Obtaining shadowing hours

[arc5005]

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Hi there. I was wondering what people recommend as the best methods to secure shadowing opportunities?

I'll be moving to a metropolitan city for the summer. However, I do not have any networking connections, but I really need to start shadowing DOs and some MDs this summer. Please let me know what methods work? Cold calling? E-mails? Who do I contact? Human resources or the doctors themselves?

Thanks in advance!

 

[reaperx58]

I don't have a ton of experience, but the first time I shadowed I just cold called offices until someone finally called me back, out of the 30-35 offices I called only one got back to me. The 2nd time I poked around the local hospitals' websites until I found the number of the woman in charge of setting up shadowing/volunteering and she scheduled a few days for me at one of the hospitals clinics.

 

[lyana]

To be honest the best way is asking friends/family whether they know some doctors. I found that cold calling and emails do not really work because doctors are super busy, and their staff most likely don't care, but if that's someone they know who is asking them, they are most likely to say yes. I really recommend getting a job in a healthcare. That helped me TREMENDOUSLY to expand my network. Also when you do shadow, get your name out there, introduce yourself to other doctors. I shadowed a physician, and met 3 other doctors during the shift who told me to come shadow them anytime.
Also you will find more luck at the bigger hospitals rather than small clinics. So good luck!

 

[deleted492904]

Not sure if I am adding anything useful or new, but I just want to say that I was in your position a while ago when I was trying to find someone to shadow. I know exactly how you feel. I want to reiterate what lyana said and ask friends and family members that know doctors. It really comes down to who you know and making connections that will ultimately help make this process easier. If your friend/family has a doctor in their family or they know a doctor really well, explain to them the situation and see if they can help hook you up with shadowing. If not, it's not the last resort. Are you volunteering at a hospital? Ask your volunteer coordinator, some hospital have the same coordinator for volunteers and shadowing, they will gladly help. You can even ask around in the department that you're volunteering in for help. In my personal experience, the first two doctors I shadow were ER doctors at the hospital I volunteered at. I went up to the doctor and ask him if I can shadow him and he was glad that I asked. Remember to be persistent but not annoying. Some doctors will say yes and forget to follow up with you. I experienced this with my first doctor. Kindly remind them in a couple of days if they do. Doctors are busy people, they will forget these things and it's not them trying to intentionally put you aside.

Now for cold calling, it is easier for them to forget about you or say no to you if you cold call them. So I would really use that as a last resort because you will still get some doctors that will say yes, but it's harder to find one. If all the other ways don't work out for you, you can try cold calling. Best of luck to you and if you have any more questions, you can PM me.

 

[KyleV]

Use the iLearn Mentor Exchange program online. That's how I finally got a DO to let me shadow

 

[arc5005]

I guess I don't really understand this program, because every time I try to search for DOs/mentors in Washington DC nothing comes up. Am I using the program incorrectly?

 

[Pancakes N Bacon]

Hi there. I was wondering what people recommend as the best methods to secure shadowing opportunities?

I'll be moving to a metropolitan city for the summer. However, I do not have any networking connections, but I really need to start shadowing DOs and some MDs this summer. Please let me know what methods work? Cold calling? E-mails? Who do I contact? Human resources or the doctors themselves?

Thanks in advance!

You can search on the AACOM website for the listed DOs in your area, or any area (zipcode), and call/email providers personally. This is one of the ways I found DOs in my area, and everyone was willing to help because they were in my shoes at some point of their careers. I also signed up for a volunteer program at a rural hospital, which are more likely to have DOs because of the nature of the profession, and I started networking through them. I recommend to not only shadow physicians, but also try to learn about what other healthcare professionals do, like the different kinds of nurses, EMTs and paramedics (ride an ambulance if you can), and other kinds of techs. It gives you perspective and shows you the importance of teamwork in a hospital environment, plus you can add these experiences to your application and that will work in your favor.
Good luck!

 

[becomingdoctor]

If you are talking about Los Angeles, PM me

 

[PatrickStarMDPHD]

Not sure if I am adding anything useful or new, but I just want to say that I was in your position a while ago when I was trying to find someone to shadow. I know exactly how you feel. I want to reiterate what lyana said and ask friends and family members that know doctors. It really comes down to who you know and making connections that will ultimately help make this process easier. If your friend/family has a doctor in their family or they know a doctor really well, explain to them the situation and see if they can help hook you up with shadowing. If not, it's not the last resort. Are you volunteering at a hospital? Ask your volunteer coordinator, some hospital have the same coordinator for volunteers and shadowing, they will gladly help. You can even ask around in the department that you're volunteering in for help. In my personal experience, the first two doctors I shadow were ER doctors at the hospital I volunteered at. I went up to the doctor and ask him if I can shadow him and he was glad that I asked. Remember to be persistent but not annoying. Some doctors will say yes and forget to follow up with you. I experienced this with my first doctor. Kindly remind them in a couple of days if they do. Doctors are busy people, they will forget these things and it's not them trying to intentionally put you aside.

Now for cold calling, it is easier for them to forget about you or say no to you if you cold call them. So I would really use that as a last resort because you will still get some doctors that will say yes, but it's harder to find one. If all the other ways don't work out for you, you can try cold calling. Best of luck to you and if you have any more questions, you can PM me.

This is exactly what I did too, networking through volunteering is the most effective way. I had less luck with the cold call method.

 

[dapdrow]

This is what I did:

I went to that AOA mentor website and signed up. I narrowed down the list by putting in my location and I looked for ones that had chosen "face to face" as an option. Then I e-mailed all of those people---I think there were something like five after narrowing it down.

I had one response and it was from someone who exclusively practices OMM.

 

[DoctorHill]

How many hours did you end up shadowing for your DO?

 

[FutureDrB]

Use the iLearn Mentor Exchange program online. That's how I finally got a DO to let me shadow

Glad this worked for y'all. When I first started looking for physicans to shadow, I contacted countless docs in my area through the iLearn Mentor Exchange and never heard back from a single one. It was pretty annoying since I assume they volunteer their info to be on there.

 

[j4pac]

I had decent schedule cold calling offices. The key is to be organized, and know whom to speak with. When the receptionists picks up, identify yourself and ask to speak with either the doctor of office manager. Those are the ONLY two people who will be able to help you. They will likely direct you to the office manager.

Explain your situation, including when you would like to rotate, offer to give him/her your CV, and ask if it would be ok to check back in a week.

 

[puppyofthesea]

Cold calling is frustrating. I cold called one doctor who said no, one month later I got hired by a scribe company and work with that dr regularly. Small world. They are the nicest person and love teaching students, yet they refuse shadows. Since they have scribes already they didn't want another person in the room which is completely understandable.

 

[September24]

Here's a tip I learned about shadowing. The problem is that most clinics are so busy that they rarely have time to relay messages to one another. When you call a clinic, you will talk to the front desk and inquire about shadowing a physician. They say they will get back to you. NOW, the front desk has to more than likely remember to ask the OFFICE MANAGER who had to remember to ask a physician who has to remember to call you back/ask the office manager to call you back. There is a small hierarchy that this inquiry has to go through. My advice would be to call the office and ask to directly speak with the office manager. Also, when you make a call, try calling back once in a while instead of waiting on the doctor to call you back. Dont be pushy, but try to remind the clinic once in a while.

I also found a couple offices near by and went in person to talk to office managers. It's usually better than cold-calling