Does it matter where you shadow?

[SundayT]

I'm still not sure what area of medicine I'm interested in, so I'm wondering if it matters where I shadow? How different would my experiences be if I were to shadow in say, the ED, Internal Medicine, Family Practice or OBGYN? I'm not picky at this point; I literally just want to be able to observe physician/patient interaction.

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[SundayT]

Also, does it matter how long I shadow? I work full-time, intern and volunteer in the ED, so needless to say, I don't have THAT much time to shadow. Would a few hours/week suffice? And how long do you recommend I shadow...a few months, a year, etc? Thanks!

 

[LDubs]

You should definitely shadow physicians from different specialities so that you have some potential sense of what kind of medical field you enjoy. From what I've seen on past threads about shadowing, it seems like shadowing for 100+ hours is not enough time. You can do the math on that one. More than anything, shadowing for more than year can't hurt you. It should further help you determine where your love for medicine lies.

Also, whoever you shadow, make sure you attempt to build a relationship with that person, just to be courteous!

 

[chad5871]

You should definitely shadow physicians from different specialities so that you have some potential sense of what kind of medical field you enjoy. From what I've seen on past threads about shadowing, it seems like shadowing for 100+ hours is not enough time. You can do the math on that one. More than anything, shadowing for more than year can't hurt you. It should further help you determine where your love for medicine lies.

Also, whoever you shadow, make sure you attempt to build a relationship with that person, just to be courteous!

I have to disagree with the bolded statement - the emphasis is not so much on "shadowing," but on being involved directly with patient care and physicians. So if you can get other positions where you have patient contact and physician interaction, you really don't need much shadowing.

 

[ACSurgeon]

I'm still not sure what area of medicine I'm interested in, so I'm wondering if it matters where I shadow? How different would my experiences be if I were to shadow in say, the ED, Internal Medicine, Family Practice or OBGYN? I'm not picky at this point; I literally just want to be able to observe physician/patient interaction.

I think it would be nice to see what different types of doctors do on a day to day basis. Also, ask a lot of questions, as medicine is different in different settings (private vs. academic, one specialty v. another..etc) Best of Luck.

 

[LikeClockWork]

I shadowed an ED doc, an orthopaedic surgeon, and a bunch of FPs (MD and DO). I think all this totalled up to ~75 hrs. (over a one month internship). This was good enough for interviews last year (though my interviews weren't good enough for an acceptance).

 

[Caesar]

There really are no set "rules" for shadowing.

The goal is to be able to communicate accurately what the roll of a doctor is in the healthcare system, and why you think you can fit in or add to that position. You want to do it enough to be able to communicate (sometimes with examples) what a doctor does. The more you shadow the better just because you get to see more and become more acquainted with how things work/ may get to see something cool to talk about in interviews. Since you work in an ED, you don't "need" as much as an applicant who doesn't work in an ED to be able to talk about what a physician does. Also Physician LOR's can be really good.

 

[T12]

An FAQ section of a packet written by some Texas Med School Admissions Representatives stated that a few hours in several specialties was plenty...

So if you spend a half day with 8 different types of physicians, thats 32 hours.

In my opinion, by no means must you accumulate anywhere near 100 hours of shadowing to validate that section of your application.

If you have the time and enjoy it, why not keep going, but I don't think hundreds of hours are necessary.

 

[PainKiller69]

I'm not sure you've asked the question that you wanted to ask. That said, if you did know exactly what you wanted to specialize in, I would recommend shadowing in other specialties if you haven't done so already to solidify that preexisting desire.

I mean... if you literally just wanted to see physician/patient interaction, of course it does not matter which specialty among those that involve patient interaction you chose.

I am shadowing in Pediatric Oncology. It's great exposure to doc/patient interaction, as well as how nurses, doctors, psychologists, neuropsychologists, etc. co-exist within the hospital. They really do work collectively as a team to make sure that each child is getting all of their needs met.

Hope this helps. I think what you were asking was, are some specialities "better," generally speaking. Shadowing doesn't alway have to be so passive. Research, projects, and other opportunities can arise. Do not think of it as merely standing over a doctors shoulder. If that was the case, maybe it wouldn't matter what was going on in front of the doctor.

 

[SundayT]

Thanks for all the advice! So for all of you who've shadowed in several different specialties, how did you maintain a relationship with each doctor...say for a LOR that I might need in the future? Ideally, I would love to shadow just 1-2 doctors and establish a close relationship with them, but if I'm switching from specialty to specialty, I think it'd be hard to do this. I guess the whole quality vs. quantity comes to mind here...what did you guys do?