Need help finding doctors to shadow!

[nysegop]

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1. Is there some sort of online directory where you can find doctors who will allow shadows?

2. Is it acceptable to contact a physician without having any sort of connection with him before? For instance, what if I found his profile and contact info on the hospital website?

3. What is the professional way to ask to shadow?


I need to find some docs!!!!!!!

I've been looking at hospitals and most of them don't have any information about shadowing opportunities.

 

[RuralPhysician8]

It is more than acceptable to call a Physician's office and request a shadowing position. The direct approach shows an actual drive. You can start by asking your own primary care physician, or those of your family members. If you are more interested in a specialty, then search around for nearby offices; however, remember that specialtists like surgeons, anesthesiologists, and psychiatrists often work in restricted areas or, in the case of the latter, with patients who may not feel entirely comfortable with another person in the room. Surprisingly, from what I hear, many patients seeing Gynecologists often do not mind shadowers (this was just word of mouth however). Whenever I ask to shadow a physician, I make a phone call and simply say, "Hello, I am an incoming Pre-Medical student and I was wondering if there was any possibility I could shadow you?" Start with your local hospital and primary care physician and if it does not work just flip through the phone book.

 

[smccreery86]

1. Is there some sort of online directory where you can find doctors who will allow shadows?

2. Is it acceptable to contact a physician without having any sort of connection with him before? For instance, what if I found his profile and contact info on the hospital website?

3. What is the professional way to ask to shadow?


I need to find some docs!!!!!!!

I've been looking at hospitals and most of them don't have any information about shadowing opportunities.

I would recommend looking at the websites of medical schools in your area. I'm from the Pacific Northwest, and the University of Washington is awesome about helping students in the region find physicians to shadow. I imagine this is true of many medical schools. So, research their sites, and call admissions to inquire about it.
Also, do you have a pre-med advisor at your school? If so, utilize that source. They have all kinds of connections for you to benefit from.
As far as contacting them yourself with no connection, you can absolutely do that, but be prepared for a lot of walls thrown in your way and closed doors. I work for a hospital, and when I wanted to shadow a physician associated with the hospital, it was still a major pain and took a lot of phone calls and persistence to finally make it happen (but this whole process of becoming a doctor takes an unbelievable amount of persistence, so why not start now?! 🙂 )

 

[nysegop]

It is more than acceptable to call a Physician's office and request a shadowing position. The direct approach shows an actual drive. You can start by asking your own primary care physician, or those of your family members. If you are more interested in a specialty, then search around for nearby offices; however, remember that specialtists like surgeons, anesthesiologists, and psychiatrists often work in restricted areas or, in the case of the latter, with patients who may not feel entirely comfortable with another person in the room. Surprisingly, from what I hear, many patients seeing Gynecologists often do not mind shadowers (this was just word of mouth however). Whenever I ask to shadow a physician, I make a phone call and simply say, "Hello, I am an incoming Pre-Medical student and I was wondering if there was any possibility I could shadow you?" Start with your local hospital and primary care physician and if it does not work just flip through the phone book.

I would recommend looking at the websites of medical schools in your area. I'm from the Pacific Northwest, and the University of Washington is awesome about helping students in the region find physicians to shadow. I imagine this is true of many medical schools. So, research their sites, and call admissions to inquire about it.
Also, do you have a pre-med advisor at your school? If so, utilize that source. They have all kinds of connections for you to benefit from.
As far as contacting them yourself with no connection, you can absolutely do that, but be prepared for a lot of walls thrown in your way and closed doors. I work for a hospital, and when I wanted to shadow a physician associated with the hospital, it was still a major pain and took a lot of phone calls and persistence to finally make it happen (but this whole process of becoming a doctor takes an unbelievable amount of persistence, so why not start now?! 🙂 )

Thanks both!

 

[survivordo]

Your best bet is shadowing someone in an outpatient setting. There will be a lot less BS bureaucratic walls thrown up. Try to find a primary care provider or if you are interested in something like surgery you could ask to go to their office hours.

Survivor DO

 

[nysegop]

Your best bet is shadowing someone in an outpatient setting. There will be a lot less BS bureaucratic walls thrown up. Try to find a primary care provider or if you are interested in something like surgery you could ask to go to their office hours.

Survivor DO

Thanks