Shadowing a DC worth anything?

[Darrka]

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So I'm taking this summer off. Here is a brief explanation of the situation.

I'm 6'6", 190lbs. I'm underweight pretty bad. I have some slight curvature in my spine as well as other things in my body that need to be adjusted and addressed. The adjustments won't stay in place unless I get in better shape and build some muscle, so that is what I am doing this summer.

My chiropractor is a really nice guy and is offering me the ability to shadow him as much as I want. He is adamant that me shadowing him (he's a DC) would be considered just as good as me shadowing a primary care physician.

I doubt it, but that's his opinion.

However, I would still like to know if me shadowing him would be worth anything? I mean, it is one-on-one patient care, hands-on (literally) type stuff.

Also, on a side note, I, as well as 80% of his clients, are Russian, and are part of a tight-knit community here in Sacramento. I'm not sure if that counts as "community related extra-curricular activities", but I'm looking for opinions.

 

[AdrianVeidt]

6'6" 190 is normal on the BMI chart.

Definitely shadow him, that gives you experience in a healthcare field. If you have any curiosity in fields like exercise medicine or sports medicine or even orthopedics, you may work very closely with chiropractors so that shadowing could be beneficial in your long term career.

At the very worst, you'll get to get some tips on building bone mass and get your body in shape. Tips to get sexy for next summer.

 

[deleted547339]

Eh, I probably wouldn't. Some chiropractors are great, but some are complete whack-jobs. If you were interviewing with someone who is prejudice against chiropractors (as some MDs are), they might think you're a nut, too.

Good luck.

 

[Ismet]

CAM specialties like chiropractry are utilized by many patients, so shadowing him might give you a better understanding of how it can complement medical care (assuming you're able to find out why the patient is there). It doesn't really replace clinical experience, though, and I doubt it's of the same value as shadowing a physician, but I don't think it would be completely insignificant. Just my 2 cents.

Not sure about the community based EC...that might be a stretch...just the act of shadowing doesn't count as an extracurricular activity as you're just standing there and maybe asking a few questions.

 

[Darrka]

6'6" 190 is normal on the BMI chart.

Definitely shadow him, that gives you experience in a healthcare field. If you have any curiosity in fields like exercise medicine or sports medicine or even orthopedics, you may work very closely with chiropractors so that shadowing could be beneficial in your long term career.

At the very worst, you'll get to get some tips on building bone mass and get your body in shape. Tips to get sexy for next summer.

Thanks for the input. I understand that it is "normal," but in my case, I really do need extra muscle mass to keep my skeletal structure stable.

Eh, I probably wouldn't. Some chiropractors are great, but some are complete whack-jobs. If you were interviewing with someone who is prejudice against chiropractors (as some MDs are), they might think you're a nut, too.

Good luck.

I've heard about this. Said DC actually talks about it a lot. He admits that a lot of DC's are crazy, but he explains to me why he says so. He is actually very sane, and explains to me using medical terminology and model skeletons why and how things are done in chiropractic medicine and how a lot of DC's do things incorrectly. I've learned a lot from this guy.

I have no worries about this DC's knowledge about what he does.

CAM specialties like chiropractry are utilized by many patients, so shadowing him might give you a better understanding of how it can complement medical care (assuming you're able to find out why the patient is there). It doesn't really replace clinical experience, though, and I doubt it's of the same value as shadowing a physician, but I don't think it would be completely insignificant. Just my 2 cents.

Not sure about the community based EC...that might be a stretch...just the act of shadowing doesn't count as an extracurricular activity as you're just standing there and maybe asking a few questions.

Thanks for the info. I wasn't expecting it to count as a community EC, but I figured it was worth asking.

To clarify, if I do not shadow him this summer, I will NOT be replacing that time with some other. It's too late for me to get any shadowing/volunteering positions at any of the hospitals next to me for this summer.

 

[dbeast]

Shadow him so you don't hurt his feelings, but I probably wouldn't put it on my AMCAS... Maybe include the hours in "shadowing" in general?

I'm a little biased because I went to a chiropractor once. I repeat, once. Ouch.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

So I'm taking this summer off. Here is a brief explanation of the situation.

