How did you guys find doctors to shadow?

[daxlo]

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How did you guys find doctors to shadow? I've been reaching out to multiple doctors in my college town, but i've had no success. How have you guys found doctors willing to let you shadow?

 

[Nietzsche's Barber]

Here is what I did...

Volunteer in a hospital (not changing bed sheets)-->become a part of a physician's environment (you can't simply walk up to one and say "I want to shadow you!", you will scare him/her off, they had a whole documentary on it on Animal Planet)-->after they adjust to your presence, ask if you can shadow them. That's what I did and it worked beautifully.

 

[Medic741]

Talk to your profs that know you... ask them if they know any physicians in the area that might let you shadow. If you have any friends in EMS... ask if they can talk to the ED docs they work with to see if you can shadow.

As a paramedic... was really easy to find docs to shadow, I just asked the docs I worked with. Have hooked up a number of fellow pre-meds with that opportunity and they've had a great time

 

[tarheelpenner]

It's all about who you know. Use any and all connections you might have.

 

[Nucleophile1]

I started volunteering in a teaching hospital and made connections through that. Some doctors let me shadow them and some didn't. Also, doctors that you shadow will often introduce you to other doctors.

 

[ChymeofPassion]

Asked a friends mom. Connections make shadowing really easy, especially in terms of scheduling. Sincr were close, shes letting me shadow essentially full time for a couple weeks.

 

[moggat]

Looked up the website of the local children's hospital --> found 10 physicians whose emails were on the website --> emailed them.

I'm in the subsection of pre-meds who don't have any physicians in the family, no family friends or connections at all, so I had to be more aggressive about it. Don't be afraid to just cold call/email people--"Hi, Im an undergrad at XUni and I'm really interested in your specialty. Do you have any time in which I could shadow you?" 9/10 will say no, but all you need is one.

 

[tarheelpenner]

Looked up the website of the local children's hospital --> found 10 physicians whose emails were on the website --> emailed them.

I'm in the subsection of pre-meds who don't have any physicians in the family, no family friends or connections at all, so I had to be more aggressive about it. Don't be afraid to just cold call/email people--"Hi, Im an undergrad at XUni and I'm really interested in your specialty. Do you have any time in which I could shadow you?" 9/10 will say no, but all you need is one.

This was me too though. I asked my personal doctor to shadow, and I got involved in the pre-med club at my university who connected people with shadowing. I asked professors. May be easier to do it this way than cold calling (or emailing, as the case may be). If all else fails though, do cold calling. But exhaust your other options first. On the surface I didn't have "connections" (not one single person or distant relative of mine is a doctor, don't know any doctors), but turns out I did 🙂 OP, just something to consider.

 

[Save a life]

As already mentioned, volunteering and working in healthcare. However, cold calling/emailing can work, I found a psychiatrist to shadow like that.

 

[MedicalMermaid]

Defintely calling around works but it is best to have some kind of connection. For example, I met one of the docs I shadowed when I was volunteering at the hospital. As long as you are polite and enthusiastic, I am sure someone will let you. Oh! Emailing or giving them a hardcopy of your resume is also good when you are asking around.

Hope that helps!

 

[floatingribs]

Family or friends work really well of course, but some schools have a couple listed in the pre-health department or have programs to shadow physicians so see if your university offers that. Also you can always ask your own primary care doctor; I asked my pediatrician and she allowed me and I was able to shadow her daughter-in-law who works in a different speciality as well.

 

[Turkishking]

How did you guys find doctors to shadow? I've been reaching out to multiple doctors in my college town, but i've had no success. How have you guys found doctors willing to let you shadow?

Start with your GP?

 

[initialize]

It's all about who you know. Use any and all connections you might have.

this. I shadow an endocrinologist and dermatologist because I was a patient at each of their practices at one point.

 

[DameJulie]

When you find your shadow doctor, how many hours did you spend shadowing with him/her before you ask for a LOR? Wondering how many hours of shadowing can earn myself a LOR.

