How much time to spend shadowing each physician

[ditritium monoxide]

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I've shadowed some physicians in different specialties for several days, and I've shadowed a few for 5-7 hours across one or two days. Does each shadowing experience need to be for a large number of hours, or will a few of them being under 10 hrs suffice?

 

[maroonspinstress]

The goal of shadowing is for you to get a taste of the profession you'd like to enter. There is no magic number, just show that you've seen enough of the profession to have some idea of what it's like to be a doctor. 20 different experiences of 1 hour each might be pretty useless, for example, since you don't really have time to see what a day in the life of a doctor is like and will spend much of that time settling in. But what you have sounds fine. As long as you have several shadowing experiences that are more long term, it's okay to have a few 1-2 day experiences.

 

[ditritium monoxide]

The goal of shadowing is for you to get a taste of the profession you'd like to enter. There is no magic number, just show that you've seen enough of the profession to have some idea of what it's like to be a doctor. 20 different experiences of 1 hour each might be pretty useless, for example, since you don't really have time to see what a day in the life of a doctor is like and will spend much of that time settling in. But what you have sounds fine. As long as you have several shadowing experiences that are more long term, it's okay to have a few 1-2 day experiences.

But I'd say its a half/half split between short and long term shadowing experiences I have. My total hours is about 130, and I feel like more is excessive because I've learnt things about being a physician even from the 1-2 day experiences. Should the long term experiences greatly exceed the short term ones?

 

[Tenk]

I did not shadow a single physician outside of volunteering in the local ER and chatting with the docs there about their job. Shadowing is probably one of the least important things as volunteering is basically shadowing + action if you do it right. You're fine though, you can stop shadowing.

 

[Gauss44]

I did not shadow a single physician outside of volunteering in the local ER and chatting with the docs there about their job. Shadowing is probably one of the least important things as volunteering is basically shadowing + action if you do it right. You're fine though, you can stop shadowing.

Did any school and/or AMCAS ask specifically for your "shadowing hours"? Did you count your volunteer hours as shadowing hours?

 

[Goro]

I believe that my learned colleague Tenk might be an exception, and that MD schools will want to you shadow for much more than that. I think that U WA wants 150 hrs!

The real question is, with the shadowing that you've done, do you know what a doctor's day is like????

I've shadowed some physicians in different specialties for several days, and I've shadowed a few for 5-7 hours across one or two days. Does each shadowing experience need to be for a large number of hours, or will a few of them being under 10 hrs suffice?

 

[maroonspinstress]

Also, don't forget to look at your application more holistically instead of just focusing on the numbers.

In my case, I had only about 80 hours of shadowing officially listed on my AMCAS. However, I did research in a clinical setting, frequently working with doctors and visiting with patients during consults, for over a year. So even though I did not "double count" those hours (as both research and shadowing), I felt that I had seen enough to fulfill the "goal of shadowing" that I mentioned earlier. None of my interviewers voiced any concern about whether or not I'd had enough shadowing experience/clinical exposure.

That said, this might not fly at schools that have actual numerical hour requirements.

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

Most of the time the goal of shadowing isn't to rack up a certain number of hours. It's to get a feel for what a typical day is like for a physician in a certain speciality.

Most of my shadowing was 20-40 hrs per doctor, with most of it being closer to 20-25 hours.

The main thing is do you have enough shadowing experience to show adcoms that you understand what a doctor's day is like?

 

[deleted407021]

Conventional SDN wisdom seems to suggest 50-100 hours across several specialties. I probably listed 50-ish on AACOMAS but clearly demonstrated in my descriptions of my clinical volunteering that I'd worked closely with doctors.

 

[Law2Doc]

You should shadow as much and as often as it takes to see what that doctor does each day, and decide if this is the right career path for you. It's a form of due diligence. If you are looking to get X number of hours and check some imaginary applicant box, you've already missed the point.

 

[texan2414]

When you start shadowing, try to attain the same number of hours you are currently attempting. As you go through different specialties, you will learn more about them and maybe become more interested in them than others. For example, I spent like 12 hrs shadowing surgery/outpatient surgery but Neurology really interested me so I shadowed about 40 hrs there.

 

[Tenk]

Did any school and/or AMCAS ask specifically for your "shadowing hours"? Did you count your volunteer hours as shadowing hours?

probably, don't really remember. I'm not trying to say shadowing isn't important, hell I wouldn't be an ER doc if it weren't for those moments, but you don't have to have shadowing mutually exclusive from volunteering. Just walk up to an attending doctor and be like: "hi my name is Jose Canseco I'm really interested in medicine and am applying to med school. I know you're busy saving lives and being a total badass but I was wondering if I could just shadow you a bit and stuff. Thanks."

Assuming they aren't a total jerk they usually won't mind because we've all been there. Always be proactive. Always network. I got into a school simply by telling an attending my story. Good luck!

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

I had a ton of hours (>150) and was complemented by some interviewers and criticized by others. Some said It showed how interested I was in the field, while about an equal proportion said it seemed excessive and I should've spent my time elsewhere.

In general you have shadowed a doctor enough once you can talk about their profession like an informed individual during interview. Beyond that it's quickly diminishing returns.

 

[mordac21]

I recommend keeping a journal about your shadowing experience. After 3 brief trips to the ER I honestly had enough material for my personal statement, secondaries, and interviews. Quality over quantity.