Is it okay to do my shadowing 2 years before my MD applications?

[Ryan17]

Hi All,

I'm a postbac premed who won't be applying until June 2016 for med school; that said, would it be okay if I devoted this semester (spring 2014) to a few classes and shadowing a few different types of doctors? Would I need to have more recent shadowing experience come 2016, or would the then-2-years-old experiences be sufficient, if they were sufficient enough for me?

Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[QuinnTheEskimo]

I think it's fine.

 

[Pacna]

100% okay. I would make sure you gain exposure to whichever specialties you think you might be interested in, but shadowing is about making sure you (sort of) know what you're getting into. It doesn't need to be recent.

 

[AquiVoy13]

I think you should be fine. I would aim for about 50-60 hours. To be safe, you could always just add in a few more hours of shadowing closer to your application. You could stay in touch with a few of the docs you shadow now and perhaps hang with them again in 2016. I think the most recent shadowing I had was about a year before my app cycle (this past summer), so you should be ok either way. Good luck!

 

[Planes2Doc]

You're fine. Shadowing is a checklist item and ADCOMs don't care if you treat it as such. With volunteeering, on the other hand, you always want it to be a current activity when applying so it looks more legitimate and not like a checklist item.

 

[deleted407021]

You're fine. Enjoy your shadowing.