How do shadowing?

[MedWonk]

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So, I convinced a physician to let me shadow them. I've never shadowed before and I was wondering what it expected of me when I shadow. Some things I get (dress professionally, be respectful, being on time means being early, don't get in anyone's way, don't mess with the doctor's flow especially when with a patient, bring a notepad to jot down notes/questions/whatever).

Is there anything else that would be expected of me?

 

[dsoz]

So, I convinced a physician to let me shadow them. I've never shadowed before and I was wondering what it expected of me when I shadow. Some things I get (dress professionally, be respectful, being on time means being early, don't get in anyone's way, don't mess with the doctor's flow especially when with a patient, bring a notepad to jot down notes/questions/whatever).

Is there anything else that would be expected of me?

Sounds exactly like what I did at the start.

Towards the end (almost 100 hours with the same doc), he was having me carry a stethoscope and listen to heart/lung sounds with him. A couple of times he had me go into the room first and talk to the next patient while he finished up with the last patient. Then he would have me present the patient to him. It seemed like it was good practice for third year.

Don't expect all physicians to do this for you. This one was exceptional, and I had an awesome experience with him.

dsoz

 

[Juan Solo]

So, I convinced a physician to let me shadow them. I've never shadowed before and I was wondering what it expected of me when I shadow. Some things I get (dress professionally, be respectful, being on time means being early, don't get in anyone's way, don't mess with the doctor's flow especially when with a patient, bring a notepad to jot down notes/questions/whatever).

Is there anything else that would be expected of me?

Smile. Just be yourself and enjoy. It should be a good experience.

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

So, I convinced a physician to let me shadow them. I've never shadowed before and I was wondering what it expected of me when I shadow. Some things I get (dress professionally, be respectful, being on time means being early, don't get in anyone's way, don't mess with the doctor's flow especially when with a patient, bring a notepad to jot down notes/questions/whatever).

Is there anything else that would be expected of me?

I don't know how good of an idea that is with HIPAA and such. Better to just make mental notes than to run afoul of privacy concerns by writing potentially sensitive information down onto paper.

 

[mssmith4]

I've shadowed several doctors, both primary care and surgeons. Just go in and have a good time. Don't go in with any preconceived notions. When you're with a patient, stay out of the way and just listen. Once you get out, feel free to ask questions about things you didn't understand from the visit. Most doctors don't mind explaining things to you and are honored to have you there following them around.

Also, if you have a little down time between patients, I always like to ask questions about the medical field in general.

For example, where do you see the medical field heading with healthcare reform? What made you pick this specialty? If you had it to pick over, would you pick the same specialty? What do you dislike most about practicing medicine? What are your normal hours? You get the picture.

Just feel out the doctor. I have been very lucky in that all the ones I have shadowed were very open and willing to answer my questions. Plus, being a non-trad always helps.

Good luck and congrats!

 

[MedWonk]

*Update*

So, apparently the hospital (or that particular department) has an issue with pre-meds/pre-whatevers shadowing physicians due to HIPAA and my shadowing experience was canceled at the last minute.👎

I was hoping it wouldn't be the case, since it's a large teaching hospital. My PCP's office is also turfing me out to HR, and HR always seems to be "in a meeting" and never gets back to me. How did searching for a shadow become such a pain?

On the plus side, I got an interview to for an ER Scribe position, so that might be my meal ticket.

 

[Woland]

Be warned that some schools do not consider scribe have-it-all position anymore. Some schools seek "breadth of experiences in healthcare", which apparently now means you have to trail multiple (and preferably PCP) specialities. So, an ER scribe has a very narrow perspective of medicine at its worst (at least from the point of view of 2 schools I recenty interviewed at).

On a side note, I had to deal with the same ****, and overcame it by first becoming a volunteer at the hospital in question (thus getting you HIPPA training) and then went on with my volunteer badge to the internist, surgeon and pediatrician at that hospital system. HR is bloody useless over the phone, you are much better off stalking them in person to ensure that some bureaucrat will put down a donut and do what you need them to do.

 

[MedWonk]

Be warned that some schools do not consider scribe have-it-all position anymore. Some schools seek "breadth of experiences in healthcare", which apparently now means you have to trail multiple (and preferably PCP) specialities. So, an ER scribe has a very narrow perspective of medicine at its worst (at least from the point of view of 2 schools I recenty interviewed at).

On a side note, I had to deal with the same ****, and overcame it by first becoming a volunteer at the hospital in question (thus getting you HIPPA training) and then went on with my volunteer badge to the internist, surgeon and pediatrician at that hospital system. HR is bloody useless over the phone, you are much better off stalking them in person to ensure that some bureaucrat will put down a donut and do what you need them to do.

