How should I approach a psychiatrist with a request to shadow him/her?

[edumacator]

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I'm giving serious thought to returning to school (I'm a special education teacher and hold a PhD in education) with an eye toward working as a child psychiatrist. I've read on several threads that shadowing a physician is a good way to see if the work is in fact right for me but I'm not sure how a layman like myself with no local medical connections should approach a psychiatrist with a request to shadow him/her.

There is a medical school in my city with a CAP fellowship program so local resources are readily available. My only concern is, in the absence of anyone who can introduce me to the right people, how best to ask permission to shadow. Or would out of the blue simply be the best way - i.e., find some CAP faculty on the program website and send along an introductory email?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[zenman]

I'd just call up the dept head and ask them.

 

[edumacator]

I'd just call up the dept head and ask them.

How boring. I like it.

 

[nitemagi]

Or the fellowship coordinator.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

I would think that they'd be especially pleased to have a special ed teacher wanting to see the process from their perspective.

 

[edumacator]

I sent an email to the CAP program head with a brief self-introduction and a request to shadow someone. We'll see what he says.

Thank you all very much.

 

[edumacator]

The CAP director wrote back and said that due to HIPAA issues, he couldn't allow me to shadow anyone but he'd be willing to meet me in person and answer any questions I might have. So I wrote back and said, basically, "just name the time and place."

I'm now waiting to hear back. Thank you for the advice!

 

[koc123]

You can also get a mentor from the AACAP. There is just a little of a time lag between filling out the survey and hearing back from someone.

http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/medical_students_and_residents/find_a_mentor

 

[digitlnoize]

The CAP director wrote back and said that due to HIPAA issues, he couldn't allow me to shadow anyone but he'd be willing to meet me in person and answer any questions I might have. So I wrote back and said, basically, "just name the time and place."

I'm now waiting to hear back. Thank you for the advice!

I had some people tell me this when I was starting out, but as long as I filled out a HIPAA form and signed it, it was ok at other places...

Ask around your friends and family for any extended medical contacts. It's amazing what little strings people will pull for a friend of a friend of my cousin's husband's boss. No one in my family is medical, but I was able to network my way into knowing a family doc or two and some other people. They might be more likely to let you in if you're a known quantity and not just a random stranger off the street.

 

[nitemagi]

I had some people tell me this when I was starting out, but as long as I filled out a HIPAA form and signed it, it was ok at other places...

Ask around your friends and family for any extended medical contacts. It's amazing what little strings people will pull for a friend of a friend of my cousin's husband's boss. No one in my family is medical, but I was able to network my way into knowing a family doc or two and some other people. They might be more likely to let you in if you're a known quantity and not just a random stranger off the street.

HIPAA is a crap reason to deny a volunteer/shadowing. Hospitals will allow shadowing, but you have to get credentialed. See if there's a child ER location in your town, or better yet a child psych ER.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

Probably using HIPAA as a convenient screen for "I don't want to deal with screening a parade of transient extra bodies in my clinic." Once you get that informational interview, they may see it differently.

 

[surftheiop]

If this doesn't work out, offering to help with research/literature reviews/proofreading articles/chapters/etc 5 hours a week or something like that is a good way to end up with more shadowing opportunities than you know what to do with.

(This is of course assuming your willing to commit to helping out with research 5 hours a week for awhile).

 

[zenman]

I'm giving serious thought to returning to school (I'm a special education teacher and hold a PhD in education) with an eye toward working as a child psychiatrist.

My wife is a special ed teacher and my question for you would be "Why in the heck would you want to go into another profession where you have to deal with parents?" ARE YOU CRAZY!

 

[edumacator]

My wife is a special ed teacher and my question for you would be "Why in the heck would you want to go into another profession where you have to deal with parents?" ARE YOU CRAZY!

You're the psychiatrist. You tell me.😀

 

[edumacator]

Probably using HIPAA as a convenient screen for "I don't want to deal with screening a parade of transient extra bodies in my clinic." Once you get that informational interview, they may see it differently.

They didn't. But that's okay.

It was a very nice talk - he gave me about an hour of his time, which is double what I had expected going on. He said that he, too, went to medical school somewhat later in life after majoring in something utterly unrelated to science and wanted to pay forward the advice and counsel he'd gotten when he was pondering a medical career.

Very nice guy.

He didn't try to sell me on the profession or tell me how wonderful it was. He did, however, give me some very usable advice regarding medical school admissions and some insights into life as a psychiatrist, as well as what the CAP fellows do in the course of their training. He also reiterated some of what I've read elsewhere on this forum regarding the profession's future and the growing need for CAP specialists.

I walked out thinking that psychiatry would indeed be a great match for my personality and professional interests. Now I have crunch some numbers and look into the pre-requisite courses.

If I could apply tomorrow, if I had the pre-reqs already done and the MCAT taken, this would be a much simpler decision. As it is... we'll see.

My thanks to you all for your continued feedback.

 

[samwise2]

They didn't. But that's okay.

It was a very nice talk - he gave me about an hour of his time, which is double what I had expected going on. He said that he, too, went to medical school somewhat later in life after majoring in something utterly unrelated to science and wanted to pay forward the advice and counsel he'd gotten when he was pondering a medical career.

Very nice guy.

He didn't try to sell me on the profession or tell me how wonderful it was. He did, however, give me some very usable advice regarding medical school admissions and some insights into life as a psychiatrist, as well as what the CAP fellows do in the course of their training. He also reiterated some of what I've read elsewhere on this forum regarding the profession's future and the growing need for CAP specialists.

I walked out thinking that psychiatry would indeed be a great match for my personality and professional interests. Now I have crunch some numbers and look into the pre-requisite courses.

If I could apply tomorrow, if I had the pre-reqs already done and the MCAT taken, this would be a much simpler decision. As it is... we'll see.

My thanks to you all for your continued feedback.

Hi Edumacator,

I went to medical school as a second career and am happy to advise on Post Bacc programs or anything else you need; just PM me. Going into CAP! 🙂

--samwise2🙂