Shadowing a Doctor: What to wear?

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Duchess742 said:
after you already have the scrubs on, you have to go through a procedure of washing your hands/arms for 5ish mins. then you go into the or, and one of the nurses wraps the sterile gown thing around you (excuse my major lack of knowledge here, lol), then they fit you with gloves, and maybe do other stuff to make sure you're sterile.

even if you don't "scrub in," you usually still get to change into scrubs and wear the hat thing (or the stupid shower cap thing if you're a girl, grr).

btw, why are they letting you scrub in? i don't see anything that an undergrad would be able to do while scrubbed in that he/she couldn't do otherwise. i was still able to feel the intestines of the patient as soon as they were taken out of her body (really cool!!!), and i was within like 3 ft of the surgical table at all times.
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I think they might let us hold retractors or something. The hospital I was at wouldn't allow me to scrub in, but I had surgeons say stuff a couple times like "here, will you hold this....oh nevermind." I was, however, in charge of flipping the light switch on and off during some of the laproscopic procedures, so that made me feel important :laugh: .
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juiceman311 said:
probably just a precaution. plus, lets him/her get into the sterile field
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I don't know if it would be a precaution. If they wanted to be cautious they wouldn't let him anywhere near the sterile field. People who are not sterile are in and out of OR's constantly so it doesn't make any sense for him to scrub in for surgery he will not participate in. Also the people who do scrub in, know sterile procedure and know not to put their hands behind their backs, not to touch their face etc. So if the doctor lets you scrub in, he certainly couldn't trust you to know these things, so he would either need to have someone watching you the entire time, or just assume you to not be sterile even though you scrubbed in.

One time a back surgeon allowed me to look through the microscope on the opposite side of the patient from the side he was on. I had to put on a gown and sterile gloves for this, but it wasn't necessary for me to "scrub in".

As far as what to wear, I would wear scrubs, but I own scrubs lol. So if you don't, I am sure he can make arrangements for you to get a pair. One thing you need to be aware of is, is that hospitals can be very confusing. It is often hard to find the OR and once you get there you may have problems getting into some type of locker room where the scrubs would be without the passcode for the door. So you need to make sure you know this information, many hospitals do not provide scrubs to all employees but instead only to surgeons. So if you need scrubs you may have to get them out of the surgeon's locker room, which will be even more difficult to get into. So make sure you plan all this with this doctor. One thing I've learned about shadowing doctors is that, if you don't understand something or if you're unsure ask instead of screwing up. So next time you see him or can contact him ask him what you need to wear, how you should meet him, directions to the OR etc.
 
HelenaP said:
I think they might let us hold retractors or something. The hospital I was at wouldn't allow me to scrub in, but I had surgeons say stuff a couple times like "here, will you hold this....oh nevermind." I was, however, in charge of flipping the light switch on and off during some of the laproscopic procedures, so that made me feel important :laugh: .
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Even if the surgeon offers to let you hold the retractors, I would tactfully decline. If something goes wrong, can you say "lawsuit"? Everyone who worked on the patient then becomes a target and trust me that's no fun. My preceptor had a patient die on the table on him a few weeks ago. :(
 
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Taurus said:
Even if the surgeon offers to let you hold the retractors, I would tactfully decline. If something goes wrong, can you say "lawsuit"? Everyone who worked on the patient then becomes a target and trust me that's no fun. My preceptor had a patient die on the table on him a few weeks ago. :(
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Well declining might injure your relationship with the doctor, but on the other hand you have no kind of liability insurance covering you touching the patient. I would hold the retractor and that may be what he is going to have you scrubbing in to do, but I would think he would make you see a few surgeries first.

The surgeon I shadow is very very concerned with the sterile field and guarenteeing he has the appropriate people scrubbed in, he doesn't let anyone who shadows him scrub in. His son watched surgery for years before being able to scrub with him. So what you get to do really depends on the surgeon.
 
