Is it a waste to shadow a specialist?

[dpk211]

As a pre-med should you just be shadowing an internist or a family doc since it's premature to decide what kind of doctor you want to be? Is it a waste of time to shadow a specialist?

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[DrYoda]

no.

 

[Monocles]

No, because having clinical experience is good, regardless of which field you want to go into. The main idea is understanding the daily life of being a doctor and knowing that you want to work with patients, not necessarily any sort of apprenticeship training with the specialist.

 

[rhesuspieces]

It's a waste to shadow only specialists. Even if you have no interest in primary care, it's worth it to shadow a primary care doc.

 

[dpk211]

What I meant to say was if it was a waste to seek out specialists to shadow and just stick with primary care docs.

Shadowing is a good thing but I wanted to know if it was worth the effort to shadow a busy specialist.

 

[DrYoda]

Shadowing is a good thing but I wanted to know if it was worth the effort to shadow a busy specialist.

It's as worth it as shadowing any other specialty. Shadowing isn't a primary-care-centric thing, checkout whatever specialties you want.

 

[Barcu]

What I meant to say was if it was a waste to seek out specialists to shadow and just stick with primary care docs.

Shadowing is a good thing but I wanted to know if it was worth the effort to shadow a busy specialist.

Not a waste at all. All shadowing experience is good.

Even though most people change their mind once in med school, it would be a good thing to shadow a specialty you are interested in. Also, seeing medical vs. surgical and/or inpatient vs. outpatient is all good because it helps to give you a much more well-rounded view of the profession.

 

[regularbobj]

It's a waste to shadow only specialists. Even if you have no interest in primary care, it's worth it to shadow a primary care doc.

So I know this will sound like a dumb question but I've been wondering this for a long time. What counts as a primary care doc? What are some examples? Are they just the doctors we go see for check ups and stuff?

 

[xanthomondo]

What I meant to say was if it was a waste to seek out specialists to shadow and just stick with primary care docs.

Shadowing is a good thing but I wanted to know if it was worth the effort to shadow a busy specialist.

I think it's a good idea to shadow as many different fields of medicine as you possibly can (specialists, general, medical, surgical, etc). Even in medical school you really won't have time to experience every field of medicine by the time you have to make a decision and apply, so it's advantageous to at least get an idea of what specialties you may or may not be interested in from the start.

 

[orthomyxo]

So I know this will sound like a dumb question but I've been wondering this for a long time. What counts as a primary care doc? What are some examples? Are they just the doctors we go see for check ups and stuff?

General practicioner/family medicine and internal medicine?

 

[xanthomondo]

So I know this will sound like a dumb question but I've been wondering this for a long time. What counts as a primary care doc? What are some examples? Are they just the doctors we go see for check ups and stuff?

Yeah, pretty much. I think technically it includes general pediatrician, family medicine, outpatient internal medicine, and even ob/gyn (primary care for women).

 

[nlax30]

Yeah, pretty much. I think technically it includes general pediatrician, family medicine, outpatient internal medicine, and even ob/gyn (primary care for women).

Yea, it's pretty much FP, IM, OB/GYN, and Peds.

And just for a technical point here.... all docs going into residency "specialize" whether it's IM, FP, Gen surg, or neuro, that's their specialty. So don't consider primary care docs as not having a specialty or not specialized in a field. It takes a very broad knowledge base to be a good PCP.

 

[nlax30]

But I agree, it really doesn't matter who you shadow. And someone else above mentioned something that I think is important.... focus in getting some time seeing a
medicine field (FP, IM or any sub-specialty) and then some time on the surgery side. Same thing with inpatient vs outpatient settings. That should give you a wider view of the profession as a whole and takes the focus if worrying about trying to find a specific field to shadow in.

 

[LizzyM]

A variety is good. I interviewed an applicant this year who had no idea that doctors practiced medicine outside of hospitals. I suppose there are those people who might shadow physicians who never step foot in the hospital.

While everyone is chanting, "Don't specify a specialty in your application", I would like to know if someone is drawn to the "doing" specialties or the "thinking" specialties and if they see themselves in a hosptial based practice, an office setting, or something entirely different. Having some concept of what different kinds of doctors do will help you with that question.

 

[nickmx50]

It's a good idea to shadow different specialties, in addition to primary care, because you might find interest in a specialty you had never expected. I felt that plastics was one specialty that I would never consider because I was not interested in performing elective cosmetic surgery for the rest of my life. By chance, I got any opportunity to shadow a plastic surgeon and find out what they do in a hospital setting. It was truly amazing to find out there is a world of plastic surgery that has nothing to do with elective cosmetics. I don't know that I'll become a plastic surgeon, but I would strongly consider it now.

 

[regularbobj]

So is an oncologist a specialist or a primary care? ...

What are some "specialists" then?

 

[Evergrey]

So is an oncologist a specialist or a primary care? ...

What are some "specialists" then?

Specialist is anyone who's NOT:

Internal Medicine
Pediatrics
Family Medicine
Obstetrics & Gynecology

So basically, any kind of surgeon (general surgeons are specialists, oxymoron I know), or any type of fellowship-trained internal medicine physician (like cardiologists, or medical oncologists like you mentioned). Anesthesiologists, dermatologists, neurologists, etc. are also specialists.