Obtaining a DO letter

[DD214_DOC]

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How in the world are we supposed to get a DO letter with the new HIPAA crap? My university just suspended its shadowing matching program because of the new HIPAA regulations, and MANY students are having a horrible time getting shadowing positions. (none have placed yet this year).

How are you guys getting these letters? My area isn't exactly saturated with DO's to begin with, and finding one willing to forgo HIPAA isn't going to be easy. Should I contact some of the schools and ask?

 

[texdrake]

Family physicain? I am not aware of this new regulation but you don't actually have to shadow one. Also some schools say they want a letter from a DO, but if you explain otherwise you can use an MD one instead. I did this at several schools as I shadowed a couple MD's as the hospital I worked at didn't have many DO's. Midwestern (both campuses, are a stickler for a DO letter though)

 

[DD214_DOC]

HIPAA applies to the MD's too.

 

[MeowMix]

I have had the best luck with very experienced physicians who don't worry about the HIPAA stuff. The newest doctors can't figure out how to make it work.

I did very well by asking lots of friends if they knew anyone I could shadow. The connection helped a lot. I had very little success with writing to DOs that I found in the phone book (1/10 got back to me).

 

[Amy B]

Here is where I started when I was looking for the elusive letter from a DO.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?threadid=84734

If you contact someone from your state's AOA they can help you. I contacted the state officer from my region of Virginia and he was the one who interviewed me and wrote my letter for me. He said they don't let pre-meds shadow.

 

[DD214_DOC]

Amy, I have blessed your inbox with a glorious PM from myself.

 

[Idiopathic]

Look in the phone book, people. It isnt that difficult.

 

[DD214_DOC]

I guess you forgot how to read, Idiopathic.

 

[Idiopathic]

Why would you write to a doctor? Why wouldnt you call his/her secretary and try to set something up? I mean, really. How have you gotten this far without understanding that nobody returns letters. Offer to pay for appointment time, if they are swamped. Offer to meet before office hours, after office hours, to travel, to bring coffee...anything to get in the door. Just the humble advice of someone who has been there.

 

[WillowRose]

I just don't understand why so many people are having HIPPAA problems. It affects how your insurance claim is submitted more than who shadows a doctor. Confidentiality has *always* been a concern when there are students involved in a clinical setting. HIPPAA protects patients more than the old rules did, but it doesn't make life impossible.

I shadowed a DO who was a recent graduate--not an "old school" doc who didn't worry about the stuff. The nurse/office manager would check the patients in, explain all the new regulations on privacy, and then tell them that the doc had a student with her--if a patient didn't want me in there, I didn't go. Most are quite willing to allow student doctors to watch as your child gets checked for strep throat.

Just get the phone book out or check the AOA's website for docs in your area. That's all I did. I called. When I got no response, I called again. I talked to office managers, nurses, or whoever I could talk to. I pointed out that I had worked in hosptials before and I understood the boundaries of patient confidentiality. And I looked for ways to show that I knew something about the practice. I finally got in to shadow a doc after mentioning that she had probably been very busy because of a recent open house they had held.

It's just like most other things in life...if you show you've done a little homework and actually have some interest in that doctor's practice, you're halfway there.

Will~

 

[Idiopathic]

as for HIPAA, they should just make you sign something. The patients sign something that says the physician can share their info anyway, I think, so not a whole lot has changed.

 

[MeowMix]

I have gotten this far by knowing that when I am in the senior position, I much prefer an introductory letter or e-mail from some junior person that I don't know, and that I hate cold calls from such people when I am very busy.

I followed up my nice introductory letter with a phone call to the secretary/office manager, since I know that everyone is way too busy to respond. The phone calls didn't get anywhere either. Eventually I gave up on those people because I found other docs who were much more accessible. Paying for appt time? I don't have that kind of money.

WillowRose is right, you need to be persistent.

 

[Idiopathic]

Sorry, I just cant imagine getting anywhere with a letter. You dont have the kind of money to offer to pay for an appointment if it can keep you from getting into medical school? That is also why doctors have secretaries, to take messages and relay them. True, not all docs will call back, but how many of them will call you if they are written to? I think I already know the answer.

 

[Amy B]

Originally posted by Idiopathic
Why would you write to a doctor? Why wouldnt you call his/her secretary and try to set something up? I mean, really. How have you gotten this far without understanding that nobody returns letters. Offer to pay for appointment time, if they are swamped. Offer to meet before office hours, after office hours, to travel, to bring coffee...anything to get in the door. Just the humble advice of someone who has been there.

Maybe yu didn't follow previous posts on this subject, so I will fill you in on what I did. I went through the entire section of doctors in my phone book. Now this is a huge area (greater D.C.) I gathered the names of 12 DOs and called one by one. I hit a brick wall with each and every one.

