DO shadowing

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DOforlife

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Hello guys and girls. I am new to this board and I was just wondering if I can shoot you guys a quick question. I am applying to DO schools and I found out that I need to shadow a DO. I live in Detroit so I went to DMC and went to 2 of the hospitals and asked. The girl tells me that I dont need to shadow a DO, and I tell her I do, eitherway she kicks me out and tells me that they dont have enough doctor for medical students to shadow and if I know a DO personally she can get me to shadow them. I got my secondaries and they all wanted a DO LOR....what do I do. Where do I go to shadow a DO? Please help! 😀
 
You can try the DO mentor program. What you can in the meantime and what might be the quickest way, is to got to the AOA web page and search for DOs in your area, here: http://www.osteopathic.org/index.cfm?PageID=findado_main Then just start calling until you find a DO that will let you shadow him/her, which you can do tomorrow. Definitely get on calling, as you are applying this cycle and it takes time to shadow, then ask for a letter, and get them to actually write it up and submit it. Good Luck!!
 
Do they also allow people to shadow them on Saturday? Also on the application of some of the DO schools they ask me whey I want to go to primary care. What do I say if I dont want primary care, but I do prefer the DO path?
 
Do they also allow people to shadow them on Saturday?

Absolutely nobody can answer this question for you other than any DO you're contacting about shadowing. If this is a work schedule issue, then you may just have to take some days off of work to get shadowing done.

Also on the application of some of the DO schools they ask me whey I want to go to primary care. What do I say if I dont want primary care, but I do prefer the DO path?

Answer honestly, but be sure you don't come across as bashing primary care. A large # of DOs don't go into primary care despite the fact that primary care is a stated mission of most, if not all, DO schools. All that said, most people change their mind about specialty during medical school, so don't be too set in your thought process.
 
The letter I request from the physician should I ask him to fill out the pre-medical thing and let the school mail it or just mail it myself? What is better? Keeping in mind I want to apply to multiple DO schools.
 
The letter I request from the physician should I ask him to fill out the pre-medical thing and let the school mail it or just mail it myself? What is better? Keeping in mind I want to apply to multiple DO schools.

it would obviously be easier to let your school pre-med office send it out (if they are willing to do it for you, mine did but i have heard of some people whose advisors did not) with the rest of your letters. otherwise, you would either have to open up an interfolio account or give your doctor multiple envelopes to send out since you are applying to many schools.
 
I would recommend that you start using the search tool, not that people mind answering. It just might be quicker for you.

A lot of schools require you to get a letter from a DO, which is above and beyond just shadowing. Others just require a letter from a physician in general.

As for the letters, I would highly recommend using a service such as interfolio to handle your letters. Basically the physician mails the letter to interfolio, and you decide online where the letters will go to from there. The letter remains anonymous, and medical schools have no problems with this service.

Good luck to the OP
 
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