Favorite Specialty to Shadow?

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I was lucky and spent a summer with Neurosurgery. It not something I am looking to go into, but as an undergrad (or anytime for that matter) seeing a dozen or so brain surgeries (lobectomy, tumor removals.........), spinal repairs, and so on was incredible. I would say if you are looking for an interesting time shadowing nothing can beat any surgical outlet. You get to see things 99% of the population can not and learn some very interesting procedures. It was incredible to see the anatomy firsthand and not just a picture in a text book.
 
I had a good time shadowing in the ER but most of the time it was cooler to watch nurses haha. I would really like to do some surgical shadowing.
 
Cardiology would be a good one to shadow, but only if you can be in the cath lab and go on rounds. The clinc is interesting and all, but nowhere near as fun.
 
I worked for a vascular surgeon, and I'd do rounds with him, go to the OR, and go to his office. It was very, very cool. Surgery is definitely an incredible thing. Lack of options makes it my favourite, but I think it would be anyway.
 
I shadowed psychiatrists, cardiologists, a reproductive endocrinologist, a laryngologist, and a cardiothoracic surgeon.

CT surgery was obviously the coolest visually, but I do have to say that standing for 5 hours watching a surgeon make teensy sutures can get a tad old.

The endocrinologist's job was a bit boring day to day, but the whole "I can make babies be born out of NOTHING!" fertility specialist thing was pretty cool (his office is covered with pictures of babies).

The laryngologist was cool cause I got to see some pretty amazing singers thanks to him (he's the top of the food chain at Mass General, so...yeah, his patients were a pretty intimidating bunch), and watch their vocal cords at work.

The cardiologist was probably my favorite cause I got to do a bit of everything: watch the procedural stuff in the cath lab, medical follow-up of chronic patients, and the whole puzzle aspect of EKGs. I think I want to be a cardiologist now 😀

Psych was, well....nuts.
 
My least favorite was eye surgery. Ugh.

Gyn surgery was interesting, and labor&delivery was amazing.

GI was actually pretty cool. You can get in on procedures there pretty easy and scopes are more interesting than I thought they'd be.
 
olemissbabydoc said:
NICU/Neonatology. By far. I would spend every day there for the rest of my life without blinking.

But I'm an oddball 🙂
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I beg your pardon? One doesn't have to be an oddball to like the NICU. 😛 However, having just completed working at one for 13 consecutive days, I would say that from an attending's perspective (not to mention a trainee's...), an occasional day off is a good thing for everyone, including the babies.

From a shadowing perspective, NICU isn't as exciting as one might think and isn't necessarily as much "fun" as doing pedi surg for example. But it will give you some good insights into how sick children are cared for and how team processes work.
 
I never got tired of watching a good pediatrician. Surgery is, of course, always interesting.
 
I've shadowed pediatrician, pediatric surgeon, and urologist. Like others said, you can't beat surgery. So awesome.
 
i'm hearing a lot of love being poured out to surgery, which i have flirted with, too, but i wanted to express my strong feelings for infectious disease. it can get graphic and you can see some pretty rare, complex cases at times-- both of which really draw my interest. depending on what the doc specializes in, you can see a lot of post-op patients, get insight into controlling infections in the hopsital, learn about childhood diseases, or explore some other niche. round for a day in ID and see what you think!
 
I really enjoyed shadowing a medical examiner. It's really interesting to see the body and its parts like that. I've always been interested in the forensics side of medicine, so this was a lot of fun.
 
psychiatry is probably the most interesting
 
Orthopaedic Surgery, because tools are cool! (Anyone who likes woodworking will think orthopaedic surgery is awesome)
-Roy
 
My favorite was pediatric hematology...I really enjoyed the atmosphere and did both the lab and clinic components of the field.

- But even better than shadowing was working in an medical clinic for the under served. I got to take histories and work with the Pediatrician doing much more than I could do shadowing
 
def the ER..its always something different which keeps you on your toes..and the days went by pretty fast (although im sure the doctors werent saying that🙄)
 
I've done Oncology and Family Med. Family is more entertaining and light hearted in a way that I could see myself doing as a career. Oncology was like watching the human spirit fighting in the trenches.
 
Surgery was a lot of fun. I got to make the incision, retract, and do some sutures. Patient started moaning, lifting his knees into the instrument tray, and nearly lost his airway, so there was some added drama. (None of this was my fault, BTW - if I remember correctly, he was just having a reaction to the anesthetic.) This was while I was in Peru.

I do have to say that the most fun I've had shadowing was when I volunteered with the forensic pathologist/chief medical examiner in Grand Rapids. Never would have expected the cool/funny moments I had in the morgue.
 
TheMagicCookie said:
Surgery, hands down...you can't beat it!
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I agree

On a side note, I'd like to say that Anesthesiology is probably the most boring specialty that I've shadowed yet. The only perk was watching the plasma tv in the lounge (and that's the only time the Anesthesiologist wasn't doing paperwork).
 
