Enough shadowing?

[yungspleen]

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I shadowed an orthopedic surgeon for 40 hours. I'll emphasize that I watched him deal with patients who came into his office, saw his day-to-day tasks like filling out paperwork and whatever, and also saw him perform 3 surgeries. On top of this, I have 200 volunteer hours in nursing units at a hospital. During the volunteer hours we are allowed to follow doctors as they do rounds, and I'd say I did this for another 10 hours, although I don't really have a contact because there were a lot of doctors/residents who I followed. Would this suffice?

 

[Catalystik]

I shadowed an orthopedic surgeon for 40 hours. I'll emphasize that I watched him deal with patients who came into his office, saw his day-to-day tasks like filling out paperwork and whatever, and also saw him perform 3 surgeries. On top of this, I have 200 volunteer hours in nursing units at a hospital. During the volunteer hours we are allowed to follow doctors as they do rounds, and I'd say I did this for another 10 hours, although I don't really have a contact because there were a lot of doctors/residents who I followed. Would this suffice?

Hours-wise you are fine, but many would suggest you include some office-based primary care Shadowing as well.

 

[gyngyn]

Ortho-only is not recommended.
Neither is Derm-only.

 

[yungspleen]

Ortho-only is not recommended.
Neither is Derm-only.

Would it be a huge red-flag? I don't even want to go into orthopedics but I just knew the doctor. I'm well aware that my shadowing will be the weakest part of my application, and I am fine with that. I just want to make sure adcoms won't see it as a huge negative.

 

[gyngyn]

Would it be a huge red-flag? I don't even want to go into orthopedics but I just knew the doctor. I'm well aware that my shadowing will be the weakest part of my application, and I am fine with that. I just want to make sure adcoms won't see it as a huge negative.

Not a huge negative. We are looking for people with realistic expectations, though. Ortho doesn't help.

 

[yungspleen]

Not a huge negative. We are looking for people with realistic expectations, though. Ortho doesn't help.

Gotcha. My personal statement mentions I am leaning towards neurology due to a neurological issue I had when I was younger, so hopefully that's a little more realistic. Thanks for the response

 

[besheep]

I agree that hours-wise it is fine. But there is a lack in variety. For me I have shadowed a cardiothoracic surgeon, burn clinic/ER surgeon, pediatric surgeon, fellow, cath lab physician. Granted there is an underlying theme of cardiology, but I do have some variety in there.

There isn't a negative, but it isn't a positive.

 

[yungspleen]

I agree that hours-wise it is fine. But there is a lack in variety. For me I have shadowed a cardiothoracic surgeon, burn clinic/ER surgeon, pediatric surgeon, fellow, cath lab physician. Granted there is an underlying theme of cardiology, but I do have some variety in there.

There isn't a negative, but it isn't a positive.

Thanks for the reply. Hoping in the description that I can just convey that I got a good sense of the day-to-day life of a doctor, albeit a surgeon. Most of the time was spent watching him talk to patients in his office. But as long as it's not a huge negative that's good. Maybe I could get a few more hour in elsewhere but with school not being done for another few weeks and the application opening in a couple of days I probably won't

 

[To be MD]

I agree that hours-wise it is fine. But there is a lack in variety. For me I have shadowed a cardiothoracic surgeon, burn clinic/ER surgeon, pediatric surgeon, fellow, cath lab physician. Granted there is an underlying theme of cardiology, but I do have some variety in there.

There isn't a negative, but it isn't a positive.

Can I ask how you got the opp. to shadow so many different physicians? Are your parents doctors or do you live in a neighborhood of physicians or something?

As an undergrad, I emailed and called about 40 physicians/offices and only was given the nod 1 time. And that 1 time was not a cold-call. At a mental health clinic, I ended up helping out a psychiatrist who got me connected with one of his buddies... that was my only in.

 

[besheep]

Can I ask how you got the opp. to shadow so many different physicians? Are your parents doctors or do you live in a neighborhood of physicians or something?

As an undergrad, I emailed and called about 40 physicians/offices and only was given the nod 1 time. And that 1 time was not a cold-call. At a mental health clinic, I ended up helping out a psychiatrist who got me connected with one of his buddies... that was my only in.

So I live near Univ of Wash. So I was blessed with that location. There is Harborview medical center, UW medical center, Seattle childrens, + another healthcare chain(?) Swedish medical center.

Mostly I just emailed them. I am not sure why they all approved of me. It was a simple email. My idea, based on your description, would be that the institutions where you emailed the physicians from didn't have a system in place for observations. I know that for the first three hospitals I mentioned there was a system in place.

It might be a good idea to see if the physician is associated with the local university or college. All of my physicians I shadowed were. Not sure if that makes a difference.

Did you send a follow up email?

 

[To be MD]

So I live near Univ of Wash. So I was blessed with that location. There is Harborview medical center, UW medical center, Seattle childrens, + another healthcare chain(?) Swedish medical center.

Mostly I just emailed them. I am not sure why they all approved of me. It was a simple email. My idea, based on your description, would be that the institutions where you emailed the physicians from didn't have a system in place for observations. I know that for the first three hospitals I mentioned there was a system in place.

It might be a good idea to see if the physician is associated with the local university or college. All of my physicians I shadowed were. Not sure if that makes a difference.

Did you send a follow up email?

Thank you for the advice! I didn't send follow up emails because I had left voicemails and emails without responses, but, throughout the next year, I'll try your strategy. I was living in the suburbs at the time, and there were no teaching/university related hospitals around. Living in the city near a few schools might get my foot in the door.

 

[besheep]

Thank you for the advice! I didn't send follow up emails because I had left voicemails and emails without responses, but, throughout the next year, I'll try your strategy. I was living in the suburbs at the time, and there were no teaching/university related hospitals around. Living in the city near a few schools might get my foot in the door.

Np. Voicemails, in my opinion are the worst. They are associated with calling and many times I'll get nervous and not be as polite as I should me.
Many times doctor's email are either swamped or they only have a few minutes to spend so following up is key.

Another way is also to email the department or find the secretary/assistant that manages the emails from there. Most times someone is in charge of planning meetings for the doctor. They would also know, which doctors are more available/ open to shadowing.

 

[LaceyMD]

Thanks for the reply. Hoping in the description that I can just convey that I got a good sense of the day-to-day life of a doctor, albeit a surgeon. Most of the time was spent watching him talk to patients in his office. But as long as it's not a huge negative that's good. Maybe I could get a few more hour in elsewhere but with school not being done for another few weeks and the application opening in a couple of days I probably won't

I would definitely see if you can get in a few more hours with someone in a non-surgical field. If you don't know anyone, call up the orthopedic surgeon you shadowed (assuming you have a good relationship with him) and ask if he can put you in touch with someone. That way, even if it's not on your primary application, you might have something in time for either secondaries or sending updates later in the cycle, as you never know what that detail will be that tips things in your favor. Some schools will also ask for any updates when you are invited to interview. Point is, don't think that your application is done once you've submitted your primary application - hours/activities you do after that can still count for something.