No shadowing or clinical

[bowlesman]

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Like the title suggests, I have no shadowing or clinical experience. I've followed a medical team of doctors to a village in Southeast Asia so that might count as shadowing, but I don't have the necessary paperwork to prove it. Am I screwed?

 

[RecycleRinsed]

Like the title suggests, I have no shadowing or clinical experience. I've followed a medical team of doctors to a village in Southeast Asia so that might count as shadowing, but I don't have the necessary paperwork to prove it. Am I screwed?

#gameover

The more important question to ask yourself is, "How do I know for sure I want to spend the next 7-10 years of my life training to be a physician if I have never seen what they do firsthand?" It's not about "counting" or scamming some admissions committee into letting you in. You do yourself and your society a disservice if you don't adequately investigate the field before committing to such a long and arduous journey.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

If you have no shadowing or clinical experience when you apply, your chances are slim.

 

[bowlesman]

#gameover

The more important question to ask yourself is, "How do I know for sure I want to spend the next 7-10 years of my life training to be a physician if I have never seen what they do firsthand?" It's not about "counting" or scamming some admissions committee into letting you in. You do yourself and your society a disservice if you don't adequately investigate the field before committing to such a long and arduous journey.

What exactly am I getting out of shadowing a doctor that I'm not seeing while going to doctors visits for my own personal problems or that of family members? I'm genuinely curious.

 

[gettheleadout]

What exactly am I getting out of shadowing a doctor that I'm not seeing while going to doctors visits for my own personal problems or that of family members? I'm genuinely curious.

Surgery, team dynamics and interactions, clinic dynamics, variety and scope of cases, physician attitudes and flexibility toward patients, a general sense of the stress or toil of practicing for 10 hours straight or more, the work of physicians you would never actually see like radiologists, pathologists, OB/Gyn's if you're a guy, etc...

Use your imagination!


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[Blaughable]

What exactly am I getting out of shadowing a doctor that I'm not seeing while going to doctors visits for my own personal problems or that of family members? I'm genuinely curious.

SO much, here's just a few:

1. You are not personally invested in the observed cases. You can look at them objectively and try to really investigate the doctor patient relationship.

2. You get to talk to the doctor about whatever you want. You're with them for hours. you can pick their brain about med school, health care, resident life, debt, administration, med school choice, whatever you want.

3. You get the behind the scenes look at the life of a doctor. Just sitting in the doctor's office looking at CT scans going over patient files, listening to a differential diagnosis is awesome. You get to see the doctor-nurse, doctor-doctor, doctor-resident, resident-resident interactions. You hear how doctors talk when not in front of their patients.

 

[1289]

What exactly am I getting out of shadowing a doctor that I'm not seeing while going to doctors visits for my own personal problems or that of family members? I'm genuinely curious.

..really?

 

[ucsfstudents]

Use your resources to find an internal medicine doc, family medicine doc, ER doc, or surgeon to shadow for a few hours. One way to do that is to get connected with shadowing opportunities is to contact someone in the medical school near you by contacting the admission office to see if they can connect you with a medical student to shadow. The medical student can then help set up shadowing opportunities for you.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

SO much, here's just a few:

1. You are not personally invested in the observed cases. You can look at them objectively and try to really investigate the doctor patient relationship.

2. You get to talk to the doctor about whatever you want. You're with them for hours. you can pick their brain about med school, health care, resident life, debt, administration, med school choice, whatever you want.

3. You get the behind the scenes look at the life of a doctor. Just sitting in the doctor's office looking at CT scans going over patient files, listening to a differential diagnosis is awesome. You get to see the doctor-nurse, doctor-doctor, doctor-resident, resident-resident interactions. You hear how doctors talk when not in front of their patients.

This is BY FAR the best part.😀

 

[bowlesman]

Use your resources to find an internal medicine doc, family medicine doc, ER doc, or surgeon to shadow for a few hours. One way to do that is to get connected with shadowing opportunities is to contact someone in the medical school near you by contacting the admission office to see if they can connect you with a medical student to shadow. The medical student can then help set up shadowing opportunities for you.

I notice that your username suggests that you are currently or have been a UCSF med student. I happen to live in the area and realize that my best opportunities are probably going to be at the med school. Do you know where I should go if I want to shadow a physician at UCSF or perhaps volunteer in a program at the hospital? Thanks for the helpful reply by the way (unlike other snarky remarks). I'm new to this pre-med stuff despite being out of college now. I realize that I probably shouldn't apply out of haste and should spend extra time to really make my application count.

 

[RecycleRinsed]

I notice that your username suggests that you are currently or have been a UCSF med student. I happen to live in the area and realize that my best opportunities are probably going to be at the med school. Do you know where I should go if I want to shadow a physician at UCSF or perhaps volunteer in a program at the hospital? Thanks for the helpful reply by the way (unlike other snarky remarks). I'm new to this pre-med stuff despite being out of college now. I realize that I probably shouldn't apply out of haste and should spend extra time to really make my application count.

This is wise. Would you ask someone to marry you without dating them? I think you need to take medicine out for dinner + drinks + ? ....😉