Taurus said:
Even if the surgeon offers to let you hold the retractors, I would tactfully decline. If something goes wrong, can you say "lawsuit"? Everyone who worked on the patient then becomes a target and trust me that's no fun. My preceptor had a patient die on the table on him a few weeks ago. :(
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I'm pretty sure if one of us somehow got involved in an incident, it would be the hospital/surgeon that got it, not us. They go where the money is. And I don't know for sure, but I doubt you could get a lawsuit on your record before you're even in med school. I think the record is associated with your license somehow (I've heard my mother talk about it, she's president of the medical staff at her hospital right now).
 
when i said "scub in" that's what the doc said so whatever you want to think of that then go ahead. I think i'll be in the OR but standing twenty feet away just observing, not actually assisting in any way or form. this is totally exciting still. can't wait for tomorrow..and i get to observe whatever surgery he has afterwards..SWEET!!!
 
whatdapho said:
when i said "scub in" that's what the doc said so whatever you want to think of that then go ahead.
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If the doctor said "Scrub in" that means you'll scrub, as in scrubbing your hands and arms for 5 minutes then putting on a gown. If he said something about "scrubs" then he is probably just talking about you wearing scrubs when you come into the OR.
 
I get to scrub in for neurosurgeries the entire summer. First procedure is on Wednesday, starts at 7:30 in the morning, and goes all day! :D
 
I've scrubbed in before and it's boring as hell. Mark my words, I hated it and you probably will as well.
 
ToolDoc said:
I've scrubbed in before and it's boring as hell. Mark my words, I hated it and you probably will as well.
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I shadowed a group of general surgeons, and was totally enthralled until the 14th laproscopic cholecystectomy I saw. At that point, I realized that barring any major abnormality, I was sure I could do every step of a lap chole, start to finish.
In other news, if anyone is looking to have their gallbladder out for cheap, I just thought of great way to earn some extra cash... ;)
Unfortunately, it's bring your own anesthesia.
 
ugh, when i shadowed, all i saw were lap choles and lap hysterectomies. oh, and the smell. the burning flesh. that gets to you after a while.

wear comfortable shoes that you can get the little blue paper slippers over.
 
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I scrubbed in with some surgeons for 4 days. They let me do all kinds of stuff, put my hands in the incisions to feel for landmarks, run the camera on lap procedures, hold retractors, etc ... It was really cool, I think it really depends on what the surgeons are like, it helped that one of them was the chief of surgery so he didn't really have to answer to anybody if someone pitched a fit.
The way I was taught to scrub-in was to treat every part of the arm hand and fingers as if it had four sides and that each side required 10 swipes of the spongy thing. That usually took me about 8-10minutes of scrubbing. You then put your hands together and make sure not to touch anything as you wash the soap off. Open the door to the OR with your back. Put both hands in the gown at the same time. Let the nurse pull the sleeves down. Don't touch the outside of the gloves with your hands. Put the first glove on and then hook the second glove with your gloved hand to help put the second glove on. Anything below your waist is considered not sterile, and don't touch anything that isn't covered in a sterile dressing. So you clasp your hands together and walk over the patient, and then you can rest your hands on the patient until the procedure begins. If you happen to screw up sterile technique, they will inform you of your mistake and just take it in stride and try not to do it again. I screwed up a couple of times but usually it just required a new gown or gloves. After the first surgery you don't have to scrub, they have an alcohol sanitizer that you use.
That was my experience with 'scrubbing-in'. I had a great time, we worked like 14 hour days and I was enthralled the entire time. Never looked at a clock or wondered when lunch was. It was great.
 
Laparoscopic surgeries are so effin boring

The interesting ones are the exploratory laparotomy ones where they make a midline incision and basically open the patient up...

Neurosurgery is cool but incredibly boring as well cuz it requires so much patience and the process is just excruciatingly slow.

Surgery is tight though and a lot of fun to see up close. Plus it ends up being a great anatomy lesson if the surgeon is enthusiastic about teaching you. You might also get to suction blood, cut off sutures, staple the incision, and maybe even use electrocautery if your doc is cool.

