Seeking Psychiatry Shadowing Chicago Area

[G7651]

Hello,

I'm seeking psychiatry shadowing/clinical opportunities in the Chicago area.

Loyola University Chicago explained that we need to set up shadowing on our own during post-bacc. How do people go about finding these opportunities, and are there specific opportunities anyone can recommend? I emailed Loyola's medical school, but they are only allowing people that are enrolled in medical school to shadow.

About me if this applies to getting shadowing opportunities:

Graduated undergrad in 2016 as business major
Starting post-bacc at Loyola University Chicago this August to get undergrad premed classes

I'm having a difficult time finding shadowing opportunities so any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

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[DocJanItor]

Hello,

I'm seeking psychiatry shadowing/clinical opportunities in the Chicago area.

Loyola University Chicago explained that we need to set up shadowing on our own during post-bacc. How do people go about finding these opportunities, and are there specific opportunities anyone can recommend? I emailed Loyola's medical school, but they are only allowing people that are enrolled in medical school to shadow.

About me if this applies to getting shadowing opportunities:

Graduated undergrad in 2016 as business major
Starting post-bacc at Loyola University Chicago this August to get undergrad premed classes

I'm having a difficult time finding shadowing opportunities so any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

- Grant

You're never going to be able to shadow a psych. Information is too personal, patients won't open up, and covid means more exposure. Try to find a primary care doc.

Also don't use your real name online or in your username.

 

[G7651]

You're never going to be able to shadow a psych. Information is too personal, patients won't open up, and covid means more exposure. Try to find a primary care doc.

Also don't use your real name online or in your username.

I suppose my worry is that when I'm interviewing for med school and express interest in psychiatry they will wonder why I don't have relevant experience. Are there other ways to get psychiatry specific experience, or will they just understand that the specialty does not lend itself to shadowing and expect clinical hours from other types of doctors?

 

[aceegreene]

I suppose my worry is that when I'm interviewing for med school and express interest in psychiatry they will wonder why I don't have relevant experience. Are there other ways to get psychiatry specific experience, or will they just understand that the specialty does not lend itself to shadowing and expect clinical hours from other types of doctors?

From what I understand, and this is based on one anecdotal account, med schools do not like it when you commit to or express an inclination towards a particular specialty anyway. They want you to be open to exploring, at least on paper. I am not sure why that is.

People with more knowledge about this can correct me if I am wrong.

 

[DocJanItor]

From what I understand, and this is based on one anecdotal account, med schools do not like it when you commit to or express an inclination towards a particular specialty anyway. They want you to be open to exploring, at least on paper. I am not sure why that is.

People with more knowledge about this can correct me if I am wrong.

Sorta depends on the med school. My MD school is bigger on specialization and so they don't really mind. For example, I have multiple friends who had derm clinic experience and research before med school and it was very clear that they were derm all the way and now they are both matched into derm programs. I also had IR shadowing before med school and now I'm matched IR.

On the flipside, DO programs are usually more primary care / underserved rural focused (depending on the school) and so they might not be as impressed with premed focus on a specialty.

Shadowing a primary care doc is just easier because there are more of them, they're usually more open to it, they have normal schedules, and what you see is what you get. If you shadowed an ortho doc you'd see the clinic but you'd likely never see the OR, post-op management, etc. This makes it harder to get an idea of the full picture. Psychiatry is unique because shadowing actively interferes with patient care.

 

[DocJanItor]

I suppose my worry is that when I'm interviewing for med school and express interest in psychiatry they will wonder why I don't have relevant experience. Are there other ways to get psychiatry specific experience, or will they just understand that the specialty does not lend itself to shadowing and expect clinical hours from other types of doctors?

Nah, it's not an issue. Personally, I feel like the shadowing requirement is a little silly (especially in COVID times) because no one can understand what it means to be a doctor in a week or 2, especially not in a specialty. But it's a requirement, so try to just get a PCP to let you follow them around.

As for specialization, most med students don't have significant exposure to a lot of specialties until their clinical rotations. A lot of med students have ideas of what they want to do, but many do not pick until their 3rd year when they actually have those rotations. The leader of my interest group did her rotation and found out that she didn't like it at all. She's now matched into a totally different specialty even though all her research and accolades are for the specialty she didn't choose.

