Any tips on shadowing?

[whoisthataltruist]

tips

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[mybluedog]

Pls read the million other existing posts about this.


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[Catalystik]

Hey guys, I started calling different doctors to hopefully start shadowing and haven't heard back yet. I am super excited about this, so any tips on finding a doctor to shadow would be much appreciated!

Also, how long do people typically shadow the same doctor for?

Did you ask your own physician, or those of your parents? Might your school's Premed Club or premed advisor have a list of local docs willing to be shadowed? Are physicians present at your clinical volunteer site?

 

[Dr. Meliodas]

To find shadowing positions I literally just emailed physicians at the hospital closest to my undergrad institution. If I did not receive a response after 3 days I emailed a different physician. I shadowed a Pediatric ER Physician (16hrs) , Neurologist (16hrs) , Cardio-thoracic Surgeon (16hrs), and an Endovascular Neurosurgeon (220hrs) this way. Published a paper with the Neurosurgeon I shadowed.

If the physician you are shadowing publishes frequently see if you can help out with some aspect of the project (most likely data collection, or chart analysis) - you could end up with a publication out of it. This shows great initiative.

 

[Hok1eg1rl]

To find shadowing positions I literally just emailed physicians at the hospital closest to my undergrad institution. If I did not receive a response after 3 days I emailed a different physician. I shadowed a Pediatric ER Physician (16hrs) , Neurologist (16hrs) , Cardio-thoracic Surgeon (16hrs), and an Endovascular Neurosurgeon (220hrs) this way. Published a paper with the Neurosurgeon I shadowed.

If the physician you are shadowing publishes frequently see if you can help out with some aspect of the project (most likely data collection, or chart analysis) - you could end up with a publication out of it. This shows great initiative.

Hey, I know its been awhile since you replied to this post, but how did you find someone who was willing to let you shadow 220 hours? Just the luck of the draw with the particular physician you emailed?

 

[Dr. Meliodas]

Hey, I know its been awhile since you replied to this post, but how did you find someone who was willing to let you shadow 220 hours? Just the luck of the draw with the particular physician you emailed?

Honestly, I probably could have done the same with all of the physicians I shadowed. They were all very open to me coming in and the real limiting factor was what I could fit in my schedule. My undergrad has a period of time after winter break called intersession where I had 3/4 weeks free. I shadowed full days throughout that time - 6/7am - 6/7pm for 3 weeks (I got to see a lot of surgery) After that when classes started I did once a week throughout the semester in the neurosurgical clinic.

On another note I did way more hours of shadowing than normally would be done and the big reason for that is I was working on the paper with the neurosurgeon. I also served as a translator for the surgeon and patients when needed in the neurosurgical clinic. If that were not the case I would have stopped much earlier.

Shadowing is a good experience but for many it is very passive and if you are not having an active role your time could be better spent doing other activities after you have a good idea of the day to day work of the physician (usually you can get this after just a couple visits).

 

[JugglesMed]

My suggestion is to get to know one doctor very well (this may Be a family friend doctor or your doctor). They usually have great connections and can hook you up with other doctors. My pediatrian growing up was able to get me into multiple ORs and I was able to shadow 3 other doctors that he knew. Connections are everything.