I'm 6'6", 190lbs. I'm underweight pretty bad. I have some slight curvature in my spine as well as other things in my body that need to be adjusted and addressed. The adjustments won't stay in place unless I get in better shape and build some muscle, so that is what I am doing this summer.

My chiropractor is a really nice guy and is offering me the ability to shadow him as much as I want. He is adamant that me shadowing him (he's a DC) would be considered just as good as me shadowing a primary care physician.

I doubt it, but that's his opinion.

However, I would still like to know if me shadowing him would be worth anything? I mean, it is one-on-one patient care, hands-on (literally) type stuff.

Also, on a side note, I, as well as 80% of his clients, are Russian, and are part of a tight-knit community here in Sacramento. I'm not sure if that counts as "community related extra-curricular activities", but I'm looking for opinions.

🙄 of course he is.. It's worth nothing.

6'6" 190 is normal on the BMI chart.

Definitely shadow him, that gives you experience in a healthcare field. If you have any curiosity in fields like exercise medicine or sports medicine or even orthopedics, you may work very closely with chiropractors so that shadowing could be beneficial in your long term career.

At the very worst, you'll get to get some tips on building bone mass and get your body in shape. Tips to get sexy for next summer.

I don't think I've ever seen a single ortho even talk about referring anyone to a chiro.. and I've put in a good amount of ortho hours

 

[Darrka]

Shadow him so you don't hurt his feelings, but I probably wouldn't put it on my AMCAS... Maybe include the hours in "shadowing" in general?

I'm a little biased because I went to a chiropractor once. I repeat, once. Ouch.

The offer is standing from a long time ago. I'll bring it up if it's worth it, but I'm not gonna spend all that time shadowing if it's not worth it.

 

[Darrka]

Still looking for input.

 

[AdrianVeidt]

I don't think I've ever seen a single ortho even talk about referring anyone to a chiro.. and I've put in a good amount of ortho hours

My orthopedic doctor referred me to one the day I met him after a car accident and that chiropractor did an amazing job on my neck pain.

 

[mimelim]

The purpose of shadowing is to see what physicians do on a day to day basis. When you get asked during an interview, "How do you know that you want to be a doctor?" or, "How do you know that you really want to do what doctors do?" You speak with a lot more credibility if you have actually seen what physicians do. Shadowing a chiropractor does not fulfill this. I have no idea if there is a roll for chiropractors in modern medicine or what it should be if there is one, having never delved into that realm before. But, regardless of what that roll is/should be, that has nothing to do with the purpose of shadowing.

 

[huskydock]

Shadowing him might show ADCOMs that you're open minded and at least willing to observe an alternative practitioner (since so many patients go to them).

But it is definitely not a substitute for a MD/DO primary care physician if you don't already have those hours.

 

[gyngyn]

Many physicians have a low opinion of chiropractors, believing them to not be evidence based.

 

[Darrka]

Thank you for the replies. To be clear, this is not a replacement for shadow time of real physicians. Rather, this is a supplement. I want to know if this is a worthwhile supplement and if doing it will pay off in the long run.

If I do 12 weeks of it for 20 hours a week, I'll get 240 hours of it total.

 

[Ismet]

Thank you for the replies. To be clear, this is not a replacement for shadow time of real physicians. Rather, this is a supplement. I want to know if this is a worthwhile supplement and if doing it will pay off in the long run.

If I do 12 weeks of it for 20 hours a week, I'll get 240 hours of it total.

You're obviously just going to keep getting varying opinions on whether or not it's a worthwhile supplement. I can definitely understand what previous posters have said in that many doctors may look down on chiropractors, but I doubt they would judge you that much for wanting to experience a different realm of healthcare.

FWIW, in our behavioral medicine class this past year (where we learn about motivational interviewing and the biopsychosocial approach to medicine), we had a bunch of workshops on complementary and alternative medicine practices, including things like acupuncture and chiropractry. It's true that these things are not evidence-based and they don't carry as much weight in healthcare as evidence-based medicine practiced by physicians, but the fact remains that many patients use these services and the patients themselves see the benefits, no matter if there's scientific evidence behind why.

