Cold walking into offices to ask to shadow?

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kelminak

kelminak

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Has anyone had positive experiences with this? I had a physician who I emailed about two years ago and we had good dialogue up to the point of setting up a time to shadow...then suddenly he stopped responding? I'm getting so tired of emailing places with no response either. Am I being too annoying with wanting to walk into an office and simply ask? This person already said they'd be willing in the past (private practice OMM doc), so I don't exactly know if I'd be in the wrong for trying this. I'm starting to get desperate because I absolutely can't find anyone in this ****ty state to shadow. I've tried my states osteopathic physician association (said they'd help but hasn't responded in a month now), cold emailing, and the iLearn site with no success. I *really* wanted to shadow this summer so it was something I didn't have to worry about throughout the school year when I get ready to apply for the 2017-2018 cycle.
 
I suggest just showing up. It takes more work than cold-calling, and definitely feels like begging but you gotta do what you gotta do. Worse they can do is say no.. Then you move on to the next. Good luck and be nice to the receptionist 😉
 
What I personally did was call doctors offices and asked their front desk receptionist. I have had success with this in the past. A simple phone call would both save you gas money and time rather than just walking in although I understand your urgency
 
I don't see a problem with cold calling, you can also drop off a resume with an objective stating that you are looking for shadowing experience.

This is how I got shadowing opportunities.

I would attend college Premed forums with local doctor visitations. I would make sure to get their email addresses/ contact info just in case I had question in the future. I would then email them thank you for their time and advice and kindly ask if I could shadow them. So far networking like this has worked for me, no problem.

You can also ask your primary care physician, if things get desperate.
 
I can totally relate to how difficult it is to find a DO to shadow. Honestly, I would show up. The worst thing that can happen is they say no. Seriously. Some people say it's unprofessional, but I really don't see it as that.

Some people would even go as far as to schedule and change their PCP etc to that DO so they can interact with them. That's different and I wouldn't recommend that.
 
Listen, every physician has been in your shoes at one time or another. Physicians know they are not only getting into patient care when they apply for medical school, but they are also signing up for a lifetime of teaching and mentoring others. I would say that as long as the physician is not completely swamped with work, they will allow you to shadow 80-90% of the time.
 
You can call instead. It saves a lot of time.

Believe it or not, I had to cold call around 50+offices before I found a physician to shadow. Some will tell you they don't "do" shadowing, some will use the "HIPAA" excuse, and some will take your number and never call you back. But just keep asking, cause you only need 1 yes and it'll be all worth it
 
you can also drop off a resume with an objective stating that you are looking for shadowing experience.
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My daughter is working as a scribe in ER with all the MDs and PAs. She wanted to shadow DO so she found 3 DO's thru PA and RN, and she emailed them by sending her personal statement and resume. She is shadowing right now.
Ask everyone, your friend and family friends you will be surprised someone will have connection with some DO.
 
I just cold called the entire list until somebody took me in.
 
If you're uncomfortable with it (I was), you won't be after 20 or 30 unreturned cold calls. I was totally unsuccessful until my desperation outweighed my insecurity about bothering a busy physician. There are good and bad ways to do it, but don't be afraid to put yourself out there.
 
kelminak said:
Good news! I FOUND ONE! A pediatrician is blocking out the whole month of September for me to come in! HOLY **** ITS HAPPENING 😀DDDDDDDD
Click to expand...

Nice, what did you end up doing to get in contact?
 
kamakazi5 said:
Nice, what did you end up doing to get in contact?
Click to expand...

I got kind of lucky. There's a DO who works where I volunteer and someone mentioned that her husband is a pediatrician in the area. I shot him an email and within an hour I got a response back. 🙂
 
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