First time Shadowing. Help!

[LUC78]

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Hi, I'll be shadowing a doctor for the first time tomorrow and I am extremely nervous.

It'll be about 6 hours long and I have no clue what I'm supposed to be doing or saying for that time! I was told to ask questions but I'm not sure what to ask and how I'll be able to keep asking questions for 6 hours.

Someone suggested I bring a notebook to take notes in. But I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be taking notes on??

Please give me advice!! I'm very, very nervous.

 

[Weirdy]

Dress up nice. Not a full suit or anything. Dress shirt, dress pants, I wore a tie too. Some ask to just show up in scrubs but get permission from OD first.

I brought a pocket sized pad and a pen to scribble down notes I thought were interesting.
"Patient #13 complains of twitching eyes. No sleep. Works night shift. Lots of caffeine. OD explains causes. Patient #3 diabetic. Cloudy vision. Possible glaucoma. Optic nerve pictures shown to patient." How all the machines work, what a regular workup for a patient looks like, the different kinds of contacts. Stuff like that.

Some ask to just show up in scrubs but get permission first.

Shadowing is observing. Ask questions when you are genuinely curious. Don't ask just for the sake of asking. Its tiring for both you and the optometrist. If you're doing your best to genuinely pay attention, they can tell.

Some like to have shadows and go out of their way to go over each patient case and explain why they did what they did. Some will completely ignore you for the whole 6 hours. At the end of the day, you get what you put into it. Anecdotally most of the ODs I've shadowed are very easy going and personable.

 

[LUC78]

Thanks for the advice!! It went pretty well but as expected I didn't have much to do for most of the time.

#1) If I'm supposed to have 30-40 hours of shadowing experience, am I just supposed to just do this all over again a few more times? I feel like I'll just be annoying the doctor by being her shadow for so many days. ( I do want to shadow different types of doctor, but want to shadow this doctor more so I can ask for a rec)

#2) In terms of asking this doctor for a rec, in between patients she barely had time to have a full conversation with me nor did I have the opportunity to talk more about myself. When there was a little downtime she was usually finishing up patient records and I didn't want to interrupt her as she needed to finish and take the next patient. How am I supposed to get a good rec from a doctor though shadowing? Especially from a place that cannot take me as a volunteer/doesn't have work for me to do.

 

[Weirdy]

1) You're over thinking it. When they went through the process, they had to shadow someone too. Its just part of the process. If they think you are explicitly wasting their time or bothering them, they will tell you. Come in as often as you want to get a good feel of the practice. If you think you are in the way, just be honest and ask them.

2) They understand you will probably need a rec letter. Shadow first.
If you are staying the full day (which is good practice unless you are balancing school/work), wait until the end of the day to simply ask them "Dr. So-and-So, I was hoping you could write a recommendation for my application."
If they confirm, send them your resume/ personal statement/ little background about yourself to help them write it. If they deny, keep shadowing but find another practice to shadow as well.