How to land a shadowing

[exes]

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I have all summer of and my plan is to shadow a few dentists. I have all their information excluding e-mail contact. My question is, if it's best to call them or to walk in the office and ask? either way I will be confronted with the office manager firstI would say.

thanks

 

[reely989]

I have all summer of and my plan is to shadow a few dentists. I have all their information excluding e-mail contact. My question is, if it's best to call them or to walk in the office and ask? either way I will be confronted with the office manager firstI would say.

thanks

I would say either way is fine. You'll get different results with different dentists. Just, if you show up, look presentable and all that. Most dentists I've talked to don't mind having someone shadow at all. I'd probably call first, if I already knew the dentist. If I didn't know the dentist, I might drop by and introduce myself.

 

[HappyDental14]

my advice is go to your dentist, and ask him/her to shadow. You really only need 1. Do like 40-50 hours, which should be fine for most school.

 

[tinman831]

Go to the office and ask. It's much easier to reject someone over the phone than in person. They may like you after meeting you.

 

[exes]

Go to the office and ask. It's much easier to reject someone over the phone than in person. They may like you after meeting you.

word.

in addition, i hope i dont only talk to the front desk. It's hard to catch the dentist during his break or whatever. i ll try my best. i have 4 dentists already picked out.

 

[jeffity]

word.

in addition, i hope i dont only talk to the front desk. It's hard to catch the dentist during his break or whatever. i ll try my best. i have 4 dentists already picked out.

Just hang out around the nicest car parked behind the back of the office and pop out and ask when he/she goes to get in. You might get a wallet and set a keys out of the gig as well.

Really though, some of the front-desk folk are a pain to get past.

 

[exes]

just hang out around the nicest car parked behind the back of the office and pop out and ask when he/she goes to get in. You might get a wallet and set a keys out of the gig as well.

Really though, some of the front-desk folk are a pain to get past.

+1

 

[doc toothache]

Really though, some of the front-desk folk are a pain to get past.

And you believe that just happens to be by happenstance?

 

[iralex801]

Haha. If they are a pain to get pass, I'm sure the dentist instructed them to be like that. That's why they always say the dentist is busy and for you to leave a message. If the dentist wants you to shadow, he'll contact you back.

 

[jeffity]

And you believe that just happens to be by happenstance?

Of course not. But there's a drastic difference between tactfully expressing the desires of the doctor and just being ignorant and unprofessional. It's pretty clear when they have no idea what shadowing/observing is and what purpose it serves.

The unless-you-have-a-toothache-or-an-appointment-you-shouldn't-have-set-foot-in-the-building' attitude leads me to believe that some of the lovely gals I've met along the way are making some decisions for the doctor that they probably shouldn't be making.

If he/she has trained them to be the the pit-bull gatekeepers, then they're succeeding. That's not doing them any favors in the marketing department, however. I'm not afraid of a stern 'no' to my requests, but I wonder what kind of brilliant businessperson dares have some of these people act as the face of their business.

 

[Jackson-Ave-Dental]

Here is a secret...

Dentists are passively on call 24/7 despite the fact that everyone is gungho about the whole 'lifestyle' factor for going into dentistry.

What is my point?
Find out the days when the office is open and then call back when it is not open. That way you can leave a voicemail. Chances are, the dr will actually check it at some point during the day or at least before the start of the next day.

 

[exes]

Have my first shadowing on thursday at an orthodontics office. in addtion, i'm waiting for a call from another dentist. I just showed up and the front desk was rather nice to me.

 

[Doc Smile]

+1 to walking and and asking!

 

[tpwelie34]

On a side note, how do you actually keep track of or prove shadowing?

 

[jeffity]

On a side note, how do you actually keep track of or prove shadowing?

Prove? You can't really. Just remember it's a small world.

I kept a spreadsheet of all volunteering and shadowing with dates, times, names of doctors, and brief description. Silly, but it made it easy to apply.

 

[exes]

Prove? You can't really. Just remember it's a small world.

I kept a spreadsheet of all volunteering and shadowing with dates, times, names of doctors, and brief description. Silly, but it made it easy to apply.

in addition, i'm counting on liking it somewhere alot and hope to get a nice recommendation out of it

 

[Tooth Trek]

+1 to walking and and asking!

Chris Matthews gave some tips on how to succeed, he said make it as hard as possible for someone to say no to you. The easiest way for someone to say no is through email, the next is over the phone, and the hardest way to say no to you is in person. Sounded like great advice.