how to go about finding a doctor to shadow

[Dr Faith]

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Can someone give me some tips on how to get in touch with a doctor to shadow?

My school has a program for that but it's only for african americans and I'm not. I feel kind of stupid going there. So where can you get in touch with a doctor to shadow?

 

[polargirl]

Does your school have a pre-med advisor? Because often times he or she knows of doctors in the area who might be willing to let students shadow. Ask your own doctor if you can shadow, or for suggestions of doctors to shadow. You can also ask friends who shadow to give you the names and contanct info of those doctors.

 

[SitraAchra]

Go to your nearest healthcare provider, bust in their office, and just ask.

well..maybe knock..

 

[HrsNJ]

If you're near a hospital, contact the volunteer office and ask them for guidance.

 

[Blue Scrub]

call a few doctor's offices, and tell the receptionist you are a student interested in medicine and wish to shadow a physician if that is OK. They'll prob take a message for you, and some doctors might not call you back, but some actually do and are usually cool with you shadowing them....

 

[heal da world]

bump

any more tips? I'm pretty weak in the shadowing category. Just from hearing stories and reading, cardiology or family med might be cool so i'm kinda looking for that. Do I email someone and say, "hey i'm an undergrad applying to medical schools can I shadow you a couple times?" Hospitals might be hard to get into I've heard since there's HIPPA regulations and stuff.

But yea, any tips on how to shadow a cardiologist? or generalist?

 

[pharm B]

Last winter break, I cold-called each hospital in town and a few Family Docs. I got call-backs from the hospitals and was shadowing a few days later. I'm from a relatively small city (250,000).

As far as shadowing a specific specialty, I would call an office and just ask. I was talking to an OB\GYN the other day at Lodge and, without my asking, he made it pretty clear I couldn't shadow him. 😉

 

[WannaBeMD89]

1. Try talking to your pre-med advisor. They may have a list of doctors that allow students to shadow them, because you're not the first pre-med student at your college.

2. Contact local hospitals. Most have a committee that helps organize physician shadowing. If your hospital doesn't have this committee, contact the volunteer office, as they might be able to help.

3. Call or email local doctor offices and express that you're interested in their type of medicine and go from there. Worst that could happen is they say no, yes, or don't respond. 😀 Been there done that.

Good luck!

 

[heal da world]

thanks for the ideas. Today I hit up the office and they did in fact have a list of "friendlies" who had let premeds shadow in the past. I'm going to email them Monday and see what I can get into.

Thanks for the help I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[phospho]

bump

any more tips? I'm pretty weak in the shadowing category. Just from hearing stories and reading, cardiology or family med might be cool so i'm kinda looking for that. Do I email someone and say, "hey i'm an undergrad applying to medical schools can I shadow you a couple times?" Hospitals might be hard to get into I've heard since there's HIPPA regulations and stuff.

But yea, any tips on how to shadow a cardiologist? or generalist?

Usually if you (or someone in your family) have a doctor, they're the best ones to ask, as they know you well... once you start shadowing them, you can ask them to hook you up with other doctors (in other specialties you might be interested in).

 

[UVAbme2009]

We have an affiliated hospital obviously, so it's pretty easy. But here's my method.

1. Get the latest list of America's Best Doctors.
2. Find the ones in the area I want to shadow that are located at UVa.
3. Go online and look up their picture.
4. Pick the ones who look friendly, and email them.

I swear this has never failed me.

 

[YeOldeMan]

We have an affiliated hospital obviously, so it's pretty easy. But here's my method.

1. Get the latest list of America's Best Doctors.
2. Find the ones in the area I want to shadow that are located at UVa.
3. Go online and look up their picture.
4. Pick the ones who look friendly, and email them.

I swear this has never failed me.

Where do you find the America's Best Doctors list?