I went to the receptionists, nurses, office managers, billing managers, the top office managers, etc.... No luck. I then started faxing the doctors themselves at the offices that said maybe but they would have to check with the doctor. The faxes were read and then nothing..... I followed up with more phone calls and NOTHING.......... I explained why I needed this shadowing experiance, that my applications depended on them...... NOTHING

That is why I contacted VCOM I told them what was happening and told them I only had a letter from an MD that I worked with at a free clinic for 3 years. They sent me to the AOA web site. I emailed the officer from my area and told him the trouble I was having finding someone to shadow, and i was him that said I could just interview rather than shadow. He won't allow anyone but MSIII and IVs to shadow. I faxed him my personal statements, etc and met with him for 30 minutes.

Now this came up in my interview that I hadn't shadowed. I explained I had tried but to no avail. I also said since I came from a family background that always used DOs as our doctor I felt very strong in my assement that I wanted to become a DO. The interviewer did give me a name of someone I could shadow in D.C. if I was still interested in doing so.

So we have picked up the phone books and yes even offered to pay for visists but have been turned down. For those of you who have found a DO to shadow are indeed fortunate and should tell that DO how great they are.

Sorry for the long post, but felt the need to fill in the gaps for people who may not have known the troubles some of us have been facing.

 

[Febrifuge]

I wrote an email to my state chapter of the AOA (and also the AMA). This was several months ago, before I'd signed up for, much less earned, my EMT. I was totally a civilian at that point, just some guy thinking about making the switch to medicine. I laid out the who, what, and why, and waited only about a week or 10 days.

I got a response back from a local DO who is an officer of the state chapter, saying that he frequently has students from the DO school in a neighboring state shadow him. He gave a list of dates that would work for him, and I picked one. We spent half a day seeing everything from sniffly kids to a guy with neck pain who got some OMT. All the patients were told there was a 'premed' student here, and asked if it was okay for me to come into the room.

Anything the doc knew would be sensitive, he didn't ask; he just had me hang out in the hall or in his office. He's a FP doc and knows his patients pretty well. At the lunch break, we chatted about school, about the career path, about options. It was pretty cool.

Since then, I've also done a day in an Internist's clinic, and shadowed a hospitalist in a suburban hospital. Shadowing is tremendously helpful for a pre-med; I guess it's all about being politely persistent, and having a clear sense of what you want and why you need it.

 

[FowlersGap]

finding a DO this summer and extracting a letter out of her was by far the most mind numbing experience of my life
i had an incredibly difficult time finding a DO
when i finally found a few, they changed their minds right before i was to begin shadowing because of the hipaa laws!
then i found another; same thing, i finally found one who i shadowed for a couple months; i asked her for a letter...a month passed...still no letter...then i go into the office one week to find that she just quite and left the practice...without telling me...no letter...no doctor...so i got a hold of her and she allegedly sent my letter but it was never received; i had to have her resend the letter and it finally got there; i don't even think she wrote kind words in there
we'll find out later i guess if i ever do get an interview!

 

[DD214_DOC]

I sent an email to the AOA officer and never got a reply 🙄

 

[deleted9493]

I couldn't get a D.O. to let me shadow him/her either. I too went through the local phone book and called probably 50 offices. About 15 of these offices were sublets of a larger healthcare system which had just discontinued allowing student shadowing (because of HIPAA) and the other people just didn't think it would be a good idea "because of the new HIPAA regulations." I think most of these responses stemmed from the idea that people fear that which they don't fully understand (in terms of policies/implications). Anyway, the whole process just ended up frustrating me to the extent of giving up. I ended up just asking from letters of recommendation from my pastor and from the clinical manager on the unit I work for at the hospital. I was accepted at MSUCOM last week!
Keep trying and you may even try calling the schools that you want to get accepted at and see if they have any alumni in your area that they might be able to hook you up with. Just a thought...

 

[Amy B]

Originally posted by JKDMed
I sent an email to the AOA officer and never got a reply 🙄

Try again!! Send one to a different officer. Ask, beg plead, etc.

Good luck. I really think schools may have to rethink this requirement due to HIPPA. It seems like there are certain parts of the country that HIPPA regulations have hit really hard and has made it near impossible for the pre-meds to shadow. I notice some people haven't had any troubles. I wonder if it is geographical.

 

[DD214_DOC]

Well, I managed to find one!!! A DO in Charleston has agreed to let me shadow and talk to me for a day. I'd have to drive to Charleston, but who cares Chas rocks! I will probably set this up and do it during Xmas break between semesters.

Now I just need to work on my two science faculty LOR. 😱

 

[Amy B]

Originally posted by JKDMed
Well, I managed to find one!!! A DO in Charleston has agreed to let me shadow and talk to me for a day. I'd have to drive to Charleston, but who cares Chas rocks! I will probably set this up and do it during Xmas break between semesters.

Now I just need to work on my two science faculty LOR. 😱