 

[Skarl]

When you find your shadow doctor, how many hours did you spend shadowing with him/her before you ask for a LOR? Wondering how many hours of shadowing can earn myself a LOR.

I don't think LORs from physicians you shadowed carry a lot of weight in terms of admissions. Adcoms want to read letters from professors who can speak to your abilities as a student; a physician you shadowed doesn't have much to say in that sense because shadowing tends to be fairly passive.

 

[Geo16]

Perfect method I've found on SDN:
"email them with all caps on"

Haha, joking. I came here to find out how to ask for shadow

 

[Doctor or bust]

As someone without any connections it was admittedly very difficult. I ended up calling and dropping by about 30 different practices until I had any luck. What eventually worked for me was talking to mid-level management in a hospital. The coordinator of volunteering or staff services of a nearby hospital to me helped me with it after I stopped in to talk to her. She was in contact with most of the doctors on the payroll and so was able to contact them for me to ask who would be willing to let me shadow. When asking for shadowing opportunities, I would phrase it as an observership. It sounds like something you'd see on an application but that was what both of the practices that let me shadow called it.

 

[NotYou20]

I didn't have any connections either. Cold call like ten+ offices per day until you get a bite. Repeat as needed.

When you find your shadow doctor, how many hours did you spend shadowing with him/her before you ask for a LOR? Wondering how many hours of shadowing can earn myself a LOR.

consensus on here is that those are useless. What can the doc say other than dame julie didn't creep any patients out or piss anyone off?

 

[Lawpy]

How did you guys find doctors to shadow? I've been reaching out to multiple doctors in my college town, but i've had no success. How have you guys found doctors willing to let you shadow?

If your university is affiliated with a medical school and/or academic hospitals, you can try emailing the physicians there via your university email. Academic physicians tend to be more receptive to allow students to shadow them, although expect to send a lot of emails since they are very busy with a lot of responsibilities.

 

[stickgirl390]

I had a very difficult time finding physicians to shadow. I got very lucky and ended up tutoring a non traditional undergrad who had worked as a nurse prior to returning to school. He got me in contact with the physician he used to work for.

 

[elliejellybean]

Cold call and email.

 

[BB Cream]

I would suggest starting by asking your pediatrician, and then your family's doctors. If you have any work or volunteer-related health care experience and are on good terms, use those connections! I contacted my employer's HR manager and was able to set up a shadowing experience.

I had to do a lot of cold-calling too. Try calling a variety of practices (private practice, teaching hospitals, specialty clinics, etc.) until you get a bite. It can be uncomfortable at first, but eventually you get used to hearing "no" all the time. I've learned that it helps to treat this like landing a job interview; make sure you have documentation of being up-to-date with vaccinations and TB tests, and also make sure your resume is current. Be prepared to jump through many hoops to get an experience set up. I had to provide a detailed cover letter and also clearly articulate to the physician what my goals were before they agreed to let me shadow. If you are clear about your goals (length of time you want to shadow, why you want to shadow them specifically, etc.) and bring up any connections that may be useful (I mentioned my research mentors who were affiliated with the same hospital), you should find a physician eventually.

 

[HuskyMD Emeritus]

When premeds shadow me, I send them to the housestaff's morning report. This gives them the opportunity to talk to the housestaff who would be much more up to date with the application process. They can also get more information about the schools which would make it easier to answer the "why XYZ SOM" question in the secondaries, and also demonstrate interest in XYZ SOM when answering that question because they have talked with recent grads. They can have a better idea of what life as a resident is like. AND.....the housestaff can help connect them with other attendings to shadow.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

First doc was a general surgeon I worked with as an OR tech. You might be able to get something like that through volunteering or working as an ER tech or something.

Second doc was my ship doc who is our supervising physician. Unless you want to join the military, this isn't really an option for you.

Third doc is my daughter's pediatrician. Just asked. Start with your pediatrician or your current FP or IM doc. You can even use your parents' doc.