Need shadowing and ec help!!!

[MagicWalrus]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi, I am new to this whole forum and Pre-Med stuff. I am a sophomore in college and want to become an Anesthesiologist. I need to start shadowing and doing more ECs, but I dont know where to start... How do I go about finding physicians to shadow, or find ECs such as research and internships? I'm in Orange County, CA if that makes a difference.

 

[aSagacious]

Hello and welcome to SDN. If you take a look at the top-right corner of your screen you'll see a 'search' text field. Both shadowing opportunities and extra-curricular activity expectations are relatively well documented topics that have been discussed extensively so you should have no trouble finding a wealth of information. There's also a great 'applicant sticky' thrown together by the moderators that hits most FAQs. Good luck.

 

[KindofBlue]

You could use the search function of the forum and will get tons of info on that.
It's been asked a lot.

EC: Clubs, sports team, volunteering (medical and/or non-medical), student body (president, senator etc.). Your school will have a website for this, most likely. Hospital volunteering, ask the hospital volunteer dept.

Shadowing: you could try cold calling if you can find a phone number or e-mail of a physician, but usually being referred by your primary care physician or pre-med advisor is easier.

Research: ask your professor, or look for paid internships available for the summer across the country. The ones offered by schools usually have a deadline around Feb ~ April for the following summer. Company internships will vary. Search "uc davis summer paid internships", they have a nice PDF file of internships offered in US schools and prestigious medical associations etc.

 

[kpcrew]

If your school has a premed office, check their resources. My school has a list of alumni who are willing to let students shadow them. I found an anesthesiologist who let me watch him in a pain clinic and the OR which was a really good experience. If you don't have one of those, just look up doctors and send out a bunch of cold emails or phone calls and see if that works I suppose. For research, you could send some emails or visit some offices and see if any of your professors have space in their labs. It would work better if they knew you from class or something.

 

[ICanHazChBurger]

If your school has a premed office, check their resources. My school has a list of alumni who are willing to let students shadow them. I found an anesthesiologist who let me watch him in a pain clinic and the OR which was a really good experience. If you don't have one of those, just look up doctors and send out a bunch of cold emails or phone calls and see if that works I suppose. For research, you could send some emails or visit some offices and see if any of your professors have space in their labs. It would work better if they knew you from class or something.

second that--nothing beats a good cold call. just remember that every doc out there was in your shoes at one point and would love a chance to discuss their career with an eager volunteer. i stopped by the ER one day to see if they would be willing to let me hang out, and then a year later i was at the point where i was given free reign to do basic splinting, help with LPs, take vitals, etc. i liked ER a lot because you can easily find a way to follow patients to other parts of the hospital (ICU, radiology, nuc med, etc.) and get a better idea for how it works and meet other physicians to shadow. it might give you an "in" to meet an anesthesiologist or two.