how should i act in front of this important doctor?

[batista_123]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hello
I shadow this resident for like 2 hours a week (some weeks I dont go because i am too lazy)
The resident reports to this doctor and the doctor makes recommendations, i am sure you know the situation...resident describes patient, and doctor and resident consult and make a decision...
well recently i found out that the doctor is an important person in my top choice school. the way the resident described it, is "all he has to do is make a phone call."
well all this time that i have going i have never really talked to him, because you know how it is, when you are premed you dont matter and everybody ignores you...when the doctor is talking to the resident, sometimes he also looks at me and i nod. he is actually a very nice guy, i dont know why i havent talked to him.
so starting now i want to make good friends with him. but we have nothing in common, i dont know how to do that.
any ideas?

 

[auburnO5]

Tell him that you would eat a poop hot dog if he let you into medical school.

That should be a good ice breaker, imo.

 

[ChimpanzeeMinky]

A resident is a doctor.

And stop being lazy.

 

[illegallysmooth]

As an ice breaker, you can mention that you learned he was associated with X medical school, and then mention you plan to apply there. If he doesn't immediately offer up any info, you can ask him if he has any recommendations that would help with your application to X medical school. Also, the poop hot dog bit.

 

[morning]

Tell him that you would eat a poop hot dog if he let you into medical school.

That should be a good ice breaker, imo.

 

[NickNaylor]

Act like this guy.

 

[Anesthetic]

tell him your lazy, but wanna go to med school. he will let you in

 

[FlowRate]

Be a robot. Doctors like robots. Robots make good doctors.

 

[schrizto]

Sorry OP, but with the way you describe the situation, it gives the impression that you are only really nice to people that are of benefit to you. Or just really kiss-ass.

 

[sc4s2cg]

Lazy doctors are no doctors.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

tell him ur the ****ing man, worked for me

 

[Web MD]

Call him "bro" a lot and ask if he wants to pound some beers with you. Also, I'll be the first to call BS on one phone call from anyone being enough to get you into a med school. Last time I checked admissions had a whole committee in charge of making sure ****ty students don't get in.

 

[Ischemic]

Call him "bro" a lot and ask if he wants to pound some beers with you. Also, I'll be the first to call BS on one phone call from anyone being enough to get you into a med school. Last time I checked admissions had a whole committee in charge of making sure ****ty students don't get in.

It may be a whole committee but this doctor's word could have more weight than your premed advisor's letter. He also could be the head of the adcom. That being said, there's been plenty of cases where that "one call" scenario actually does play out as one call. An easy example: would you take your friend's word or some random dude who wrote a letter to you. To think everything's fair and everyone gets a fair shake is just naive.

 

[Web MD]

To think that a single phone call will make up for gpa, MCAT and EC's showing insight into the life of a physician is equally naive. If the OP is expecting this to be some huge boost for his application I'd bet he's going to be seriously disappointed. If OP's stats are about average for the program, then yeah, it could give a slight edge. I'd also guess that 9 times out of 10 pre meds come off sounding like complete tools when trying to get on doc's "good sides" , so OP, be smart about what you say and how you approach it.

 

[ChimpanzeeMinky]

To think that a single phone call will make up for gpa, MCAT and EC's showing insight into the life of a physician is equally naive. If the OP is expecting this to be some huge boost for his application I'd bet he's going to be seriously disappointed. If OP's stats are about average for the program, then yeah, it could give a slight edge. I'd also guess that 9 times out of 10 pre meds come off sounding like complete tools when trying to get on doc's "good sides" , so OP, be smart about what you say and how you approach it.

Not to mention that there is a huge difference between "can make a phone call" and "will make a phone call."

Do you really think that this attending is going to put his neck on the line to recommend someone without reservations that he barely knows? He would have to emphatically support this guy to the adcom, not just put a good word in for him. That could happen in a situation where you have a long standing working relationship with someone where you've had the opportunity to impress and earn his respect.

That is not going to happen here.

 

[Hifey]

The guy barely knows you.

If he's smart and/or cares about his medical school, he will NOT be making that phone call for you without getting to know you first.

 

[wanderer]

He doesn't know you. I'd also say that it would be nearly impossible to impress him, and that is what you need to do to get him to make that phone call. How you act in front of him is unimportant, just don't piss him off too much that you stand out in the wrong way.

 

[MisterVeil]

Warning: Naughty words!
[YOUTUBE]OoK7MqQVU14[/YOUTUBE]

 

[ruiner]

If you really have gone this long without talking to him any try of small talk now is going to look very fake, so I would just go for it and mention that you are applying to whatever school and you heard that he might be able to give you some advice and then just go from there.

 

[bamtuba]

To think that a single phone call will make up for gpa, MCAT and EC's showing insight into the life of a physician is equally naive. If the OP is expecting this to be some huge boost for his application I'd bet he's going to be seriously disappointed. If OP's stats are about average for the program, then yeah, it could give a slight edge. I'd also guess that 9 times out of 10 pre meds come off sounding like complete tools when trying to get on doc's "good sides" , so OP, be smart about what you say and how you approach it.

I would agree that, so long as a student is not obviously a horrible choice, the "one call" does indeed happen, though I wouldn't guess all that often.

OP, a good idea is to treat everyone (especially people you don't know) with an equal amount of respect and dignity. That way you're covered even if you don't realize who it is you are talking to. 👍

 

[ChimpanzeeMinky]

I would agree that, so long as a student is not obviously a horrible choice, the "one call" does indeed happen, though I wouldn't guess all that often.

OP, a good idea is to treat everyone (especially people you don't know) with an equal amount of respect and dignity. That way you're covered even if you don't realize who it is you are talking to. 👍

My internist applied to the school I attend in the 70s, and he had a close family friend that was a high level administrator here. His family had this guy over for dinner, and told him how their son was trying to get into the school, and he said that he would take care of it.

Well, as it turns out, everyone else in the administration and on the adcom hated this guy, so when he told them what a great candidate my internist was, they figured that if he was recommending him, he must be terrible! Even with great credentials, he received a pre-interview rejection.

 

[JFK90787]

Walk up to the doctor and open with a joke. "So a baby seal walks into a club..."

 

[MilkmanAl]

It sounds like this guy would be a really good person to get to know if you're planning on attending the school he's a bigwig at or doing residency there. Unfortunately, if you have to ask a message board of pre-meds how to interact with a person, I think your chance at forming any sort of productive relationship with this doctor is probably over before it even begins.