How to ask Dr.s I work with about shadowing

[acrmo]

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Hello everyone,

A bit of background on me: I'm hoping to start a post bacc winter 2013. I'm about to turn 24, and I have a BA in an unrelated field. After working in an ER and taking an EMT course, I've really developed a passion for medicine and am trying to come up with a plan that gives me the best chance for successfully getting into medical school in the not-too-distant future.

I currently have a very interesting job at a healthcare company that provides a very unique set of services. I've been there for a little over 3 months, and thus far everything is going well. I work somewhat closely with a set of doctors (part of my job entails transcribing their interactions with patients, so I'm getting a lot of amazing experience seeing how each doctor goes about treating and diagnosing patients), though I'm primarily in contact with them via telephone and email. I've gotten some positive feedback on my work from some of the doctors, so they seem to like me on a professional level. I intend to stay in this job throughout my post bacc.

I would like to ask 1-2 of these doctors if I can shadow them in the future. So far I haven't mentioned my plans to anyone at work, because I'm a little hesitant to broadcast that I ultimately plan to leave to go on to something else. Although I probably won't be here forever, I'm very committed to the position right now and want my coworkers to know I'm very focused on being a "team player" in terms of sharing the workload, as cliche as that sounds. So none of our docs are aware of my interest in medicine at the moment.

So, SDN-ers, what's the most appropriate way to bring this up? I don't want to ask too much of docs I know are very busy people, and I don't want to make things awkward at work if they aren't open to me shadowing. Is it too presumptuous to ask directly about shadowing? Should I mention my plans and ask if there's some time I could chat with them and ask some questions (which I would also really appreciate and probably get a lot from)?

I should also note that since I've worked with these docs and seen their different styles, I do have specific reasons why I am interested in shadowing each of them. It's not just because they're convenient people to ask.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Don't over thinking it. They are people and been through this themselves.

"Hi Dr. ____________, I was wondering if I could ask you for a small favor" *positive response* "well, I'm planning on applying to medical school in the coming years. I was wondering if you'd be open to allowing me to shadow you. I would like to learn more about the day-to-day workings of a physician to confirm if this is the right path for me." If they say no, it's no. Most of the time they'll make a polite excuse (real or not). Nobody is "friends" on these jobs. Everyone is just doing a job. Things won't become awkward and what not, unless you make them.

End.

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

Doctors know perfectly well how the med school application game is played. I got two doctors and a PA (I thought he was a doctor) to let me shadow them. They seemed pretty happy to have someone to talk to about their jobs. Be friendly, act professional, don't ask them questions when they're talking with a patient, and you'll be fine. You should get their phone or email when you're done; you'll need to put it on your primary application.

 

[acrmo]

Thanks for your input. I'm sure your right that this won't make things uncomfortable unless I let it.

 

[Woland]

Remember that shadowing is necessary, but IMHO it also matters what specialty you shadow. With so many in-state school (and even some privates) pushing for more primary care physicians/serving the underserved population, I do believe it will be helpful to include FM/IM/Peds in your shadowing portfolio.

 

[acrmo]

These docs are mostly Occupational Medicine and spend part of their time seeing patients in an Occ Med clinic, but they each have other specialties that they are involved in.

I would really like to shadow pediatricians or neonatologists, because that's what I have an interest in off the bat, but at the moment I don't have any connections in that field. The local children's hospital doesn't have any volunteer openings this year due the overwhelming popularity of volunteering there. I'm on the lookout for other ways to get some experience with peds, even if I can't shadow.

 

[Docility]

Doctors know perfectly well how the med school application game is played. I got two doctors and a PA (I thought he was a doctor) to let me shadow them. They seemed pretty happy to have someone to talk to about their jobs. Be friendly, act professional, don't ask them questions when they're talking with a patient, and you'll be fine. You should get their phone or email when you're done; you'll need to put it on your primary application.

+1

I don't know why, but that part in bold made me chuckle. 😛

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

+1

I don't know why, but that part in bold made me chuckle. 😛

Well, he wore the same color scrubs as the doctors, so how was I to know? The PA was actually a lot of fun to shadow, since he's an incredibly friendly guy. For all practical purposes he is a doctor. He handles all the fast track patients in the ER, and the nurses told me he's better at suturing than any doctor in the department.

 

[Docility]

Well, he wore the same color scrubs as the doctors, so how was I to know? The PA was actually a lot of fun to shadow, since he's an incredibly friendly guy. For all practical purposes he is a doctor. He handles all the fast track patients in the ER, and the nurses told me he's better at suturing than any doctor in the department.

No judgement here! I shadowed a physician who worked with PAs/NPs; when I asked the doc how the their scope of practice differed from his, he said it didn't and that "mid-levels" will eventually take over primary care. I was like. 😱

 

[yossarian444]

Yes ask directly via email or in person. Sure, doctors are busy people, but so are a thousand other professions, from stay at home parent to guy cooking at McDonald's to fortune 500 CEO. If the doc blows you off rudely for not kissing his rear prior to asking, then he is just an a-hole and you don't want to shadow him anyways as it'd be pretty miserable. If you don't want to broadcast your intent to apply to med school, just say you are kicking around the idea of applying to med school or perhaps PA school and want to explore different fields to see what feels right.

While the kids hospital may not have openings for volunteering and you don't have any contacts, see if one of the docs you work with/shasow has any connections with pediatricians or neonatologists. Networking works in any profession.

Good luck!

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

I forgot to mention that most DO schools require a LOR from a DO, so if you'll be applying to them, find a DO to shadow and try to get a letter out of them.

 

[acrmo]

Thanks for the input everyone. My schedule is a little odd at the moment as I'm about to get married and move, but that should be all settled in a few weeks, and then I will ask the docs I have in mind. I think I will just call their offices to ask about it.

 

[Helen Wheels]

So far I haven't mentioned my plans to anyone at work, because I'm a little hesitant to broadcast that I ultimately plan to leave to go on to something else. Although I probably won't be here forever, I'm very committed to the position right now and want my coworkers to know I'm very focused on being a "team player" in terms of sharing the workload, as cliche as that sounds. So none of our docs are aware of my interest in medicine at the moment.

Don't worry about this. As long as you continue to do your job and not have an attitude, no one is going to care if you express an interest in shadowing. Employers realize that young people don't stay in entry level jobs forever.