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Competitive shadowing hours?
Started by Fluffyone
100+? 50 is competitive and I wouldn't do anything over 100. clinical volunteering is way more important than shadowing.
D
deleted480308
It depends on your gpa and mcat......
I had 40 hours of varied shadowing from surgery and pathology to pediatrics and neurology. Definitely work on your story and your skills for self-reflection if you have a lower number of hours. That should help in alleviating concern as long as your reasons for medicine are solid. Perhaps the varied shadowing helped too? I'm not too sure. Just make sure to shadow a DO or two and get the LOR in the end.
Anything over 50 is overkill
Are there any DO schools that specify how much? I got nervous because someone once said that there is a DO school that says it requires atleast 100 hours
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Not that I know of but I could be wrong
I know one specifically says a LOR from a DO you shadowed for 20 hours, I'll look it up
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40-50
ATSU requires two letters of recommendation – one from a premed committee, academic advisor, or science professor with whom you have received a grade and credit for coursework and one from a physician whom you have shadowed for 20+ hours preferably in primary care (MD or DO).
Guess its an MD or DO
IMO I'd do shadowing over clinical volunteering if I had to choose. I spent a year volunteering in the ER and didn't really do or learn anything. I was just there. Shadowing I helped on a few minor things and actually learned things.
I think 100 is good goal, but not necessarily make or break. If you can find a doc that will let you tag along even once a month for a day over the course of a year you are golden.
I think 100 is good goal, but not necessarily make or break. If you can find a doc that will let you tag along even once a month for a day over the course of a year you are golden.
50 is fine
Thanks! Also, do they care how long term it is? Like I started shadowing on December 26 and am going to shadow until late january or early February
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Nope. I do think that once one get beyond 75 hrs, it's overkill, and you could have used that time more productively. The only exception to that would be if one shadowed two DOs for an extended length of time. It's very rare to see someone with two DO LORs.
Ok thanks. I plan on getting atleast 50 hours with 2 pediatricians. I see from the general consensus that 50 hours is considered competitive. Thanks for your help
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Wait I was just on the ATSU website and this is what it said "Applicants are required to submit a minimum of two letters of recommendation, one from a science faculty/professor and one from a physician (MD or DO)."
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that's too much. Do like 20 hours with a primary care D.O. and 20 more hours divided up between a couple of specialties
I mean, you do you, but when some schools are pushing for 80-100 years, it just seems like less of a hassle to get 100+ hours and then not have to worry about it ever again.
I have 20 with a DO and multiple DO interview invitations but ok
No one is saying you can't, its just super safe (and even preferred to have ~100).
You have clinical employment or clinical volunteering?
What school requires the 20+ hour shadowing LOR, I don't think it's ATSU.
Wouldn't it be a better use of time to shadow one DO physician for 100+ hours, than try and find two DO physicians to shadow 50-75 hours (if we are considering time to be the main issue)?
The time it takes to find one DO to shadow can be difficult in many places. The amount of time to even "find" two DOs that would let you shadow would seem like overkill imo, just because finding 2 or more DOs to shadow would seem difficult.
2 MDs would be easy to set up because they are everywhere. Finding more than one DO to shadow could cause a headache.
Considering how uncommon it is to have two DO LORs, I think it's far better to have 2x 50 hrs with two DOs rather than 100 hrs with one. I agree that it's hard finding DOs to shadow...that's why people with 2 LORs are uncommon.
If a DO school is within driving distance, then it might not be so hard to get two LORs.
We note these things in our Adcom meetings.
But isn't the issue here that shadowing too much means "that time could be used elsewhere"? So I'm surprised that ADCOMs think using 100 hours to shadow one DO is starting to be too much, but on the other hand its impressive to have 100 hours between 2 DOs.
Either way, I think this distinction is probably very minor is the application process?
you say it is uncommon but in a good way yes? or is it overkill
I had well over 100 with 4 physicians. 2 MD and 2 DO and I had an MD letter and a DO letter. Some schools have a magical number, others just want to see that you have some amount of exposure to physicians to get a good LOR. If you love shadowing, what the hell......do as much as you want, but if not then get at least 50.
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Ya, I know how difficult it can be if we both have busy schedules. But the times I shadowed, I literally had no work or school (like summers in undergrad., in between jobs later, etc.).
If I were to try and shadow now, it would be hard to obtain 100 hours from one physician. But that's because I'm working + other responsibilities.
Uncommon and in a good way.
Keep in mind that this is my opinion only. To me, shadowing reaches a point of diminishing returns after a certain amount of hours, if you're dealing with MDs. But consider how challenging it can be to find a DO to shadow, much less TWO of them! This says to me that one is going the extra mile to find out about their career in this particular part of the medical profession we call osteopathy.
Capeesh?
All fair.
But what if you only get one LOR from a DO, but shadow two?
or
What if you get no DO LORs, have an MD LOR, but shadow two DOs?
I don't know of any schools that require more than 1 DO LOR so if you have 1, great. If you shadow some DO's, but only get an MD letter that can get more tricky. Some DO schools require a DO letter for you to even be considered. If you want MD, it's not a big deal, but if you want DO, it might be harder because it looks way better to have a DO letter.
I always ask the candidate why they didn't get a LOR from the DO they shadowed.
Are there any schools in the northeast that recommend 100+ hours?
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