Does anyone list shadowing as a significant experience?

[Ellie Arroway]

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So, I have two linked experiences that are really integral to where I want to go in medicine: One is volunteering at a local free clinic that serves mostly homeless youth, in a CLIA-certified lab. The other is shadowing the family med MD on the staff of the same clinic (40 hours over 3 months).

Both speak a lot to my motivations in medicine. The shadowing really showed me what this kind of patient care is like, though I didn't actually do a lot other than occasionally assist with procedures like wart & toenail removal. I could write a lot about the handful of patients that I got to see on a recurring basis, and what it was like seeing their cases evolve. Is it uncommon to write about shadowing as a "significant" experience on the AMCAS activities section? Or should I just write that it happened, and talk about why it was important in my PS?

Thanks!

 

[EBTrailRunner]

What type of experience you find most memorable is going to be unique to you and your story. If your shadowing is a major part of why you decided to pursue medicine, I'd think you'd want to mention it in your PS. But I think it's perfectly acceptable to list it as a "most memorable" experience as well. That's what I did for a clinical internship I did over two years. I touched on what I did and what it taught me in the limited space I had in my Activities section. Then, for my PS, I focused in on one specific experience during that period that shaped my decision to become a doctor. You could do something similar.

 

[Ellie Arroway]

Thanks. That sounds about like what I'm thinking. I am also weighing how many letters of recc to take away from this place - just one from the doctor, or one from both the doctor and the volunteer coordinator. I work with the volunteer coordinator on some outside projects, including a conference I just gave a presentation on, so the letters would be different.

 

[EBTrailRunner]

I'd take both letters. You can decide later which ones to send to specific schools.

 

[flatearth22]

The only issue with listing shadowing as a most significant experience is that it is a passive activity. You basically just follow and watch. If you have a more active clinical experience then I would perhaps use that instead.

 

[chronicidal]

I listed shadowing as a significant activity.

I don't know if it hurt me. Perhaps I looked like I lacked extracurricular diversity. I had nothing honestly better. I could have made something dishonestly better (i.e. spun my clinical volunteering into something significant, but that felt disingenuous).

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

So, I have two linked experiences that are really integral to where I want to go in medicine: One is volunteering at a local free clinic that serves mostly homeless youth, in a CLIA-certified lab. The other is shadowing the family med MD on the staff of the same clinic (40 hours over 3 months).

Both speak a lot to my motivations in medicine. The shadowing really showed me what this kind of patient care is like, though I didn't actually do a lot other than occasionally assist with procedures like wart & toenail removal. I could write a lot about the handful of patients that I got to see on a recurring basis, and what it was like seeing their cases evolve. Is it uncommon to write about shadowing as a "significant" experience on the AMCAS activities section? Or should I just write that it happened, and talk about why it was important in my PS?

Thanks!

I absolutely did! I developed a pretty close relationship with the doctors I shadowed and they really explained the ins-and-outs of each case and let me interact with patients. Getting to know patients in the hospital on a week-to-week basis also helped me understand the relationships that doctors create with their patients. I thought shadowing was personally significant because it was way more interactive than any hospital volunteering I participated in. I think if you're genuine about it, it is definitely a valid significant experience.