LSU Gladiator said:
I've done Oncology and Family Med. Family is more entertaining and light hearted in a way that I could see myself doing as a career. Oncology was like watching the human spirit fighting in the trenches.
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I agree with you that oncology can be difficult, but I think it can also be very inspiring. Oncology patients seem to be at a different point in life and have a completely different outlook. Sure, there are a few that are bitter, but so many of them are amazing people that accept the cards they've been given and reflect on the lives they've had and how blessed they were. I personally enjoy interacting with oncology patients, they are very selfless people.
 
I really want to shadow a forensic pathologist. I would give a lot to follow one around.
 
RoyBasch said:
Yeah I was surprised so many people had.
-Roy
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I didn't think about this, but it also depends on the jurisdiction where the forensic pathologist is working. I know that in Virginia it is incredibly difficult to shadow one, but in other states or cities (especially where there is a coroner/elected official instead of an ME) it is probably much easier to work with one.
 
So far I've only had the chance to shadow an endocrinologist, but it was awesome. I'm looking forward to shadowing a FP doctor though.
 
BlitzSleep said:
I agree

On a side note, I'd like to say that Anesthesiology is probably the most boring specialty that I've shadowed yet. The only perk was watching the plasma tv in the lounge (and that's the only time the Anesthesiologist wasn't doing paperwork).
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I shadowed an orthopod in surgery and the CRNA played on his Blackberry and did puzzles/sudoku out of a newspaper pretty much the whole time. Every so often he would look at the vent and monitors to check on the patient. I would be so bored. On the other hand, ortho surgery was pretty awesome. Nothing like seeing a bunion being cut off someone's foot or a camera inside of a knee. I really wanted to see an ACL reconstruction but I never got the chance.
EM was alright except most of the patients I saw had abdominal pain, migraines, or were seeking narcs. I did get to see a code being run on an >80 year old lady who was dead for a couple minutes. The team brought her back to life so that was very interesting.
 
Like everybody else, gen surg is definitely the most exciting for me. Minus the colonoscopies. :d But I'm setting up an ID which should be super interesting, and I might maybe get to follow the hospital pathologist around on autopsies, which I've been trying to do for years.:xf:
 
Ortho by far. I've seen a couple total knees, a total hip, a few ACLs both auto and allografts, open and closed shoulders, and countless scopes. Bone saws, and drills enough said. I had bone and sinew all over my face shield from the total knee. So cool. The best part was being able to follow the patients from pre to post surgery and watching them regain the ability to walk pain free.
 
chad5871 said:
I didn't think about this, but it also depends on the jurisdiction where the forensic pathologist is working. I know that in Virginia it is incredibly difficult to shadow one, but in other states or cities (especially where there is a coroner/elected official instead of an ME) it is probably much easier to work with one.
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I don't know. My state (MI) has an ME system and it was fairly easy for me to shadow/volunteer. It might have been easier due to the fact that my friend (4th year med student) had just finished a rotation with the doc.

I basically just had to meet with the Dr so that he could make sure that I wasn't some kind of necrophilia weirdo
 
Peds neuro was awesome. I love neurology/neuroscience and the brain & nervous sytem though and want to be a peds doctor of some sort. I also did peds cardio & ob/gyn.
 
jason3278 said:
I don't know. My state (MI) has an ME system and it was fairly easy for me to shadow/volunteer. It might have been easier due to the fact that my friend (4th year med student) had just finished a rotation with the doc.

I basically just had to meet with the Dr so that he could make sure that I wasn't some kind of necrophilia weirdo
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It's kindof difficult where I am, but I have an amazing teacher who after two weeks of knowing me, got me the opportunity to work with one of collegues, a medical examiner (she's a forensic anthropologist, you may have seen her on Discovery channel, her name is Heather Walsh-Haney)
 
I got to shadow a trauma surgeon. It was the coolest thing I think I have ever seen. It mixed my two favorites- surgery and emergency medicine.
 
I've shadowed ER doctors quite extensively (hundreds of hours), a neurologist for a decent amount of time, and a pulmonologist for a little bit. Of the three experiences, shadowing ER doctors has definitely been my favorite. I've seen a wide range of different patients, symptoms, and procedures. I recall seeing a full arrest on my first day, I remember seeing a poor kid with a rare neurological disorder (I think it was called Ohtahara Syndrome?), I remember seeing a lumbar puncture, lots of ultrasounds and EKGs, lots of interesting psych paitients, and just the other day I even helped with a paracentesis and saw a tooth avulsion. Neurology and Pulmonology were certainly not as interesting.

I'd like to shadow an immunologist, endocrinologist, pathologist, a cardiologist, and an infectious disease doctor if I can get the chance.
 
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