Good Luck, you should be happy to have this experience. Sh1t, I know I am.
 
whatdapho said:
Hey guys,
I'll be shadowing a surgery tomorrow morning (Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomry) and I'm not too sure on what to wear. I know i'll be "scrubbing in" so what would be appropriate attire? I don't have a set of scrubs so what would be the best thing to wear? Anyone with shadowing experience in the OR know the answer? Thanks guys

Paul
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Hopefully they will give you a pair of scrubs. Also...wear tennis in the OR...dress shoes will be way too slippery with the shoe slips on them. Also...no tie...unless you will be going into clinic afterwards.

Don't put gel in your hair...bring as few bulky items as possible (if you are wearing scrubs) b/c you will not have any place to put them (except in the small pockets that sit inside your pants on your a$$.

Usually the hospital will have extra scrubs...but if you can..you should go and by yourself a pair.

Have fun!!!! Shadowing a surgeon and scrubbing up is awesome!!!
 
I'm shadowing an attending next week. Im wearing slacks with a blouse/cardigan (I'm a female). Should I also wear a lab coat to look like I belong?

This is also my first time, is there a "shadowing etiquette" I should know? And, if all goes well, do you think it would be rude to ask for an encore next month? Or One is already too much to ask? --Thanks.
 
Hey there... don't you wish they told you this kind of thing? I know I felt like such a tool being a big-bad-pre-med and then not even being able to figure out what to wear.

What I did when I shadowed in the OR was to show up in nice-ish clothes (sweater and slacks sounds good) and went in and talked to the doctor... and he, as part of showing me around and getting me acquainted with the floor... swung by the nurse's locker room and swiped me a set of scrubs. From then on I just showed up in my own scrubs. It's helpful to wear scrubs or a coat or something, so you don't feel like such a stalker standing around... but I recommend showing up in "street clothes" on the first day just to be a little more professional. Good luck!
 
hangten said:
I'm shadowing an attending next week. Im wearing slacks with a blouse/cardigan (I'm a female). Should I also wear a lab coat to look like I belong?

This is also my first time, is there a "shadowing etiquette" I should know? And, if all goes well, do you think it would be rude to ask for an encore next month? Or One is already too much to ask? --Thanks.
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No m'am you don't need a white coat.

Unless you go to clinic with him/her, in which case he/she may ask you to wear one.
 
popbirch said:
I scrubbed in with some surgeons for 4 days. They let me do all kinds of stuff, put my hands in the incisions to feel for landmarks, run the camera on lap procedures, hold retractors, etc ...
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not to be hatin' on your experience or anything, but this sounds pretty negligent to me. i'm sure you're a fantastic soon-to-be-dr and all, but i would hate going into a surgery knowing that someone who was about to have such a significant role in my procedure hadn't even been through med school.
 
there is no way you'll be scrubbing in. I think what the doc meant is actually coming into the room and watching the whole surgery. i work in an OR, and you'll get a nice little stool or something or stand behind the anethesiologist. lappy's are nice for shadowing, you get a big hd screen to look at instead of standing on your tip toes trying to see what's going on around the surgeon and PA's. what kind of surgeon is he?
 
Duchess742 said:
not to be hatin' on your experience or anything, but this sounds pretty negligent to me. i'm sure you're a fantastic soon-to-be-dr and all, but i would hate going into a surgery knowing that someone who was about to have such a significant role in my procedure hadn't even been through med school.
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Those aren't really significant. It's basically just like a 1st rotation med student. Now if they were cutting....
 
Wow, all of you guys lucked out with getting to shadow surgeons! I can't tell you how many I asked only to be shot down due to the liability. Out of 8 docs, most known personally by me, my parents, or my doc employers, only 1 of them would let me go in the OR itself (and it was to see some GIFT and ZIFT--minor lap procedures.) You must have some awesome connections! :thumbup:
 
You people are shameless.
 
