Length of shadowing

[byeh2004]

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How long do you guys typical shadow physicians? Sometimes I hear a day, a few hours, or even months or years... I really want to shadow some physicians but I'm not quite sure how long I should shadow, thanks

 

[HessExpress]

It's your choice. I shadowed two separate doctors for like 1 day each. Was it sufficient? Probably not. But I felt like I was getting in their way.

 

[MiesVanDerMom]

I arranged to shadow an alum of my undergrad school over Winter Term which is a month long. I went in several days a week and he arranged for me to shadow other surgeons, residents, interns throughout the month. That's the only shadowing I did.

 

[mdung]

I arranged to shadow an alum of my undergrad school over Winter Term which is a month long. I went in several days a week and he arranged for me to shadow other surgeons, residents, interns throughout the month. That's the only shadowing I did.

i shadowed a few different doctor for about 6-8 months each. 4 hrs/week, skipping some weeks here and there.

 

[drmota]

i did five weeks of shadowing/clinical research. the first day there i was in the operating room but after that i would talk to the doc's secretary about the list of his surgeries and those i hadn't seen yet i went in and watched, altogether about 8 probably for the 5 weeks. the rest of the time i was doing research.
-mota

 

[MoosePilot]

As much as you can and want to. I think anything 10 hours plus is good. Once you get into hundreds of hours, I'd probably diversify. Volunteering where you actually do something might be good at that point.

 

[crazy_cavalier]

You get out of it what you put into it. It could take a few hours, or it could take a few days; there's no set / unspoken rule when it comes to "how many hours." It's more a matter of the experience and the insights you can draw.

If you're just starting out, good luck! Don't be nervous and it's gonna be a blast 🙂