Enough Hours Shadowing?

[xXIDaShizIXx]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Ok, so I have searched and I'm still not really sure if I have enough hours shadowing. I mean I don't want to beat a dead horse or anything lol. So far I have shadowed:

Ophthalmologist - 20 Hours
Dermatologist - 20 Hours
Neurologist- 20 Hours
Pediatrician - 20 Hours
Family Practitioner - 20 Hours

Is this enough shadowing? I mean I would have stayed longer with the doctors, but all were busy. I am a member of 4 Honor Societies and For my non medical related stuff, I am going to help the local humanist group. Do these EC's look good? Thanks!

 

[theseeker4]

Ok, so I have searched and I'm still not really sure if I have enough hours shadowing. I mean I don't want to beat a dead horse or anything lol. So far I have shadowed:

Ophthalmologist - 20 Hours
Dermatologist - 20 Hours
Neurologist- 20 Hours
Pediatrician - 20 Hours
Family Practitioner - 20 Hours

Is this enough shadowing? I mean I would have stayed longer with the doctors, but all were busy. I am a member of 4 Honor Societies and For my non medical related stuff, I am going to help the local humanist group. Do these EC's look good? Thanks!

Those are fine, but add some volunteering, in a hospital would be good, if you don't have any clinical volunteering yet. You don't need more shadowing, but feel free to add a specialist you are interested in, if there are any you didn't cover yet.

Research would also be a plus, if you are asking about your EC's in general.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

Well I am a psychology major so the biology professors aren't to keen on letting me do biological research, would psychological research still count? And thanks for the quick reply!🙂

 

[Dbate]

Well I am a psychology major so the biology professors aren't to keen on letting me do biological research, would psychological research still count? And thanks for the quick reply!🙂

I don't think your major matters as much as your prior experience. If you have taken a number of science classes, many professors would be inclined to allow you to participate in their research.

Also, neuroscience researchers might appreciate a psychology major.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

We don't have a neuroscience department or major, think small state university lol.

 

[theseeker4]

Well I am a psychology major so the biology professors aren't to keen on letting me do biological research, would psychological research still count? And thanks for the quick reply!🙂

Any research is better than no research. Psychology would probably be perfectly acceptable, but the goal isn't to just put in hours, but to have real experience in designing experiments, collecting data, writing reports on that data, etc. Most undergrads aren't going to be able to run their own research project, obviously, but knowing what went into the above parts of the experiments and being able to talk about them intelligently, where your findings can lead you for future research, etc. is what adcoms are looking for.

You also can talk to profs you had for biology, chemistry, etc. classes and see what you would have to do to be involved in research with them, if you have to be a major in the department or not. I don't see why psychology research wouldn't be acceptable, though.

 

[Dbate]

We don't have a neuroscience department or major, think small state university lol.

Many researchers conduct neuroscience research without being explicitly associated with a neuroscience department.

 

[Catalystik]

Ok, so I have searched and I'm still not really sure if I have enough hours shadowing. I mean I don't want to beat a dead horse or anything lol. So far I have shadowed:

Ophthalmologist - 20 Hours
Dermatologist - 20 Hours
Neurologist- 20 Hours
Pediatrician - 20 Hours
Family Practitioner - 20 Hours

Is this enough shadowing? I mean I would have stayed longer with the doctors, but all were busy. I am a member of 4 Honor Societies and For my non medical related stuff, I am going to help the local humanist group. Do these EC's look good? Thanks!

Your shadowing hours are wll above the average of about 50 hours. And with nice variety, too.

Be sure you also have clinical experience where you interact with patients and focus on their concerns. Shadowing is considered to be a passive observership, which focuses on what the doc does. Both are expected at the majority of schools.

Helping a local humanist group, especially if it serves those in need, is another excellent EC to list.

Psych research is perfectly acceptable. So is linguistics research, Econ research, and engineering research.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

Thank you everyone who has replied! Well the ophthalmologist let me do a few eye exams and administer eye drops. The dermatologist let me keep a patient calm during Mohs surgery and saw a few lesions, acne, etc. Pediatrician pretty much let me talk to all of the kids and their parents and help do the examinations, the family practitioner was the least...effective. But does that constitute hands on experience?

 

[varsityblue]

Nope, you really do need to get some actual clinical volunteering experience via a hospital or a free clinic.

I'm very impressed by your willingness to sample different fields, though! I fear I'm a bit too obsessed with dermatology and should probably broaden my horizons. ;P

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

Well see that's the problem. We have a hospital and a mental hospital. I have called the human resources managers and neither of them would let me come on my own. So I got a university sponsored internship and now I can get in touch with either of them. I swear getting the hours I already have, have been a miracle enough to be honest.