Duchess742 said:
not to be hatin' on your experience or anything, but this sounds pretty negligent to me. i'm sure you're a fantastic soon-to-be-dr and all, but i would hate going into a surgery knowing that someone who was about to have such a significant role in my procedure hadn't even been through med school.
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haha you think the surgeons tell the patients that students are gonna be watching/helping during the surgery? No patient would even want a 3rd or 4th year med student in the same room in which their surgery is being performed. I have personally seen this happen. But that is how this profession goes. No one will ever end up learning anything otherwise.

I don't think it is negligent as long as the student is not a complete idiot and is attentive so that he/she gets something out of the experience. The guy I work with was like "This experience will help you so much in anatomy because it is so much better to see the relationships and positions of organs relative to each other on a live person as compared to a dead, rotting body"

Plus when he doesn't have a resident or a fellow assisting, I get to do a lotta sh1t.
 
I've had two years of med school. When I start my surgery rotation this September I will have no more ability to participate in a surgery than a pre-med student. The only negligence that the surgeon would have in letting a pre-med participate is that the pre-med isn't covered by the hospital's insurance.
 
Back when I was in high school (yes, high school) which was pre-HIPPA (a law that has seemingly made shadowing opportunities more difficult to find), I shadowed a surgeon several hours per week in the clinic and the OR. For both days (I'm female) I showed up in a nice blouse/collared shirt, slacks, and loafers. On the OR days, I would change into scrubs once I got there including the shoe coverings, a mask, and a cap that amounts to a cafeteria hairnet (all of which are provided of course) and if it was going to be a long day, I'd often wear sneakers instead of loafers. During clinical days, I would sometimes wear a white lab coat which was again provided by the clinic and my name badge (which just stated that I was "X Y" and a "visiting student").

Most of the time my operating experiences consisted of standing behind the table on a stool so I could see, answering pages the doctor got while she was operating, and occasionally opening something up (pulling the plastic off of the item away from my body and not touching whatever the instrument/item was directly) from the supply cabinets in the room. However, perhaps three or four times during my seven month experience I got to stand there and pretend to be a med student by holding retractors for several hours or moving around the laparoscopic camera with the direction of the surgeon I shadowed. In the very controlled environment of this particular surgical practice, neither of these activities could easily harm these otherwise healthy patients (none of these patients were terminally ill, unstable, etcetera and instead, the procedures I got to "help" with involved repairing hernias or doing laparoscopic appendectomies which I'd just hold the camera in place as opposed to doing any suturing or cutting). Still, I don't think many shadowing experiences are like mine was and I feel really fortunate to have had such an awesome mentor back then.
 
ULTRA BUMP!!!! i'm shadowing for the first time in the OR tomorrow (spine surgery woo!!). i was thinkin a button down, some khakis, and some brown shoes -- pretty dressy. you guys think i should bring a bookbag with a pair of sneakers in it? i think there will be 2 surgeries done back to back total of like a crazy 7 hours or something.. i feel like my feet will be burning by the end.
 
god, don't even answer the above question. i just looked at it again and i'm thinkin what a pointless question it was. i am way too bored and need to sleep.
 
Robizzle said:
ULTRA BUMP!!!! i'm shadowing for the first time in the OR tomorrow (spine surgery woo!!). i was thinkin a button down, some khakis, and some brown shoes -- pretty dressy. you guys think i should bring a bookbag with a pair of sneakers in it? i think there will be 2 surgeries done back to back total of like a crazy 7 hours or something.. i feel like my feet will be burning by the end.
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Don't look like crap, but there's no need to look like a million bucks. Look decent (maybe a million yen, or even a million pesos), and definitely take some comfy shoes with you.
 
Wear something conservative...it doesnt have to be a tuxedo or whatever! anything comfortable--WEAR TENNIS SHOES (best advice i can give you on here)

The OR should provide you with scrubs to wear over your clothes for steril purposes...
 
I wore street clothes when I shadowed. Nice looking ones. I bought scrubs "just in case" and brought tennis shoes. The OR provided scrubs for me to change into and I went into the locker room to change.