Overall, it's better to avoid declaring a single specialty before you're in med school even if you know that's what you want to do (I did it). If they ask you can be like "I'm really interested in psych but I want to keep my options open."

 

[G7651]

From what I understand, and this is based on one anecdotal account, med schools do not like it when you commit to or express an inclination towards a particular specialty anyway. They want you to be open to exploring, at least on paper. I am not sure why that is.

People with more knowledge about this can correct me if I am wrong.

Ah, I see—thanks for your input.

 

[G7651]

Nah, it's not an issue. Personally, I feel like the shadowing requirement is a little silly (especially in COVID times) because no one can understand what it means to be a doctor in a week or 2, especially not in a specialty. But it's a requirement, so try to just get a PCP to let you follow them around.

As for specialization, most med students don't have significant exposure to a lot of specialties until their clinical rotations. A lot of med students have ideas of what they want to do, but many do not pick until their 3rd year when they actually have those rotations. The leader of my interest group did her rotation and found out that she didn't like it at all. She's now matched into a totally different specialty even though all her research and accolades are for the specialty she didn't choose.

Overall, it's better to avoid declaring a single specialty before you're in med school even if you know that's what you want to do (I did it). If they ask you can be like "I'm really interested in psych but I want to keep my options open."

Thanks for your answer. It does seem like it would be difficult to get a good understanding shadowing for such a short time. I'll definitely keep in mind that it may be better to say, "I'm really interested in psych but I want to keep my options open," rather than making a specific declaration right away.

When you say a week or two regarding shadowing, is there a certain number of hours that you are expected to shadow? If so, does the amount of hours required vary between schools?

 

[FluffyCat1212]

I have shadowed psych (granted it was with three psychiatrists that I worked with), so it's not impossible. Inpatient was mostly rounding, so shadowing might be less of a threat to patient comfort (less personal info shared, etc). Chicago has several teaching hospitals, so maybe reach out to them if you haven't already?

 

[G7651]

I have shadowed psych (granted it was with three psychiatrists that I worked with), so it's not impossible. Inpatient was mostly rounding, so shadowing might be less of a threat to patient comfort (less personal info shared, etc). Chicago has several teaching hospitals, so maybe reach out to them if you haven't already?

Thanks for your answer. Glad to know that it's been done. Do you know who I would ask to speak with specifically when contacting the teaching hospitals?

 

[FluffyCat1212]

Thanks for your answer. Glad to know that it's been done. Do you know who I would ask to speak with specifically when contacting the teaching hospitals?

Honestly, I'm not really sure. Maybe the doctors themselves if there's contact info on the website. Or just contact the hospital and they may be able to direct your call to the appropriate channels. You'll probably hit several dead ends before you find one, but it's worth it.

 

[G7651]

Honestly, I'm not really sure. Maybe the doctors themselves if there's contact info on the website. Or just contact the hospital and they may be able to direct your call to the appropriate channels. You'll probably hit several dead ends before you find one, but it's worth it.

Got it, thanks again for the tip!

 

[Mass Effect]

Psych here. Inpatient units sometimes allow pre-meds to shadow, but this is dependent on the institution and usually only the undergrads at that particular school get to do it. But overall, you won't find shadowing experiences in psych and you should never let on that you're committed to one specialty when trying to get into med school. The ideal answer is "I'm considering psych or FM, a specialty where I really get to know the patients" and stuff like that. No one will give a care in the world why you don't have psych shadowing experiences as a post-bacc.

 

[G7651]

Psych here. Inpatient units sometimes allow pre-meds to shadow, but this is dependent on the institution and usually only the undergrads at that particular school get to do it. But overall, you won't find shadowing experiences in psych and you should never let on that you're committed to one specialty when trying to get into med school. The ideal answer is "I'm considering psych or FM, a specialty where I really get to know the patients" and stuff like that. No one will give a care in the world why you don't have psych shadowing experiences as a post-bacc.

Got it, I will try to look for opportunities at my school first in that case. I'll also make sure to keep my desire for psych general and remain open minded for the interviews. Thanks for your input!