not shadowing or shadowing for a very limited period of time?

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Doctor Bagel

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help! i'm getting seriously stressed here and am worried about the importance of shadowing. my problem is that i have a full time job with regular business hours, so i can't really shadow a local doctor during most of their office hours. i could maybe take a few vacation days, but i honestly want to leave most of my vacation for the fall on the hopes that i'll get some interviews. if i don't shadow at all or shadow for a few days at the most, will i be doomed?

umm, other than that, my numbers are good (33P mcat, 3.8 gpa), and my job is sort of medical. i handle disability benefits claims, so i get to speak to a lot of people over the phone about their medical conditions and get to learn about different diseases and treatment options. anyway, i'm just nervous and need to know if i'm scr#wed or not.
 
exlawgrrl said:
help! i'm getting seriously stressed here and am worried about the importance of shadowing. my problem is that i have a full time job with regular business hours, so i can't really shadow a local doctor during most of their office hours. i could maybe take a few vacation days, but i honestly want to leave most of my vacation for the fall on the hopes that i'll get some interviews. if i don't shadow at all or shadow for a few days at the most, will i be doomed?

umm, other than that, my numbers are good (33P mcat, 3.8 gpa), and my job is sort of medical. i handle disability benefits claims, so i get to speak to a lot of people over the phone about their medical conditions and get to learn about different diseases and treatment options. anyway, i'm just nervous and need to know if i'm scr#wed or not.
as I have told others:

Chill...light on my sight as my ego becomes, a funky child with some words on my tongue. Be like intake of breath and my mouth gets loose, while I scatter my spit I dream of juice.

I would take the days off now. Get a few good days of shadowing and a letter. If you need to take more days of in the Fall for interviewing, screw your work...some things are more important. Like being a doctor. Do you really care about your job that much as opposed to medical school for 2006? 🙂

awesome scores!!! 😀 come to KCOM!

PS you stated you "hope" to get interviews...puhleese
 
Have you been around long enough to see a post about someone that is asking their chances despite insanely high scores?

You're that guy (gender neutral guy).

See if you can get some hours with a DO in the evenings.
 
exlawgrrl said:
if i don't shadow at all or shadow for a few days at the most, will i be doomed?
I am sure any cool DO would write you an awesome letter if you only shadowed with them for 2-3 days. They remember what it was like. Find a young one if you can! Give them info on yourself so they can expound upon your traits in their LOR.

You are not doomed...you will get an interview at any school you apply to.
 
thanks for the advice, mx -- you are so right that i need to chill. i've decided that i'm going to spend a week shadowing next month. i have 3 weeks vacation, so i should be okay come the fall. also, yeah, this is more important, even though i am scared winding up in 2006 with no job, no acceptances, and no money because it costs a freaking fortune to apply.

i'm going to shadow my m.d. brother who does med/peds in a very small town in oklahoma and hope to also shadow a d.o. i know who practices near there.
 
MoosePilot said:
Have you been around long enough to see a post about someone that is asking their chances despite insanely high scores?

You're that guy (gender neutral guy).

See if you can get some hours with a DO in the evenings.

lol, i know -- this process makes me neurotic. hey, though, i think i remember you from the mcat board last summer and didn't you have mind-numberingly high scores? sd does tend to give one a bit of a warped perspective. 🙂
 
exlawgrrl said:
thanks for the advice, mx -- you are so right that i need to chill. i've decided that i'm going to spend a week shadowing next month. i have 3 weeks vacation, so i should be okay come the fall. also, yeah, this is more important, even though i am scared winding up in 2006 with no job, no acceptances, and no money because it costs a freaking fortune to apply.

i'm going to shadow my m.d. brother who does med/peds in a very small town in oklahoma and hope to also shadow a d.o. i know who practices near there.
your MCAT score should settle many fears...geek 😀 :laugh:
 
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