I enjoyed watching the lap procedures more. You can see what's going on by watching the screen. Otherwise, it's hard to see since there were plenty of people crowded around the site.

Any premeds see a hemroid (or "an @ss surgery" as the surgeon called it :laugh: ) repair yet? :D
 
Wackie said:
I wore street clothes when I shadowed. Nice looking ones. I bought scrubs "just in case" and brought tennis shoes. The OR provided scrubs for me to change into and I went into the locker room to change.

I enjoyed watching the lap procedures more. You can see what's going on by watching the screen. Otherwise, it's hard to see since there were plenty of people crowded around the site.

Any premeds see a hemroid (or "an @ss surgery" as the surgeon called it :laugh: ) repair yet? :D
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Heh, saw a hemorrhoid repair and another anal cancer removal (completely stitched closed forever...poor guy)

I really haven't seen too many lap procedures. Saw a handful of hand-assisted lap APRs but not a single chole, exploratory, or hernia.
______________

Edit: On day 1 of shadowing, it was like this:

surg: "Dall, do you consider yourself a hands-on person?"
Dall: "Yeah, certainly." (Something told me "hell no i'm not!" would've been a bad answer)
surg: "Well get some gloves on and touch this dude's cancerous butthole!" (paraphrased)
Dall: "Yay! I've dreamed from age 4 of doing such a fun task! :D :thumbup: :cool: " (not my actual reaction)

good times...
 
HelenaP said:
I shadowed a group of general surgeons, and was totally enthralled until the 14th laproscopic cholecystectomy I saw. At that point, I realized that barring any major abnormality, I was sure I could do every step of a lap chole, start to finish.
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Yeah, tell me about it. I shadowed an opthalmologist and got tired of cataract surgery REALLY fast. Good to know. That's one specialty down...
 
Duchess742 said:
after you already have the scrubs on, you have to go through a procedure of washing your hands/arms for 5ish mins. then you go into the or, and one of the nurses wraps the sterile gown thing around you (excuse my major lack of knowledge here, lol), then they fit you with gloves, and maybe do other stuff to make sure you're sterile.

even if you don't "scrub in," you usually still get to change into scrubs and wear the hat thing (or the stupid shower cap thing if you're a girl, grr).

btw, why are they letting you scrub in? i don't see anything that an undergrad would be able to do while scrubbed in that he/she couldn't do otherwise. i was still able to feel the intestines of the patient as soon as they were taken out of her body (really cool!!!), and i was within like 3 ft of the surgical table at all times.
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which no one ever really does... LOL, because you're not the one doing surgery... mostly people who talk about the "proper" procedure are the ones who have not done it...

Everyone knows you're behind the "Contenental stink shield" for the procedure and don't touch anything hence the reason of not "really" scrubbing in...

for the most part it is a term that MEANS... putting on scrubs, knowing the traffic patterns and watching with hopeful eyes.
 
Duchess742 said:
after you already have the scrubs on, you have to go through a procedure of washing your hands/arms for 5ish mins. then you go into the or, and one of the nurses wraps the sterile gown thing around you (excuse my major lack of knowledge here, lol), then they fit you with gloves, and maybe do other stuff to make sure you're sterile.

even if you don't "scrub in," you usually still get to change into scrubs and wear the hat thing (or the stupid shower cap thing if you're a girl, grr).

btw, why are they letting you scrub in? i don't see anything that an undergrad would be able to do while scrubbed in that he/she couldn't do otherwise. i was still able to feel the intestines of the patient as soon as they were taken out of her body (really cool!!!), and i was within like 3 ft of the surgical table at all times.
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guys wear the bonnet too...it really is just a matter of personal preference. It is a requirement to wear a mask and something to cover your head anytime the procedure is going on. I got to scrub in once..but only because the scrubtech and PA helping pretty much approved it. The general rule is you can get about as close as you want without touching blue. I just tried to stay in a low traffic area so I wasn't a pain as well. For lap. stuff pretty much everywhere is a good view. Probably near the anesthesia guy is the best call. Just wear kakis and a polo shirt or something though. If you are in the OR all day maybe even bring a bag with some comfy shoes. First day I was wearing my dressier shoes and it just kind of sucked standing there for 12 hours watching surgeries.