 

[hunterjumper14]

Thank you for the replies. To be clear, this is not a replacement for shadow time of real physicians. Rather, this is a supplement. I want to know if this is a worthwhile supplement and if doing it will pay off in the long run.

If I do 12 weeks of it for 20 hours a week, I'll get 240 hours of it total.

Wow, that's a lot of hours to shadow someone who is not an MD/DO!😱

First of all, I would not list this on your AMCAS application because, as others have mentioned, it's possible a future interviewer might have an negative opinion of DCs. However, if you feel like you must do this so as not to hurt his feelings, this experience might help shape your answer to a common interview question. Interviewers often ask "what do you think of alternative medicine" or "what would you tell a patient that asked about alternative medicine?" If you have spent a few hours shadowing a DC, you might be able to work it into an answer. However, I hardly think you need to spend 240 hours in a chiropractic establishment if you intend to become a physician. And again, I'd probably only shadow him if you feel obligated to.

 

[Darrka]

Wow, that's a lot of hours to shadow someone who is not an MD/DO!😱

First of all, I would not list this on your AMCAS application because, as others have mentioned, it's possible a future interviewer might have an negative opinion of DCs. However, if you feel like you must do this so as not to hurt his feelings, this experience might help shape your answer to a common interview question. Interviewers often ask "what do you think of alternative medicine" or "what would you tell a patient that asked about alternative medicine?" If you have spent a few hours shadowing a DC, you might be able to work it into an answer. However, I hardly think you need to spend 240 hours in a chiropractic establishment if you intend to become a physician. And again, I'd probably only shadow him if you feel obligated to.

I'm an early premed, so I still have time to do my worthwhile shadowing and ECs. The only thing I really expected to get out of the shadowing would be to see patient-caregiver relations. The human aspect of it. I know the job is not going to be anything similar to my future job as an MD/DO.

Maybe I'll do a little of shadowing, but the general consensus is that it's not worth the time.

 

[deleted547339]

Thank you for the replies. To be clear, this is not a replacement for shadow time of real physicians. Rather, this is a supplement. I want to know if this is a worthwhile supplement and if doing it will pay off in the long run.

If I do 12 weeks of it for 20 hours a week, I'll get 240 hours of it total.

If my answer before was "no," my answer after hearing you are thinking about doing it for 20h a week is "NO"

A couple hours here or there would be fine. It may, as a previous poster alluded to, show that you are openminded, but spending 20h a week is just plain wasting time. If you spend an hour or two every couple weeks, that would show that you are learning about CAM, but you are going so far beyond that. Personally, I would see that as detrimental to an application if I were on the other side. I think a lot of chiropractic stuff has sketchy evidence as best and you are going to give that 240 hours of your life over doing something more beneficial. You could volunteer, get a job, go through EMT training, do some research, take more classes, etc.

It sounds like you may have made up your mind and are just looking for us to justify what you've already decided, but you are definitely not helping your app for med school, and you may be hurting it.

 

[Darrka]

If my answer before was "no," my answer after hearing you are thinking about doing it for 20h a week is "NO"

A couple hours here or there would be fine. It may, as a previous poster alluded to, show that you are openminded, but spending 20h a week is just plain wasting time. If you spend an hour or two every couple weeks, that would show that you are learning about CAM, but you are going so far beyond that. Personally, I would see that as detrimental to an application if I were on the other side. I think a lot of chiropractic stuff has sketchy evidence as best and you are going to give that 240 hours of your life over doing something more beneficial. You could volunteer, get a job, go through EMT training, do some research, take more classes, etc.

It sounds like you may have made up your mind and are just looking for us to justify what you've already decided, but you are definitely not helping your app for med school, and you may be hurting it.

My mind is not made up. I sure as hell don't want to do it. But I wanted to get opinions on whether or not it was worth doing at all, and it looks like it isn't.

I will likely be getting a job instead.

Could you elaborate on EMT training?

And what kind of volunteering, specifically? I can't find any place at any hospitals, they are all full of volunteers.

Generally need some ideas on what I can do this summer and how I can get the these things. I'm what you would call a "noob," but I'm trying to do some searches. Problem is most threads are specifics, and I need a general idea.