Cannot find a DO to shadow...should i give up

[bionerd89]

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Hi, I've been trying to find someone to shadow in my area but everyone I called said No. I pretty much exhausted the list of DO physicians in my area. At this point I'm not sure if I should keep trying to find one or just give up. I have an MD letter but I don't want to be at a huge disadvantage because I don't have a DO letter.

Things I've tried:
- I called my nearest DO school --> they gave me 1 contact but it turns out that the physician isn't really working right now
- I tried using the AOA mentor website, requested like 50 mentors --> no response from any
- I called the DO in my area that is listed on the AOA site --> everybody said no
- I called my state AOA -- > said they have no contacts at this time

Sigh.. feeling hopeless..

 

[NontradCA]

Hi, I've been trying to find someone to shadow in my area but everyone I called said No. I pretty much exhausted the list of DO physicians in my area. At this point I'm not sure if I should keep trying to find one or just give up. I have an MD letter but I don't want to be at a huge disadvantage because I don't have a DO letter.

Things I've tried:
- I called my nearest DO school --> they gave me 1 contact but it turns out that the physician isn't really working right now
- I tried using the AOA mentor website, requested like 50 mentors --> no response from any
- I called the DO in my area that is listed on the AOA site --> everybody said no
- I called my state AOA -- > said they have no contacts at this time

Sigh.. feeling hopeless..

My advice:

You're probably not coming off right to people when you're approaching them. This is your career, and you have to want it. Don't take no for an answer. All I'm seeing is excuses, and giving up shouldn't be part of your vocabulary.

Think of where your going to be a year from now, and do whatever it takes to get there. Try going to the next place you'll be looking to begin this career. But before you go, so some practice in the mirror. Envision yourself in the shoes of those who are now in the profession.

Speak with confidence and perseverance, let others know how serious you are. You're now ready to embark on your next step:

"Wud u like frys wid dat"?

 

[tripl3s3v3n]

What you might want to try is to go to your local hospitals and see if they have scribes in their ED and try to get hired. Even if they don't have any DO ED physicians usually they have good connections with the areas primary care DOs or DO hospitalists. If they don't have scribes then you can volunteer and try and make some connections on your own.

 

[NontradCA]

Seriously though, call more physicians. Call clinics, other DOs at the school. You'll find one.

 

[verynice]

Have you tried this?

http://www.osteopathic.org/osteopathic-health/find-a-do/Pages/default.aspx

Just enter your state and zip code and it should give you a list of a few DOs in your area. This is how I found the DO I shadowed.

 

[TriagePreMed]

All you need is a letter. I suggest you ask them for lunch and ask them if they can write a letter based on character. I bet many said no because of hipaa, but would be okay for coffee and a letter.

 

[MJS4878]

I spent months searching and it wasn't until I went to my primary care doctor for a physical when he mentioned that he brought a new doctor into his practice. I asked about her and sure enough she was a DO, so I spoke with her briefly and now I'm shadowing one day a week. Good luck to you, it's not easy

 

[bionerd89]

Try this website:

http://www.cranialacademy.com/

Search in the upper-left --> "Find a Professional Near You"

Be forewarned (or not) that these are really die-hard osteopathic docs if they are members of this site. But for the purposes of getting a letter it was really helpful for me. Every one of the 10 or so doctors I emailed responded to me. I shadowed and got a letter. He was a really nice guy.

Hope that helps!

Cool thanks. I just did the search and there were 4 DO in my area, but I already contacted 2 out of the 4 previously and was rejected. I'll try the other two.

 

[survivordo]

Keep at it, all good suggestions above, I think having the DO letter can really make or break your application. It changes you from "this kid is probably applying as a backup/because he has low stats" to "hey maybe this kid really is into the DO thing!"

Survivor DO

 

[Blackxp]

Persistence is key. Of course do not come off as annoying, but never let yourself give up at that first "no". Move on and try again and work on your initial approach. If you are contacting via email then try calling them or even visiting a hospital to speak with the volunteer department or HR to get some face time. Be sincere and nice and let them know why you are doing it. Let them know that you are genuinely interested in becoming a DO and would greatly benefit from watching them in their everyday work life. Also remember they are very busy individuals so work with them. Let them know that you are incredibly flexible and can move things around to get this done.

Edit: Good luck by the way and you can definitely do this. This application process is very stressful and is taking its toll on all of us. Just keep in there and remember how far we have come. No reason to give in now, right? 😀!

