and we are a big city

It's nice because I know that DO is a viable pathway toward medicine because I see it daily in action. The MD/DO stigma is not present. 🙂

 

[LifeTake2]

I called around 5 DO offices, and each nurse that answered the phone said that they dont take students to shadow. Its too bad

You failed the moment you spoke to the 'nurse'. Nurses don't speak for physicians, nor their office.

If you want to shadow, at a minimum track down an office manager and be prepared to kiss a little ***** sometimes. You can also have better luck catching the physician themselves around quitting time as they are almost sure to be there, but the office staff will be winding down.

In the end, be polite, be professional but don't just give up. Many doctors may have not have done it before, but few of them are going to coldly tell you to pound sand. Just have to learn how to get to the people with the authority to make a decision beyond which color band-aid to use.

 

[wooki]

use your network. did you do any sort of shadowing or volunteering in the medical field? come across or befriended any physicians? get in contact with them and ask if any of their colleagues are DO's.

i asked one of the MD physicians who i was working with to set me up with his colleague. he was glad to do it. also doing it this way, when it comes time for your letter, it'd be easier for them to write because you come from a recommended source.

 

[MedSchoolMama]

I cold called so many and was totally shut down by almost all of them (mainly by front office staff) but it only takes one. If you never ask the question then you will never ever get a yes.

I suggest being open to travelling to an area outside the immediate area of the univeristy. Not a huge commute just a little further than the average student would be willing to go. Urban and rural areas have great opportunities and also great stories for adcoms.

 

[LaughingMan]

Any of those people in the south eastern Michigan/northern Ohio just have to come to work with me, and I'd help pair them up with a doctor. All of our ER docs x one are DO. 🙂

Hah I might take you up on that offer!

It's been over a week from a hospital, and I'm currently waiting on paperwork to be processed. After that--hopefully I can shadow my ER DO doctor. I'll ask her if she knows of a DO family doctor as well, so hopefully I can ultimately get two letters.

It's so frustrating.

 

[LaughingMan]

Still no reply from the Hospital, so I shot off an email to the doctor letting her know I am still interested and updating her on the process.

👎thumbdown

 

[pepes1lv1a]

I called a DO today from the AOA registry who was listed as 'Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine' specialty. She picked up the phone herself, and sounded totally out there (but nice as could be). Quoted some poetry at me, made vague statements that I pretended to understand a little more than I did, talked about hating doctors and being a "misplaced zygote", and eventually gave me the names of other DOs who she thought might still take students even though she doesn't.

This could not have been normal, because she was going on and on about how DO's are selling out by moving closer to the qualifications of an MD. She was not happy by the fact that MU-CCOM changed its name from CCOM because it signifies an expanding movement moving further from its roots.

Took me a little off guard for my first cold call!

 

[coolingglasses]

use your network. did you do any sort of shadowing or volunteering in the medical field? come across or befriended any physicians? get in contact with them and ask if any of their colleagues are DO's.

i asked one of the MD physicians who i was working with to set me up with his colleague. he was glad to do it. also doing it this way, when it comes time for your letter, it'd be easier for them to write because you come from a recommended source.

👍

This field involves a lot of "who you know," as many other career tracks do.

 

[JGimpel]

Show up with a court order.

 

[deleted492904]

Hi guys, sorry to hijack this thread but my post is going to somewhat related. Is shadowing a DO a requirement? Can I shadow a MD (which I have already done) and have that on my application? Thanks in advance and sorry to hijack this thread.

 

[Jumoke]

Show up with a court order.

 

[HeronsBeak]

Hi guys, sorry to hijack this thread but my post is going to somewhat related. Is shadowing a DO a requirement? Can I shadow a MD (which I have already done) and have that on my application? Thanks in advance and sorry to hijack this thread.

A lot of schools want(require or highly recommend) a DO letter. How you get that I suppose is up to you, but unless you find an awesome doc that will write you a letter based on a phone call shadowing is your main option.

 

[hallowmann]

Hi guys, sorry to hijack this thread but my post is going to somewhat related. Is shadowing a DO a requirement? Can I shadow a MD (which I have already done) and have that on my application? Thanks in advance and sorry to hijack this thread.

About half of all the DO programs either require or strongly recommend a DO letter, so its in your best interest to get one. Shadowing a DO shouldn't be a big time commitment and you could probably get it knocked out within a few weeks (i.e. in May). Just contact DOs to shadow for a few days, then at the end ask for a rec. Seeing as how almost all of the DO programs ask for the LORs with the secondary, you basically have into mid/late June even if you submit on June 1st.

 

[deleted492904]

Thanks for the help guys. If I may ask, how late will I be in the application cycle if I submit my app around July 20th? The reason I ask is because I'm taking my MCAT in June and hoping to get the scores back on the 20th of July. I know for MD programs I am kind of in the middle where I'm definitely not early but also not late based on what people tell me. Thanks.

About half of all the DO programs either require or strongly recommend a DO letter, so its in your best interest to get one. Shadowing a DO shouldn't be a big time commitment and you could probably get it knocked out within a few weeks (i.e. in May). Just contact DOs to shadow for a few days, then at the end ask for a rec. Seeing as how almost all of the DO programs ask for the LORs with the secondary, you basically have into mid/late June even if you submit on June 1st.

 

[hallowmann]

Thanks for the help guys. If I may ask, how late will I be in the application cycle if I submit my app around July 20th? The reason I ask is because I'm taking my MCAT in June and hoping to get the scores back on the 20th of July. I know for MD programs I am kind of in the middle where I'm definitely not early but also not late based on what people tell me. Thanks.

Its probably about the same for DO, but why are you delaying submitting the primary for your MCAT score? Do you already have a low score? Your MCAT score can be updated once it comes in, and as long as you indicate that you will be taking it later, most schools will wait to see the new score.

Unless you already have a low MCAT (<24/25), I would apply to all the schools day 1. If you do have a low MCAT already, I would apply to 1 school so your app gets verified, and then add the remaining schools after your scores come in. You should be doing the same with your AMCAS app as well (most MD schools don't do pre-secondary screens, so its less of an issue).

 

[deleted492904]

Its probably about the same for DO, but why are you delaying submitting the primary for your MCAT score? Do you already have a low score? Your MCAT score can be updated once it comes in, and as long as you indicate that you will be taking it later, most schools will wait to see the new score.

Unless you already have a low MCAT (<24/25), I would apply to all the schools day 1. If you do have a low MCAT already, I would apply to 1 school so your app gets verified, and then add the remaining schools after your scores come in. You should be doing the same with your AMCAS app as well (most MD schools don't do pre-secondary screens, so its less of an issue).

Yea, I have a low MCAT score and I'm retaking it on June 20th. I will try to get my app verified once I have my personal statement done, which I'm hoping to have done by mid May. Thanks for the help, and if there's something wrong with what I'm doing please point it out to me. This is my first time applying so I'm new to the whole process. Thanks again.

 

[Back 5]

Dress well (shirt and tie) and make an afternoon of driving to various DO offices in the area. You will have much better results walking into an office, politely and briefly introducing yourself to the front staff and asking to speak with the office manager. Bring your CV and a well written cover letter.