How can I shadow a physician?

[redman]

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Can someone please recommend a way of finding a phyisian to shadow for a day or two?

The undergraduate pre-med office is no help. And neither are the local hospitals. They only offer volunteer positions that have no physician contact.

Thanks.

 

[medic170]

Can someone please recommend a way of finding a phyisian to shadow for a day or two?

The undergraduate pre-med office is no help. And neither are the local hospitals. They only offer volunteer positions that have no physician contact.

Thanks.

The yellow pages and the AOA web page.

 

[Phil Anthropist]

The yellow pages and the AOA web page.

I agree. That's pretty much how I found a DO to shadow. Here's the website:
http://www.osteopathic.org/index.cfm?PageID=findado_main
And you can get some additional info here (doctors in general, not just DOs):
http://dbapps.ama-assn.org/aps/amahg.htm
It gives some of the office addresses, phone numbers, and sometimes even websites of the docs. You could also get the same info (after finding a name of a DO in your area) @ www.yellowpages.com

There's also some osteopathic schools that help prospective students get in contact with their alumni. Not all of the osteopathic schools do this, but some do.

The website also has this,
http://www.osteopathic.org/index.cfm?PageID=faq_cons#edshadow

Who do I contact about D.O. shadowing?
For more information about D.O. shadowing, contact our predoctoral education department at [email protected].

but I emailed them at the address, told them I made a list of DOs (from the websites I mentioned above) and they basically told me they had no formal way of setting up shadowing and that I should just use my list and make calls / write letters. I wrote a letter in the most professional manner possible. It took about three weeks to get a response back, but it was good news. I shadow this Tuesday. 👍

Good luck

 

[Sharon Lee]

Yellow pages...I called a physician who participated in a panel discussion at our school and then shadowed her all summer. I also asked my own family doctor if he had any recommendations and met another DO through him. Good luck.

 

[nonameremains]

Phil Anthropist, I did all of that...even found five DOs in my area which was pretty unbelievable. here's what happened, the first guy was too busy with his other offices to even stick around long enough in one of them to even allow me shadow him. the second guy was helpful in our conversation over the phone but flatly said that he did not practice OMM and did not believe himself to be a real DO and would therefore be no help to me (his words). the third person turned out to be a young graduate who was still finishing her residency so the doctor she was interning with didn't think it would be appropriate. the fourth person was also very helpful over the phone but said NO to shadowing as it would not help me much anyway since I would not be able to understand much (her words). the fifth person was too busy to see me and I still haven't been able to contact him, which is sad because he was the only one who i was interested in shadowing. This has been going on since August. I have never shadowed a DO and it pretty much seems hopeless to me.

 

[Phil Anthropist]

Phil Anthropist, I did all of that...even found five DOs in my area which was pretty unbelievable. here's what happened, the first guy was too busy with his other offices to even stick around long enough in one of them to even allow me shadow him.

Not a good candidate...

the second guy was helpful in our conversation over the phone but flatly said that he did not practice OMM and did not believe himself to be a real DO and would therefore be no help to me (his words).

I don't think it's so bad that he didn't practice OMM (many DOs will tell you that they do not get to use or choose not to use OMM), but the fact that he doesn't believe that he's "a real DO" is definitely not a good thing!

the third person turned out to be a young graduate who was still finishing her residency so the doctor she was interning with didn't think it would be appropriate.

Also probably not a good idea...

the fourth person was also very helpful over the phone but said NO to shadowing as it would not help me much anyway since I would not be able to understand much (her words).

Uhm...ouch?

the fifth person was too busy to see me and I still haven't been able to contact him, which is sad because he was the only one who i was interested in shadowing. This has been going on since August. I have never shadowed a DO and it pretty much seems hopeless to me.

Okay I've got two things to say about this last one (and the one that you say you're most interested in)

(1) I made a point to specifically write a formal letter to the doc I'm shadowing. I'm applying to allo/osteo schools next summer (just wanted to make sure we're on the same page). In my letter I mentioned that I would be happy to shadow him any time prior to mid-June. I think that way I was able to give him plenty of time to see if he could fit me in and that I would be patient for the opportunity. Also, I think it was advantageous that I wrote the letter as opposed to making a phone call (in my case) because the doctor is the president of a PM&R organization and the director of PM&R at his hospital. By writing a letter, he could get to it on his own time as opposed to me intruding when he was busy. I also had a problem when calling some medical offices because sometimes you get secretaries that don't take you too seriously or have no idea what you're talking about. The osteopath took a few weeks to get back to me (3 weeks?), but it was good news nevertheless.

(2) The majority of osteopathic schools DO NOT REQUIRE you to have a letter from an osteopath, but it is highly recommended that you do.

AZCOM, CCOM, DMU, KCUMB, KCOM, NYCOM, OUCOM, PCOM, PCSOM, Touro (both), UNECOM, TCOM, Western--don't require a DO letter. Some require a letter from a physician, but the physician doesn't have to be a DO

LECOM, Nova, OSUCOM, VCOM--require a DO letter

MSUCOM, UMDNJ--I'm not sure

So unless you've got your heart set on one of the schools that requires a DO letter, you might be just fine if you can shadow an MD. I've got friends here doing interviews right now that have been accepted to DO schools w/o DO letters. According to them, as long as you can explain why you're interested in osteopathy and what it's all about, you should be fine.

Edit for a few more things:
*sometimes hospital volunteer offices can help set you up
*according to your location, you're in Miami. There HAS gotta be some Nova grads around there, right? I got 178 hits for DOs if you're talking about the Miami area...
*one more thing, if you'd like to see what my letter looked like I can PM you an edited version

 

[nonameremains]

*according to your location, you're in Miami. There HAS gotta be some Nova grads around there, right? I got 178 hits for DOs if you're talking about the Miami area...
*one more thing, if you'd like to see what my letter looked like I can PM you an edited version

I live an hour south of Miami in a city called Homestead and thats where I found five DOs. But now I'm going to try finding one in Miami or beyond because it's very important to me that I shadow one (even though one of the fives I mentioned did my letter already).

I would definitely like to see what your letter looks like...thanks!