How Many DO Shadowing Hours is Recommended?

[JacobLMDorDO]

Hey Everyone!
Hope all of your applications are going well! So I have recently had an amazing opportunity to start shadowing both a DO and an MD in the same clinic. The DO is a psychiatrist and his wife, the MD, is a developmental pediatrician. I have clocked the most hours with the DO and he is a really amazing doctor who is a great teacher.

Anyway, I was wondering how many hours are "enough," so to speak. He is also allowing me to write my own letter of recommendation, which he is going to review, modify (if needed), and submit!

I also have some experience working with another physician for about 40 hours, but it wasn't shadowing, perse, but rather I helped him run his practice after he went blind.

Thanks for your responses!

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[Indianarn]

Hey Everyone!
Hope all of your applications are going well! So I have recently had an amazing opportunity to start shadowing both a DO and an MD in the same clinic. The DO is a psychiatrist and his wife, the MD, is a developmental pediatrician. I have clocked the most hours with the DO and he is a really amazing doctor who is a great teacher.

Anyway, I was wondering how many hours are "enough," so to speak. He is also allowing me to write my own letter of recommendation, which he is going to review, modify (if needed), and submit!

I also have some experience working with another physician for about 40 hours, but it wasn't shadowing, perse, but rather I helped him run his practice after he went blind.

Thanks for your responses!

I would do what it take to get a solid LOR. I did only one day and about 10 hours to get the LOR. So what ever it takes. Good luck.

 

[fkt24]

Although shadowing is something that is seen as a requirement, it is there because school want to know that you understand what you getting yourself into. YOU should want to do it because YOU want to learn more about the profession. I know schools see that as a positive, but that is mainly because they want to know that YOU understand what you are getting into. There is no magic number of how many hours you need, just like there is no magic formula to get into medical school. My advice is to do how ever much you want until you have some idea of what the profession is like

 

[MetalloBetalactamase]

I did a few phone interviews with physicians, and had one of my old docs write an LOR for me. I stated in my secondary that I was working on it, and I got multiple offers without any firm shadowing. I did have volunteer experience, a job that took up my time, a solid MCAT, and a rocking GPA. Some schools might flex if you have other skills.

This much I know if you shadow, stick with one doc, and get an LOR from him/her. I actually wrote the body of the letter for my doc who added a few sentences and a signature.

....for another perspective.

 

[cliquesh]

Although shadowing is something that is seen as a requirement, it is there because school want to know that you understand what you getting yourself into. YOU should want to do it because YOU want to learn more about the profession. I know schools see that as a positive, but that is mainly because they want to know that YOU understand what you are getting into. There is no magic number of how many hours you need, just like there is no magic formula to get into medical school. My advice is to do how ever much you want until you have some idea of what the profession is like

This.

I didn't shadow very much and, consequently, I ended up in a career that I dislike. Shadow as much as you can so you are certain you want to be a physician.

 

[Buckeye1992]

Just make sure the person knows you well enough to write you a letter. The one DO school I didn't get an ii to basically said my do letter sucked because I was only with him for a day. (Granted I had shadowed another DO for a whole week but couldn't get a letter from him after his wife died in a freak accident and he took a leave of absence. So I had no idea how to get ahold of him and even if i could what would i say? Iam sorry your wife just died but could you write me a lor? Poor guy was in his mid thirties and had 4 kids under 8)

 

[Buckeye1992]

I would also suggest trying to shadow a few different specialties you can. I shadowed EM FM gen surg Ortho and ENT.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

50 hours of shadowing split between different doctors would be ideal. Less is fine though. But don't just have like 10 hours.

 

[xnfs93hy]

As many as possible, until you feel comfortable that being a physician is the right choice for you. 50 is a good number. If you have close to 100, I'd say that you're fine. Try to shadow for more than just a day. I shadowed a D.O. for two weeks and was able to get an LOR out of it. Also, shadow multiple specialties, and not just D.O.s. You may find that you like certain specialties more than others.