I Have Been Denied An EM Shadowing Opportunity

[rxfudd]

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I have been trying to get a an EM shadowing position for a few weeks now. I finally got a hold of somebody who could help me at the UIC Emergency Deparment only to be told that they won't allow me to shadow because of liability considerations.

Has anyone ever shadowed in an EM? Is there any way around this?

 

[Smoke This]

I can't exactly compare my situation to yours. However, I did volunteer in the ED in my college town for a year, which is better than nothing if you can't shadow.

I did shadow an internist in my hometown. He was hampered by liability rules as well, but simply ignored them to take me rounding with him. He was a family friend, however. I hope you know an ER doctor well enough to do something like this, but if not, perhaps you could shadow in another department until you can cultivate some sort of mentor in EM. Good luck.

 

[Amy B]

I was able to call a doctor at our medical school and he allowed me to shadow him. He is a pediatric oncologist. If you live near a medical school you might have better luck since they are a teaching hospital and the mentality is a bit different.

 

[Smoke This]

Originally posted by Amy Beth:
•I was able to call a doctor at our medical school and he allowed me to shadow him. He is a pediatric oncologist. If you live near a medical school you might have better luck since they are a teaching hospital and the mentality is a bit different.•

Good point. (BTW, the doctor I shadowed is a clinical professor of IM and I rounded in a teaching hospital; forgot to mention that)

 

[imtiaz]

That sucks ass. They let me walk around in the OR there all day long. If you want, I know someone in the anesthesia dept. It's not glamorous, but you get to view surgery tableside.

 

[fishtolive]

i shadowed an OBG and i'd have to say it's totally arbitrary...if they're willing to pull strings and IGNORE liability then you're set but most don't have the brass ones to do it...keep tryin!

 

[mcwmark]

When I volunteered in the ED back in my pre-med days, we had about every other patient come in with a police escort, and a few were HIV+/HBV/HCV and many other infectious diseases abounded. It is a much different situation than in a controlled environment of the OR or clinics.

I can see why some EDs wouldn't want the added liability of an uninsured person wandering around in a busy ED. Have you tried a less busy ED? Or, since you seem to be in Chicago, the Cook county/Rush, or University of Chicago hospitals? Don't forget Residents--some of them also will be amenable to having a student observe.

 

[rxfudd]

Originally posted by imtiaz:
•That sucks ass. They let me walk around in the OR there all day long. If you want, I know someone in the anesthesia dept. It's not glamorous, but you get to view surgery tableside.•

Thanks Imtiaz - I'm going to try calling every emergency department in the city and see how my luck goes with non-UIC hospitals. Maybe I'll get lucky. If that falls through, I may take you up on your offer to help me with a contact in anesthesiology (I assume UIC, but I know you've done work in the VA hospital - either would be great).

 

[jbfuq]

one thing you may do if you haven't already is just volunteer in the ER doing odds and ends. many hospitals are operated by volunteers. i began doing this (changing beds and stocking equipment) and before long i was able to shadow some of the doctors while there. you get an idea of which doctors will allow it and which ones don't.

 

[pcl]

And to add to jbfuq, to become a volunteer, you often have to go through the orientation and vaccination screening required of hospital employees. Additionally, you have to sign confidentiality clauses. Once you have completed these things, there should be less of a liability issue.

 

[Atlas]

Not all teaching hospitals are open to the idea of shadowing. At Barnes-Jewish Hospital (Wash U), they don't want any extra "Hanger-ons" because they get in the way and liability issues. You'd think that ALL teaching hospitals would be open to the idea, but some aren't.

 

[Dave2K]

I agree with the previous suggestions about volunteering. ED volunteers are covered by the hospital liability policies, after sitting through a few short presentations/lectures. Once you are an "official volunteer" with the hospital, I'm sure that some of the docs won't care at all if you work extra hours and spend the time instead shadowing them. Good luck!

 

[rxfudd]

I got it! The chief of EM at UIC told me that he would be happy to let me observe for a day and to call him back on Monday to set up a date. I never thought it would happen at UIC, where a different physician there told me that they don't do shadowing. In any event, glad that it finally worked out. Thanks to everyone for the advice!

 

[imtiaz]

Yeah, UIC is like that. You get one response from one person and a completely different one from another person.

 

[mcwmark]

Originally posted by rxfudd:
•I got it! The chief of EM at UIC told me that he would be happy to let me observe for a day and to call him back on Monday to set up a date. I never thought it would happen at UIC, where a different physician there told me that they don't do shadowing. In any event, glad that it finally worked out. Thanks to everyone for the advice!•

All right! Read up on a few things, like headache, abdominal pain, chest pain, and shortness of breath--you'll probably cover 50% of all ER visits with that. That way, you can ask intelligent questions.