I am a volunteer at that teaching hospital, and it's probably the only reason I was able to get someone to agree in the first place. I find contacting HR/office receptionist to be worthless, and they'll quickly turf you out to the netherworld of the hospital's bureaucracy. I'm trying to find ways to directly get in contact with a physician. The problem with my volunteering experience is that I don't see any physicians. There are only nurses and an NP, so I'm trying to leverage that connection and see if one of nurses can get me in touch with some of the doctors that have patients where I volunteer. That, and I might as well keep trying to cold call places.

 

[MedWonk]

Shadowing acquired. If a physician asks what I'd like to see, what should I say? Everything? Because I'm pretty much open to whatever they decide to show me.

 

[Woland]

Shadowing acquired. If a physician asks what I'd like to see, what should I say? Everything? Because I'm pretty much open to whatever they decide to show me.

Gratz! Exactly, say just that -- you want to see as much of a real world of medicine as you possibly can for the duration of your shadowing experience.

 

[TriagePreMed]

I never took notes or asked a question when the physician was with a patient, but outside of that, I'd ask them "why this? Why not that?" etc. In today's HIPAA world, I don't think a notepad is a good idea for a person shadowing.

Shadowing acquired. If a physician asks what I'd like to see, what should I say? Everything? Because I'm pretty much open to whatever they decide to show me.

Everything is an acceptable response. You could always say "procedures" or "patient interviews" (or both) depending if there's something in specific you want to learn more about.

 

[MedWonk]

Gratz! Exactly, say just that -- you want to see as much of a real world of medicine as you possibly can for the duration of your shadowing experience.

Thanks!

I never took notes or asked a question when the physician was with a patient, but outside of that, I'd ask them "why this? Why not that?" etc. In today's HIPAA world, I don't think a notepad is a good idea for a person shadowing.


Everything is an acceptable response. You could always say "procedures" or "patient interviews" (or both) depending if there's something in specific you want to learn more about.

I told them I was open to seeing anything they could show since I had little exposure to their field and wanted to learn as much about it as I could.

I have to say that HIPAA makes searching for shadowing incredibly frustrating. I had to contact 40 physicians and 7 private clinics before I started getting some positive responses. I really hope that if I get to my goal of being a physician I can pay it forward to at least a few pre-meds.

 

[TriagePreMed]

I have to say that HIPAA makes searching for shadowing incredibly frustrating. I had to contact 40 physicians and 7 private clinics before I started getting some positive responses. I really hope that if I get to my goal of being a physician I can pay it forward to at least a few pre-meds.

If you get a good relationship with this physician, I recommend you ask them if they have any colleague willing to allow you to shadow.

 

[Goro]

The key thing we look for from these is that you learn what a doctor's day is like. If you thinking about DO vs MD, you shoould be able to compare and contrast the two. Or, compare and contrast a specialist, vs a primary care person. And don't forget about getting a good LOR!

So, I convinced a physician to let me shadow them. I've never shadowed before and I was wondering what it expected of me when I shadow. Some things I get (dress professionally, be respectful, being on time means being early, don't get in anyone's way, don't mess with the doctor's flow especially when with a patient, bring a notepad to jot down notes/questions/whatever).

Is there anything else that would be expected of me?

 

[SPTtoMD]

It is so much easier to ask the doctor directly rather than go through all of the HR paperwork. HR and volunteering departments are of little use for students who would like to shadow, but I've had almost all success stories via asking the physicians directly. It helps if you know them-- some surgeons spoke to our class and although it was unnerving at first, I asked them about shadowing and they said sure, come in anytime.

You may reach a doctor's office and they never respond-- in that case, call back after a week or so just to follow up. I have never received any direct "no"s from physicians, just several "yes"s and many, many calls that reached dead ends.

As for notepads, it depends on the doctor. I do jot down general reflections of the experience afterwards as well as the hours shadowed, but nothing specific about any patients. Writing things down while the patient is in front of you may intimidate the patient, so I'd steer clear of that.

 

[engr2dr]

I know this is an old thread but I thought I will share my excitement here on having gotten my first shadowing opportunity at my ENT specialist. I am so excited! Apart from the fact that I almost crapped in my pant in requesting for the shadowing opportunity, it was very encouraging to get a phone call almost right away asking me when I would like to start.... almost like a walk in the park.

I was wondering if any one has any tips on what to say, what not to say... how to prepare for the first day?
Thanks in advance for your support and tips!!! 🙂

 

[Astharia]

This IS an old thread, but regarding shadowing is it something you do for 40 hours for a couple of weeks during the summer, or something you can do for 6 hours every Friday for a whole semester?