 

[danny89]

This helped me:
http://cf.osteopathic.org/iLearn/index.cfm?pageid=ment_exchange

 

[bionerd89]

Persistence is key. Of course do not come off as annoying but never let yourself give up at the first "no". Move on and try again and work on your initial approach. If you are contacting via email then try calling them or even visiting a hospital to speak with the volunteer department or HR to get some face time. Be sincere and nice and let them know why you are doing it. Let them know that you are genuinely interested in becoming a DO and would greatly benefit from watching them in their everyday work life. Also remember they are very busy individuals so work with them. Let them know that you are incredibly flexible and can move things around to get this done.

There isn't that many DO in my area and I've tried calling most of them already. Do hospitals normally let you shadow the physicians? I've volunteer at a hospital in the past but I never even got close to shadowing a physician. I've only shadowed physicians who work in clinics. I've been talking with a DO on the phone lately and she said shes going to try to set something up but she needs to check with her maanger so nothing is for sure. It also sucks to have a full time job cause I would have to balance my schedule for both. Anyways I will keep trying. Thanks everyone.

 

[DeFused]

My advice would be to network. Shadow an MD doctor for the time being........besides it's good to get a perspective from both MD and DO shadowing. Once you get to know the doctor you can ask him if he knows any DOs that would allow you to shadow him/her. This is how I ended up shadowing a DO.

 

[TeamLeafs]

Keep at it, all good suggestions above, I think having the DO letter can really make or break your application. It changes you from "this kid is probably applying as a backup/because he has low stats" to "hey maybe this kid really is into the DO thing!"

Survivor DO

I don't think it's that big of a deal to submit an MD letter. I'm using an MD letter, and I have 5 interviews so far

 

[Goro]

If the closest DO school is within driving distance, it might be worth going to visit and chatting up the DO faculty.

Failing that, while there are some schools that have a DO LOR requirement, it's not mandatory at all schools, so it's not as bad as you think.

Hi, I've been trying to find someone to shadow in my area but everyone I called said No. I pretty much exhausted the list of DO physicians in my area. At this point I'm not sure if I should keep trying to find one or just give up. I have an MD letter but I don't want to be at a huge disadvantage because I don't have a DO letter.

Things I've tried:
- I called my nearest DO school --> they gave me 1 contact but it turns out that the physician isn't really working right now
- I tried using the AOA mentor website, requested like 50 mentors --> no response from any
- I called the DO in my area that is listed on the AOA site --> everybody said no
- I called my state AOA -- > said they have no contacts at this time

Sigh.. feeling hopeless..

 

[Dreamstoo]

If the closest DO school is within driving distance, it might be worth going to visit and chatting up the DO faculty.

Failing that, while there are some schools that have a DO LOR requirement, it's not mandatory at all schools, so it's not as bad as you think.

👍 Like the advice Goro. Definitely going to chat with some DO faculty at PCOM once I'm back at school.

 

[bionerd89]

If the closest DO school is within driving distance, it might be worth going to visit and chatting up the DO faculty.

Failing that, while there are some schools that have a DO LOR requirement, it's not mandatory at all schools, so it's not as bad as you think.

Thanks for the advice...I will definitely try that once I get my driver's licence..

This is a little off subject, but does anyone know of a good way for me to check whether the LOR I have on interfolio are signed and on letterhead. I'm worried that my letter writers didn't do it. Since my letters are confidential, I can't see them.

 

[DJ303]

Try this website:

http://www.cranialacademy.com/

Search in the upper-left --> "Find a Professional Near You"

Be forewarned (or not) that these are really die-hard osteopathic docs if they are members of this site. But for the purposes of getting a letter it was really helpful for me. Every one of the 10 or so doctors I emailed responded to me. I shadowed and got a letter. He was a really nice guy.

Hope that helps!

Have you tried this?

http://www.osteopathic.org/osteopathic-health/find-a-do/Pages/default.aspx

Just enter your state and zip code and it should give you a list of a few DOs in your area. This is how I found the DO I shadowed.

I was having NO luck with anyone from the AOA list and calling them directly. i have an excel sheet of all the physicians that I called to make sure that I did not call them twice. 25 physicians and all said no or too busy etc.... I finally got 3 physicians to respond and say yes from these sites.. Ahh I love SDN for this reason. Thanks you all!!

 

[bionerd89]

I was having NO luck with anyone from the AOA list and calling them directly. i have an excel sheet of all the physicians that I called to make sure that I did not call them twice. 25 physicians and all said no or too busy etc.... I finally got 3 physicians to respond and say yes from these sites.. Ahh I love SDN for this reason. Thanks you all!!

Did you call the physician? I still haven't found a DO that will let me shadow them. I been calling them and asking the receptionist if I could shadow the physician. Should I be saying something else to them?