Hours on Shadowing

[echo523]

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Hello!

I'm currently shadowing an ob/gyn doctor but not so sure how many hours would be good enough to fulfill Osteo application requirement.... I will have enough hours for surgical hours and office hours... I am thinking about 50-60 hours from this doctor and 30-40 hours from some other practioner... Would this be good enough or should I look for more?

would appreciate your opinions

Thank you!!!

 

[bellakk]

Hello!

I'm currently shadowing an ob/gyn doctor but not so sure how many hours would be good enough to fulfill Osteo application requirement.... I will have enough hours for surgical hours and office hours... I am thinking about 50-60 hours from this doctor and 30-40 hours from some other practioner... Would this be good enough or should I look for more?

would appreciate your opinions

Thank you!!!

As far as I know there are no required shadow hours for application to medical school, at least at none of the DO schools I applied to (14). There are also no required hours for "clinical experience", however the bottom line is the more the merrier. I'd get in some more hours but with a different physician in a different specialty.

I interviewed at an MD and DO school and both asked me about shadowing hours and the DO school asked me to compare the differences I've seen between both kinds of physicans b/c I've shadowed both (130+ hours total, I've also worked as a CNA for a year so thats plenty clinical experience)

 

[NSU14]

Having a great experience to bring up during an interview is key. You can have a million hours but if you don't learn anything who cares. Be able to explain why the shadowing was so important, then number of hours doesn't really matter. I feel that after the interview they throw away all of your stats and just judge you on your interview. If you weren't qualified they wouldn't have interviewed you. That is why being able to explain positive experiences is so important.

 

[echo523]

Thank you guys~ I am actually seeing lots of different procedures; however, since I lack medical terminology, I miss half of what the doctor tries to explain to me... I am thankful that she takes time to explain each patient's situation to me. Hopefully, this experience can be utilized during the interview to show off how much exposure I had..

 

[Morsetlis]

Thank you guys~ I am actually seeing lots of different procedures; however, since I lack medical terminology, I miss half of what the doctor tries to explain to me... I am thankful that she takes time to explain each patient's situation to me. Hopefully, this experience can be utilized during the interview to show off how much exposure I had..

There's Medical Terminology classes... some are even online. Consult your local community college.

 

[maximus0723]

Thank you guys~ I am actually seeing lots of different procedures; however, since I lack medical terminology, I miss half of what the doctor tries to explain to me... I am thankful that she takes time to explain each patient's situation to me. Hopefully, this experience can be utilized during the interview to show off how much exposure I had..

Take a notepad. Write down what you don't know. Go home and research on the internet.
This is what I would do(and, I haven't shadowed anyone yet).

 

[Ben9o6]

Like others have said, I wouldn't focus so much on number of hours. Your goal should be to try to get interesting stories to talk about during the interview.

 

[beckhunter116]

Like others have said, I wouldn't focus so much on number of hours. Your goal should be to try to get interesting stories to talk about during the interview.

Of course you should also be volunteering to get exposure to medicine. A good amount of shadowing is boring...lets be honest, unless you are in something surgical because that's where you get the opportunity to see something most people will never see. Other than that in FP/IM/PEDS it's a lot of your typical problems (colds/allergies/sinuses/yearly check-up/pap smear/high BP/etc.). The only exception is when the Doctor goes out of their way to explain something either medical/office management/healthcare policy related and you may or may not get a doctor to do this.

Learn what you can, but have a diverse application, not 500 hours shadowing and 10 hrs volunteering. JMHO.