First Shadowing Experience, kind of confused/worried...

[Esviel]

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okay so for my senior (i'm a HS senior) project I chose to shadow at the local hospital for two weeks, follwing around the trauma team. today was my third day.

so, it's been pretty interesting so far, I got to see a couple of cool things, felt a couple pulses, helped move a dude from the stretcher to a CT scan bed (i grabbed the feet lol) but....i dunno...it kinda feels like i'm in the way.

I mean, nobody is mean to me or anything....just coldly indifferent, like for example today one of the guys was like "wait over there, i'll be right back".....took the other resident with him (it was just us three, them doing a bunch of stuff, me kinda just lingering) and never came back.....now i know that they're all busy and all but i dunno, my gut feeling is telling me otherwise...i heard remarks about how hungry they were (i was too!) so i strongly suspect they went to lunch, after about 15mins of waiting i went ahead to the cafeteria to eat myself, half worried that they might go back lookin for me but i wasnt really missed...but then again yesterday one of the other residents (wasn't here today) bought me breakfast, another one brought me lunch and i ate with them, etc.....so...i dunno, i mean, i offered to buy my own i'm not a moocher (maybe thats wat they thought?) i had just left my wallet in the call room with my regular clothes when i changed into my scrubs.....

sooo....i'm generally pretty quiet, don't talk much, just following around the 3 or 4 residents and the attending on rounds or when we're called to a trauma....i usually have no clue whatsoever what they're talking about but i don't wanna interfere with questions every 3 seconds.....

hmm i dunno maybe i'm just overanalyzing everything, maybe since i'm so shy I don't seem that interested, i dunno....

i've always wanted to be some type of surgeon but this is my VERY first shadowing experience whatsoever....how am i supposed to act???

 

[rocuronium]

That sounds about normal.

Remember that as a student, especially when you are shadowing, all you are really doing is taking up space. You are there to watch, and that's it. If you get to do extra, that's a lucky day.

Remember that people in the health care field are like people everywhere else. Some are nice, some are not so nice. That's life. As a student you are going to get pooped on. Get used to it 😀

As for how you should act: just remember why you are there... to watch. That's all you need to do, and all you are expected to do.

Oh, and remember to always be polite and say thank you. It's amazing what some people remember....

Good luck!

 

[flip26]

okay so for my senior (i'm a HS senior) project I chose to shadow at the local hospital for two weeks, follwing around the trauma team. today was my third day.

so, it's been pretty interesting so far, I got to see a couple of cool things, felt a couple pulses, helped move a dude from the stretcher to a CT scan bed (i grabbed the feet lol) but....i dunno...it kinda feels like i'm in the way.

I mean, nobody is mean to me or anything....just coldly indifferent, like for example today one of the guys was like "wait over there, i'll be right back".....took the other resident with him (it was just us three, them doing a bunch of stuff, me kinda just lingering) and never came back.....now i know that they're all busy and all but i dunno, my gut feeling is telling me otherwise...i heard remarks about how hungry they were (i was too!) so i strongly suspect they went to lunch, after about 15mins of waiting i went ahead to the cafeteria to eat myself, half worried that they might go back lookin for me but i wasnt really missed...but then again yesterday one of the other residents (wasn't here today) bought me breakfast, another one brought me lunch and i ate with them, etc.....so...i dunno, i mean, i offered to buy my own i'm not a moocher (maybe thats wat they thought?) i had just left my wallet in the call room with my regular clothes when i changed into my scrubs.....

sooo....i'm generally pretty quiet, don't talk much, just following around the 3 or 4 residents and the attending on rounds or when we're called to a trauma....i usually have no clue whatsoever what they're talking about but i don't wanna interfere with questions every 3 seconds.....

hmm i dunno maybe i'm just overanalyzing everything, maybe since i'm so shy I don't seem that interested, i dunno....

i've always wanted to be some type of surgeon but this is my VERY first shadowing experience whatsoever....how am i supposed to act???

Sounds to me like you did a great job.

You are not there to be "part of the team" - you are an observer. Follow instructions, and take your cues as to when it is appropriate to ask a question - but don't feel like you need to impress anybody with your dazzling knowledge - you are not being tested or evaluated - you are not going to ask anybody for a "letter of recommendation" from this activity.

Be polite, attentive, and grateful.

 

[fireflygirl]

Gleek gave you some good advice. I wouldn't take anything these guys do personally - life in the healthcare field is hectic and crazy and the general attitude is "if you can't help, then get the hell out of the way..." so it could just be them either not having manners or not used to having someone else around to teach. So if you feel comfortable enough, take some initiative and ask some questions if you see something interesting. It might be just the little thing you need to get both parties more comfortable with each other....