Is It Wise to Shadow Doctor That You Visit

[lillian36]

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Our family has primary care doctor very close by.

I assist my 70-year young Dad during his medical appointments, even using anatomy diagrams to state what he wishes to discuss (my Dad's second language is English, he suffered brain injury and I explain things better visually).

Our family doctor was so impressed she has even asked that I work for her.

This is several months before I started to consider Medicine.

Several threads mention shadowing and medical scribing as great learning experiences, in addition to pre-med and MCAT.

Is it wise to take her up on her offer? Or is it better I find another Doctor who does not see our family.

Also, when is a good time for shadowing. Should I complete pre-med courses first, or afterwards.

Thank you for your guidance.

 

[THEBACKANDFORTH]

Yes, a friend in medicine is a friend indeed. Also, if she wants a scribe or similar, take her up.

 

[Robin-jay]

Scribing ain't no joke. I'd ensure you do shadowing before attempting to take on the bull that is scribing. One of the most stressful jobs you can do, for the lowest amount of cash you can make.

 

[WingedOx]

n=1 but I did.

 

[THEBACKANDFORTH]

Scribing ain't no joke. I'd ensure you do shadowing before attempting to take on the bull that is scribing. One of the most stressful jobs you can do, for the lowest amount of cash you can make.

Depends on the setting. I'm scribing at the moment, actually. Great job. Family doc that asked me if I wanted to shadow and then turning into scribing. Same situation as OP.

But you do work hard for little pay, and must be quick and reasonably bright to do well.

 

[Robin-jay]

Depends on the setting. I'm scribing at the moment, actually. Great job. Family doc that asked me if I wanted to shadow and then turning into scribing. Same situation as OP.

But you do work hard for little pay, and must be quick and reasonably bright to do well.

That's probably the difference between working for a company and being an independent scribe. Scribe companies are not your friend.

 

[Catalystik]

I assist my 70-year young Dad during his medical appointments, even using anatomy diagrams to state what he wishes to discuss (my Dad's second language is English, he suffered brain injury and I explain things better visually).

Our family doctor was so impressed she has even asked that I work for her.

This is several months before I started to consider Medicine.

Several threads mention shadowing and medical scribing as great learning experiences, in addition to pre-med and MCAT.

1) Is it wise to take her up on her offer? Or is it better I find another Doctor who does not see our family.

2) Also, when is a good time for shadowing. Should I complete pre-med courses first, or afterwards.

1) There is no problem with shadowing the physician of family members.

2) You might try some shadowing now, to help decide if the day-to-day life of a physician is for you. Get more shadowing in during the year prior to submitting your application. About 50 total hours is the average listed. This can be with just one primary care physician or you can add a few specialists if you wish.

Active clinical experience falls into a different category on the application, such as working with current patients in a helpful role or volunteering in a clinical setting.

 

[THEBACKANDFORTH]

That's probably the difference between working for a company and being an independent scribe. Scribe companies are not your friend.

I work for a scribe company, but as a personal scribe, we do not follow their rules, per se. If the setting seems relaxed, it likely will be

but yes, those companies are terrible

 

[DrRedstone]

tldr: Do it. Start yesterday.

I started working for a ophthalmologist as a technician and later was trained to scribe. It was quite possibly the best thing I ever did. She is now mentoring me and helping me to prepare for application into ophthalmology. If you have any physician that is interested in you, take them up on the offer. That interest translates really well into a fantastic letter of recommendation down the road. Especially as a scribe, you get a chance to know the physician plus you get experience writing SOAP notes, with is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Now that I am in medical school, scribing was invaluable to me, even though I only did eye cases. My friend who worked as an ER scribe is way ahead of me in understanding medical terminology and special tests that we are learning because he has already been exposed to a majority of them. Good luck on your future application!

 

[THEBACKANDFORTH]

tldr: Do it. Start yesterday.

I started working for a ophthalmologist as a technician and later was trained to scribe. It was quite possibly the best thing I ever did. She is now mentoring me and helping me to prepare for application into ophthalmology. If you have any physician that is interested in you, take them up on the offer. That interest translates really well into a fantastic letter of recommendation down the road. Especially as a scribe, you get a chance to know the physician plus you get experience writing SOAP notes, with is certainly nothing to sneeze at. Now that I am in medical school, scribing was invaluable to me, even though I only did eye cases. My friend who worked as an ER scribe is way ahead of me in understanding medical terminology and special tests that we are learning because he has already been exposed to a majority of them. Good luck on your future application!

I should add, my scribing turned into a fantastic rec letter as well

 

[lillian36]

Thank you for all these helpful replies.

And most thank you for the encouragement!

Will start shadowing at the earliest.

 

[21Rush12]

I did as well, it was great and I got an awesome letter of recommendation.

 

[Robin-jay]

I work for a scribe company, but as a personal scribe, we do not follow their rules, per se. If the setting seems relaxed, it likely will be

but yes, those companies are terrible

I'm a little confused.

What is the order in which you did things? Did you shadow the family physician, apply to a scribing company, and then scribe for the family physician?

If you had signed up for a scribing company, usually they assign you to physicians (in a specialty) that require more stressful environments (where a scribe is absolutely needed, such as ED).

Were you able to convince the company to allow you scribe for a family physician that you shadowed?

 

[THEBACKANDFORTH]

I'm a little confused.

What is the order in which you did things? Did you shadow the family physician, apply to a scribing company, and then scribe for the family physician?

If you had signed up for a scribing company, usually they assign you to physicians (in a specialty) that require more stressful environments (where a scribe is absolutely needed, such as ED).

Were you able to convince the company to allow you scribe for a family physician that you shadowed?

Yes, I shadowed the physician, and the physician asked me to scribe for them. The physician then sent a note to the scribing company the clinic contracts with at the same time that I applied, and I was placed with that physician. I have as little to do with the scribing company as possible. And yes, they are awful. They really can't fire me because the doc I work with day to day loves me, and they would never jeopardize a contract. My "boss" with the company does even get to see my schedule.

Scribing in family medicine or a specialty with 1 physician is very preferable to ED or any place you bounce around

 

[apps2019]

Sounds like a good plan.