Interviews, Shadowing, and Jobs

[Aeroangel]

Hi everyone! I'm a senior in high school, and I have a few questions that I should probably know the answer to, but I don't and I'm not sure who to talk to about. Sorry in advance for all the questions and if I seem very stupid

1. I'd like to interview and shadow some doctors, PAs, nurses, etc. I actually found a list of phone numbers online for people with these occupations, but I'm worried if it's rude to just call them up and ask if they would do an interview with me or let me shadow them. Is there a better way to find people to interview/shadow, or is that the best way?

How did you guys find professionals to interview and shadow?

2. If I am able to shadow a health care professional, is there anything special I should wear or anything in particular I should know beforehand?

3. As soon as I graduate high school I'd like to get a job in the health care field such as CNA, EMT-B, Phlebotomist, etc. But I want to see what is in demand for where I live (I don't waste money and time for training in something where I can't find a job) I tried looking on online job search engines and craigslist for such jobs and found almost nothing; except for a handful of CNA positions (and I'm more interested in something like EMT)

What is the best way for finding these types of jobs? Do I just go to a hospital and ask what's available? Should I go to an unemployment office, is there a better online search engine for these kinds of jobs?

Thank you!!!

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[EddieL]

Hi everyone! I'm a senior in high school, and I have a few questions that I should probably know the answer to, but I don't and I'm not sure who to talk to about. Sorry in advance for all the questions and if I seem very stupid

1. I'd like to interview and shadow some doctors, PAs, nurses, etc. I actually found a list of phone numbers online for people with these occupations, but I'm worried if it's rude to just call them up and ask if they would do an interview with me or let me shadow them. Is there a better way to find people to interview/shadow, or is that the best way?

How did you guys find professionals to interview and shadow?

2. If I am able to shadow a health care professional, is there anything special I should wear or anything in particular I should know beforehand?

3. As soon as I graduate high school I'd like to get a job in the health care field such as CNA, EMT-B, Phlebotomist, etc. But I want to see what is in demand for where I live (I don't waste money and time for training in something where I can't find a job) I tried looking on online job search engines and craigslist for such jobs and found almost nothing; except for a handful of CNA positions (and I'm more interested in something like EMT)

What is the best way for finding these types of jobs? Do I just go to a hospital and ask what's available? Should I go to an unemployment office, is there a better online search engine for these kinds of jobs?

Thank you!!!

1. Many hospitals have official channels you can go through to shadow employees. Search on their websites to see if you can find them. Of course, feel free to ask your primary care physician as well.

2. Dress professionally. Wear khakis and a button up shirt or a sweater if your a guy, and if you're a girl... well... can't help you there.

3. You'd have to go train as an EMT. Many colleges offer programs that teach you, or you could go through other channels. I'm not really sure about this, so hopefully someone else will be able to help you out here.

 

[Aeroangel]

1. Many hospitals have official channels you can go through to shadow employees. Search on their websites to see if you can find them. Of course, feel free to ask your primary care physician as well.

2. Dress professionally. Wear khakis and a button up shirt or a sweater if your a guy, and if you're a girl... well... can't help you there.

3. You'd have to go train as an EMT. Many colleges offer programs that teach you, or you could go through other channels. I'm not really sure about this, so hopefully someone else will be able to help you out here.

I didn't know that hospitals had channels to go through for shadowing employees, thank you very much! I am a girl, but I can figure out how to dress professionally.

 

[vhstudent]

Well I got lucky because my father is a doctor, so he had me shadow one of his friends that is an orthopedic surgeon, since that's what I wanted to go into.

The lucky part was actually finding someone who was involved in the same field that I wanted to go to. But, he didn't do anything else from there. I had to contact him and arrange it all.

But here's what I did:
-Call up the doctor, explain to him that you are interested in this field of medicine, and you believe it'd be a great experience for yourself to be able to follow him and observe his actions throughout X days/weeks to get a better understanding of the job.
-If he says yes, then work out a time (days/weeks) in the upcoming week or two, so he will have time to organize anything he may want to do with you shadowing him
-If he says no, then just say thank you anyways.

It's a great experience, something that really will allow you to determine if a job in the medical field is appropriate for you. It definitely did for me.

 

[metalgirl14]

For most ER tech positions, you will be qualified with a CNA or an EMT-b certification. I would personally go with whichever one has a better job market in your area (for me, this was CNA).

 

[Aeroangel]

For most ER tech positions, you will be qualified with a CNA or an EMT-b certification. I would personally go with whichever one has a better job market in your area (for me, this was CNA).

Yeah I think CNA might have a better job market here as well by looking at online listings.

Thank you for the advice everyone. Any tips or advice is very much appreciated!