Is there a substitute for shadowing?

[gele021]

Hi, I recently heard from the people that run the shadowing/volunteering centers at the hospitals I volunteer at and while volunteering may start-up in June/July, shadowing is a no-go for the foreseeable future. One of them said shadowing may not be allowed for "a long time." This makes me nervous as this is the weak point in my app, which is why I'm taking a gap year (I will be a senior this fall). I was hoping to apply next cycle after making sure my app was ready in that regard, but with shadowing being the way it is now, is there anything else I can do this year that is considered a "substitute" for shadowing? I only have around 15 shadowing hours currently.

Thanks for the help!

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[Porpoiseman12345]

Scribing or another job that allows you to work closely with a physician

 

[LizzyM]

Yes, I'd say scribing for a year might help.

 

[gele021]

Yes, I'd say scribing for a year might help.

If I do so and let's say shadowing remains a no-go way into next year, will my low shadowing hours still hurt my app?

 

[Goro]

Hi, I recently heard from the people that run the shadowing/volunteering centers at the hospitals I volunteer at and while volunteering may start-up in June/July, shadowing is a no-go for the foreseeable future. One of them said shadowing may not be allowed for "a long time." This makes me nervous as this is the weak point in my app, which is why I'm taking a gap year (I will be a senior this fall). I was hoping to apply next cycle after making sure my app was ready in that regard, but with shadowing being the way it is now, is there anything else I can do this year that is considered a "substitute" for shadowing? I only have around 15 shadowing hours currently.

Thanks for the help!

Scibing.

Otherwise, nope. You need to show that you know what a doctor's day is like and how different doctors approach the practice of Medicine.

Here's the harsh truth: your medical career is less important than your safety, your family's safety, and society's safety.

 

[gele021]

Scibing.

Otherwise, nope. You need to show that you know what a doctor's day is like and how different doctors approach the practice of Medicine.

Here's the harsh truth: your medical career is less important than your safety, your family's safety, and society's safety.

Got it! Only other question is, is scribing for a year good enough that my low shadowing hours won't kill my app?

 

[Goro]

Got it! Only other question is, is scribing for a year good enough that my low shadowing hours won't kill my app?

Oh, yes. In my view, scribing is glorified shadowing, but it's also a job, and employment skills are always good!

 

[deleted966164]

ED Unit Assistant - you’ll get plenty EM exposure.

 

[Catalystik]

Hi, I recently heard from the people that run the shadowing/volunteering centers at the hospitals I volunteer at and while volunteering may start-up in June/July, shadowing is a no-go for the foreseeable future. One of them said shadowing may not be allowed for "a long time." This makes me nervous as this is the weak point in my app, which is why I'm taking a gap year (I will be a senior this fall). I was hoping to apply next cycle after making sure my app was ready in that regard, but with shadowing being the way it is now, is there anything else I can do this year that is considered a "substitute" for shadowing? I only have around 15 shadowing hours currently.

Medical translator.

 

[deleted1005514]

Yes, I'd say scribing for a year might help.

Just curious, but why is scribing for a whole year the equivalent of roughly 50 hours of shadowing? I would think a few months (3-6) of scribing would be enough to see what a doctor does every day. A year seems excessive, unless there are other benefits I’m missing.

 

[LizzyM]

Just curious, but why is scribing for a whole year the equivalent of roughly 50 hours of shadowing? I would think a few months (3-6) of scribing would be enough to see what a doctor does every day. A year seems excessive, unless there are other benefits I’m missing.

if you are going to list a job on an application, it would look like box checking to do it for 3 months and then quit (The exception being a summer job where there is a clear understanding that you are leaving to go back to school). A company puts a big effort into training a scribe so you should keep at it... in fact, you might not get hired if you're only planning to give them 3 months.

Also, the OP wanted to know what he could do "this year" and so my reply repeated the idea of doing something for a year.

 

[82Scout]

Another perspective. I had 0 shadowing hours and 0 scribing hours when I applied. Ended up shadowing for about 3 hours early to mid cycle.

had no problems getting interviews or acceptances. One school out of 21 did call me to clarify if my clinical research experience involved working with doctors and it did. Other than that my app was heavy with clinical research and some clinical jobs.

I should note I targeted MD schools that didn’t require shadowing. 2/21 schools required shadowing of which I received an interview at 1 without any shadowing experience. This is the school that called to clarify.