Shadowing A Dentist, Should I Call or Walk In?

[Drill2Fill]

I've been looking in the phonebook to find a dentist to shadow, and wanted to know if I should call and ask to speak to the Dr., and ask to shadow, or should I actually go to the practice and ask? I feel like If I call they will just try to blow me off, but I also do not want to show up when they are busy. Which should I do?

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[yo21]

Hola dentista futuro:

Esto fue lo que yo hize:
I shawdowed a dentist. I went to his dental office and spoke to him in person. Have a resume as well, be professional.

good luck

 

[t2thDr14]

I would suggest showing up in person. You bring a smile and a face when you show up, vs talk to someone on the phone. Dress professionally and bring a resume, business card. Don't expect to talk to the doctor the first time you visit. Drop off your resume, and business card, and let them know that you're interested in shadowing Dr. X. The receptionist will most likely take your info, ask what hours you're interested in, and then they'll call you back later. Don't take it personally, but the dentist is most likely busy at the time... if they don't call you back in a week, I'd say check back again (this time by phone).

I once went to my orthodontist to ask to shadow or volunteer, and they ended up referring me over to the general dentist next door who had just bought the practice. I dropped off my info and met the dentist later for an interview... got the job... it was minimum wage, but an AWESOME experience that I still reference to when people ask me when I became pre-dental.

Good luck!

 

[Drill2Fill]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, definitely going by there tomorrow.

 

[reapply2007]

You could call your dentist and ask on the phone, point out that your are a current patient. Otherwise I agree with the in-person/resume idea. You could check with the pre-health advisors at your school to see if they have a list of known willing dentists but this is usually a long shot.

 

[HermeytheElf]

Most dentists are going to be too busy with patients to talk to some random predent who just stumbled into their office, so I'd suggest calling and leaving a message with the front desk person saying who you are and that you'd like to set up a time to come shadow the dentist.