beefing up ECs outside US

[LoLCareerGoals]

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I have an opportunity to do some shadowing while I am outside US. The doctors are mostly European/SA generalists. Will adcoms look at this negatively or not count it toward "real" US shadowing?

Thanks

 

[dmf2682]

I have an opportunity to do some shadowing while I am outside US. The doctors are mostly European/SA generalists. Will adcoms look at this negatively or not count it toward "real" US shadowing?

Thanks

I couldn't say for certain. A lot of the chatter over in the pre-allo forum seems to say that foreign experiences are overrated, but that's mostly discussion regarding going to Uganda and volunteering there. Passive shadowing is another question, couldn't really tell you. My best guess is it wouldn't hurt, and if it shows you what physicians do or gives you a reason to, or not to, go into medicine then it's done its job. Just make sure you get US experience too.

One question I have is, why will you have the chance to shadow overseas? If you're on vacation I'd recommend relaxing. Plenty of shadowing when you get home.

 

[vc7777]

My gut feeling is that this could definitely augment, but not supplant, shadowing right here at home. I think you are correct in wondering how it may be perceived - specifically your concerns that it could be seen as not relevant to practicing medicine in the US.

Remember, part of why Adcoms like to see shadowing is so that they understand you have at least been exposed (in at least one form or another) to what the actual final day-to-day life of a physician may look like. That is, that you are making an informed decision to go to medical school.

Furthermore, I think you can spin this into a positive for interviewing/essays/etc. This might be a unique opportunity to observe firsthand how healthcare is delivered elsewhere. Being able to speak intelligently about this may be a huge benefit when applying (and certainly a benefit for your future career).

To this end, you should try and develop a good grasp of the disparities in healthcare before, during, and after your shadowing. To start, I might suggest you pick up a copy of T.R. Reid's The Healing of America. It is a good narrative comparing and contrasting healthcare practice models in several industrialized countries from the patients' perspectives.

Best of luck.

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

UW's website says that they count foreign shadowing as valid, but they also want some experience shadowing doctors in the US. Probably true for most schools.

 

[Valvool]

I have an opportunity to do some shadowing while I am outside US. The doctors are mostly European/SA generalists. Will adcoms look at this negatively or not count it toward "real" US shadowing?

Thanks

As long as you have US experiences as well, I think this would help your application, not hurt it. Just make sure you have some neat stories to tell about your experiences in these places, compelling patients, etc--again, as I have mentioned in another post, it is not what you do, exactly--unless you won an Olympic medal snowboarding as one of my classmates did--but how you spin it when it counts, when its time to fill out applications and write essays and talk about yourself during interviews. You can take the most simple, run-of-the-mill shadowing experience ever, and turn it into a story that gets everyone's attention. You just have to pay attention (maybe keep a journal) and make the most of your experiences.