 

[theseeker4]

Well see that's the problem. We have a hospital and a mental hospital. I have called the human resources managers and neither of them would let me come on my own. So I got a university sponsored internship and now I can get in touch with either of them. I swear getting the hours I already have, have been a miracle enough to be honest.

It doesn't necessarily have to be at a hospital. Are there any free clinics nearby that need volunteers?

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

Well other than the clinics I shadowed at letting students shadow (all of which were partnered with multiple doctors), no there isn't any. We really don't have any free clinics, unless you mean the sketchy doctors where everyone goes to instead of a drug dealer lol. I really don't know what to do in all seriousness.:/

 

[Catalystik]

Don't you have a nursing home with bed-bound clients, a hospice, a rehab facility. These are other potential sources of clinical experience. You could even volunteer in a private doc's office (though this would not be viewed as a community service), VA, family-planning, or public health clinic.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

Well no, we do have an assisted living and hospice, but they are run by nurses and nurse practitioners. And we don't have family planning, VA, or a public health clinic. So I mean I could ask at the hospice if I its ok to just follow nurses around. I'm pretty sure this area counts as an under-served area. Large medical facilities with a full staff are anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour and a half away. Sorry for all of the questions, its just a pain to find anywhere to do volunteering/shadowing.

 

[Catalystik]

Well no, we do have an assisted living and hospice, but they are run by nurses and nurse practitioners.

So I mean I could ask at the hospice if I its ok to just follow nurses around.

No. Don't follow the nurses around. Volunteer to do something that is helpful so it qualifies as clinical experience.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

Well I didn't mean "follow" I mean if I help them out? And how many hours would suffice?

 

[Catalystik]

And how many hours would suffice?

Try for three to four hours per week.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

Thanks to everyone who answered!

 

[TribalSeeds]

Here's a list of experiences that count as clinical.
http://www.med.wayne.edu/admissions/preparing/index.asp

 

[bambam02]

You have enough hours shadowing when you can answer the following questions at your interview:

1. "What was your most meaningful medical experience, and how has it brought you closer to medical school?"

You should answer this from a patient based interaction. Being able to say that your medical experiences have strongly influenced you to become a physician shows that they were not just in vein. If you have been fortunate enough to be in a room where a chest got cracked open to massage an otherwise dying heart.....and you can relate this to the questions.. your in good shape.

2. "What kind of doctor do you want to be?"

Show that through your medical experiences, you at least know something about a certain kind of doctor. They don't want to hear you say, "I want to be a doctor house becuase he uses his brain", they would rather hear you say, "Through my 100 hours of shadowing in the family care clinic at my local hospital, i fell in love with the practice of family medicine" get the picture?

3. "When in your experience has your professionalism been challenged?"

If you can answer this with a medical experience, like when a patient gets all rambunctious, or you get the ole F - U from a drunk patient... your in good shape.

I don't know of many schools that are like -- you need 300 hours medical experience, but i do know that some of them require that you have "medical experience". I think this is to get the applicant familiarized with the job that physicians do, and the type of work they encounter. As long as you feel that your medical experiences have been meaningful to you in some way, I think you should be good.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

I actually can answer those questions. I think I may have enough. Thanks! 😀

 

[UpQuark]

I got in by doing 20 hours of Pediatrics... and that's it. From my experience, they only look to see if you have it or not. I don't think the hours are important as long as you followed a doc around for a shift or two.

 

[deleted357625]

Ok, so I have searched and I'm still not really sure if I have enough hours shadowing. I mean I don't want to beat a dead horse or anything lol. So far I have shadowed:

Ophthalmologist - 20 Hours
Dermatologist - 20 Hours
Neurologist- 20 Hours
Pediatrician - 20 Hours
Family Practitioner - 20 Hours

Is this enough shadowing? I mean I would have stayed longer with the doctors, but all were busy. I am a member of 4 Honor Societies and For my non medical related stuff, I am going to help the local humanist group. Do these EC's look good? Thanks!

more than enough, your good

 

[NickNaylor]

"Enough" is however my however much you need to demonstrate an understanding of the medical profession. In order for adcoms to take you seriously I would say you should aim for at least 50-100 hours, but that threshold really is arbitrary.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

"Enough" is however my however much you need to demonstrate an understanding of the medical profession. In order for adcoms to take you seriously I would say you should aim for at least 50-100 hours, but that threshold really is arbitrary.

Thanks man. I'll stay at 100 and thats good enough for me. I need to do some more non-medical related volunteering. Just want to get in the first time around.