how much shadowing?

[chanjurban]

OK. So i'm totally doing this shadowing thing on my own. I have very few connections. I don't have a pre-med advisory board. I'm not even in college. The last time I shadowed a doctor was in 1995 as a high school senior. It was for a class. I met with my pediatrician about 6-8 times in one semester for 4 hour stretches.

I gather that this isn't exactly how things are done pre- medical school. How much time should I ask to shadow for? How many different specialties should I seek out? I've got a relatively open summer. I was hoping to spend a more extended amount of time with one individual doctor in a specialty of interest, but I don't know if that will be possible.

Help/advice is appreciated. Thanks!

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[LizzyM]

Do you have a primary care provider? Tell that person that you are interested in shadowing as a prelude to medical school and ask if there is anyone who you might be referred to for shadowing.

Alternately, volunteer for as many hours as you can at a free clinic or some other site of free/sliding fee health care for the uninsured/poor. There you will meet doctors. You will have your volunteer responsibilities but you can also ask the doctors to let you shadow, etc. You may also be able to learn to blood pressure checks, etc. Free clinics are much less regimented than hospitals and you won't get stuck working in the gift shop at a free clinic.

 

[DoctaJay]

If you don't have connectons, talk to someone who does. Thats how I got some nice shadowing in. I knew a secretary in the medical school, and she hooked me up. You may not be directly connected to a doctor, but you have to know someone who does.

 

[chanjurban]

Do you have a primary care provider? Tell that person that you are interested in shadowing as a prelude to medical school and ask if there is anyone who you might be referred to for shadowing.

Alternately, volunteer for as many hours as you can at a free clinic or some other site of free/sliding fee health care for the uninsured/poor. There you will meet doctors. You will have your volunteer responsibilities but you can also ask the doctors to let you shadow, etc. You may also be able to learn to blood pressure checks, etc. Free clinics are much less regimented than hospitals and you won't get stuck working in the gift shop at a free clinic.

Thanks.
I have been volunteering at an ER and the docs there are pretty open about letting me observe procedures. When I mentioned about lack of contacts, I meant in "academia." I've got no one to advise me about how to go about this process... Sorry about the ambiguity.

I'll check about the free clinics though.

 

[chanjurban]

The last time I shadowed a doctor was in 1995 as a high school senior. It was for a class. I met with my pediatrician about 6-8 times in one semester for 4 hour stretches.

I gather that this isn't exactly how things are done pre- medical school. How much time should I ask to shadow for? How many different specialties should I seek out? I've got a relatively open summer. I was hoping to spend a more extended amount of time with one individual doctor in a specialty of interest, but I don't know if that will be possible.

Help/advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Anybody got advice about this specific question?

 

[shahalam]

I'd shadow as much as I could. There is no set number that you must shadow but the more the better.

 

[pufferfish]

OK. So i'm totally doing this shadowing thing on my own. I have very few connections. I don't have a pre-med advisory board. I'm not even in college. The last time I shadowed a doctor was in 1995 as a high school senior. It was for a class. I met with my pediatrician about 6-8 times in one semester for 4 hour stretches.

I gather that this isn't exactly how things are done pre- medical school. How much time should I ask to shadow for? How many different specialties should I seek out? I've got a relatively open summer. I was hoping to spend a more extended amount of time with one individual doctor in a specialty of interest, but I don't know if that will be possible.

Help/advice is appreciated. Thanks!

I don't have a pre-med advisory board either. Quite frankly, I don't think anyone would sponsor me anyway with my subpar grades. This one guy on my last pre-med advisory board had one of those sinister moustaches that curled at the ends... he would twist the ends between his fingers and look at me like I had a nipple growing in the middle of my forehead. Where the hell was I going with this... Oh yeah, screw 'em (the advisors)--you're not missing out.

Instead of approaching a variety of physicians for shadowing, I would volunteer in an ER as one of the posters said. Lots of stuff going on and free meal vouchers.