I really do enjoy all the lap. stuff...but it seems almost like a videogame to me so I think that is why. Didn't hold a candle to some of the ortho stuff I saw though..I am pretty procedure oriented so I am kind of hypnotized by all of that stuff.
 
whatdapho said:
Hey guys,
I'll be shadowing a surgery tomorrow morning (Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomry) and I'm not too sure on what to wear. I know i'll be "scrubbing in" so what would be appropriate attire? I don't have a set of scrubs so what would be the best thing to wear? Anyone with shadowing experience in the OR know the answer? Thanks guys

Paul
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are you by any chance shadowing a surgeon in san diego?
 
This post is over 3 months old and I'm going to bet money that he's done shadowing ... so can we let it go?
 
Xypathos--

In case you missed it, Rob asked the same question on here yesterday and people often search for old threads when they have the same or similar questions. So, people posting on here is not a big deal because someone, somewhere may still be learning something from it. It's also nice for people to share their stories because it's quite obvious from all the posts that different places have different procedures for this type of thing.

If you don't want to read it, why did you click on the thread?

Anyway, when I shadowed an ortho surgeon no street clothes were allowed in the OR, not even underneath scrubs. The nurses outfitted me with everything I needed (scrubs, botties, cap, mask, gloves, etc.), including about 10 gowns on top of eachother because the attending liked his OR around 50 degrees. I didn't technically "scrub-in" but I was allowed to stand as close as I wanted as long as I didn't touch anything sterile. All in all, the 8-hour knee reconstruction was the fastest 8-hours of my life and I can't wait to do it again.
 
Hi,

I've never shadowed before...but tomorrow I'm going to be shadowing an ophthalmologist for a few hours. It's during her clinic at the hospital so I think she's just going to be seeing patients.

I'm thinking wearing jeans would be way too casual? What do doctors wear anyways?
 
Formal clothes, shirt with a tie and nice pants/ shoes.. unless it is a surgeon, then scrubs instead
 
hp540 said:
Hi,

I've never shadowed before...but tomorrow I'm going to be shadowing an ophthalmologist for a few hours. It's during her clinic at the hospital so I think she's just going to be seeing patients.

I'm thinking wearing jeans would be way too casual? What do doctors wear anyways?
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's too casual. I've always been told to wear something semi-formal, which in my case amounts to comfortable slacks and a dress shirt with a tie, or scrubs. Best to check with the doc, though.
 
For your first vist, always over dress rather than under dress.

My recs: for optho clinic at a hospital (more formal than out of hospital family practice, for instance), wear nicer flat shoes (not tennis shoes, for woemn, not strappy, not a 2inch or over heel), wear dress pants (khakis are ok but a little informal) or a skirt to the knees, wear a button down shirt with tie for men and without for women. Women can also wear a sweater, nice shirt, etc- not too tight, not too low, no belly, no thong showing.

In the future, khakis and a polo might cover it. And try to avoid wrinkles.

That about covers it! If you need scrubs, they wiull give you some. That's why I recommend flats or dansko-type clogs- heels look silly with scrubs!

Enjoy shadowing!
 
wear the neon green thong from Borat
 
leather chaps and a dickie with a bowtie for good form.
 
Hi,

I soon will be meeting with a doctor that is on a med school committe. He said that he wants me to come to his family practice, shadow him, and show him all my academic and extracuricular credentials so that he can evaluate me. What would I wear for this possible event?

Thanks

Aquaman29 (the swimmer not the superhero)
 
The chances he will acutally have an impact on your application is very tiny unless you are planning to have him write you a letter of rec. So I wouldn't even sweat unless that.

But it's a family practice, so you will be seeing people, which means you should dress presentable. I would say black slacks and a tucked in dress shirt. Maybe bring a tie as a backup and see how things go from there.
 
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