shadowing: a summer activity?

[avantdesign]

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care to share your experiences shadowing?

how long did you shadow for? how long should you shadow for? what did you do during it? did you feel like you were getting in the way? what were things that you did that were "useful?" any cool things that you got to see? did you circulate between different doctors? were you paid? did patients ever ask who you were or for you to leave the room?

local research internships have been especially hard to get this summer. would shadowing be an alternate activity? it seems like shadowing would only be a week...tops.

 

[NickNaylor]

Shadowing experiences are likely to be broad and extremely varied. Just a bit of advice, though: shadowing experiences are usually what you make of them. You get out of it what you put in. If you dread going to the office, you'll more than likely not enjoy your time. If you're actually interested in what the physician is doing, though, it'll probably be a very fulfilling experience.

I don't think shadowing is inherently limited to "a week" as you say. Just call local physicians and see what they're willing to do. As long as no one else is wanting to shadow as well, I don't see why they would suddenly determine that you're done after a week.

Also, the fair majority of shadowing positions are unpaid. A hospital near me, however, offers a very competitive program that pays $8/hr to shadow a variety of physicians as a full-time job. Perhaps look into programs like this.

 

[runrunrudolph1]

care to share your experiences shadowing?

how long did you shadow for? how long should you shadow for? what did you do during it? did you feel like you were getting in the way? what were things that you did that were "useful?" any cool things that you got to see? did you circulate between different doctors? were you paid? did patients ever ask who you were or for you to leave the room?

local research internships have been especially hard to get this summer. would shadowing be an alternate activity? it seems like shadowing would only be a week...tops.

Wow this is a lot of questions haha. My favorite shadowing experience was with a trauma surgeon, I shadowed her three times so far for about 4-10 hours each time. We had a really bad trauma be brought in by medevac, unrestrained driver hit an 18-wheeler and was pinned between the two vehicles, his face literally removed from his head, only attatched from ear to ear (top part was cut and someone was holding it away from his skull to be cleaned before sutured back. In the mists of this, the IV which was keeping him asleep got twisted and the pt started to wake up and was swinging at the techs. needless to say it was quite the night. And yes, you feel like you are in the way ALL THE TIME, every step you take you are in someone else's way (esp in a trauma where there are 20 people in a very small space running about stabilizing the pt) but everyone understands you're there to learn and are eager to teach you something. patients never asked who I was but the doctors I was with usually introduced me as a student following them around and the pts didn't care at all.

good luckk

 

[TurkSurg]

I shadowed a surgeon 8 hours a day for a month. Pretty cool experience.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

shadowing isn't limited to the summer. with that being said shadow a surgeon, it's amazing.

 

[dr seuss]

I shadowed a surgeon 8 hours a day for a month. Pretty cool experience.

That seems a little excessive to me. I think after one week with him I would want to shadow some other specialties to see what they are like.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

care to share your experiences shadowing?

how long did you shadow for? how long should you shadow for? what did you do during it? did you feel like you were getting in the way? what were things that you did that were "useful?" any cool things that you got to see? did you circulate between different doctors? were you paid? did patients ever ask who you were or for you to leave the room?

local research internships have been especially hard to get this summer. would shadowing be an alternate activity? it seems like shadowing would only be a week...tops.

~80 hours. I don't know, how long should I shadow for? Stood/walked/sat around. Sometimes. Made the docs laugh. Yes. Yes. No. Yes. No.

 

[avantdesign]

does it ever seem like you've seen the same thing over and over? do i speak to a doctor individually to shadow or is this done through some HR thing?

thanks for answering the questions. 🙂

 

[TooMuchResearch]

does it ever seem like you've seen the same thing over and over? do i speak to a doctor individually to shadow or is this done through some HR thing?

thanks for answering the questions. 🙂

Contacting them directly (email or phone) seems to work better than going through anyone else.

 

[Dannyw]

Contacting them directly (email or phone) seems to work better than going through anyone else.

Agreed. I always cold call. In my experience getting into hospitals is impossible besides for surgery. Expect to make a ton of calls. I have called at least 30 places and I have got like 6 responses. So far I have shadowed an internist and pediatrician. A friend of mine is a surgery tech and he talked to the surgeons and they are letting me come in next week. I'll get to see some good stuff, spine, prostate, hernia, tonsillectomy and maybe some other ent stuff. A urologist also called me back today and I'm going in the week after next. Sometimes I will get calls weeks later but most times nothing at all. Just be optimistic and keep calling new places.

good luck

 

[olemissbabydoc]

I shadowed several specialties and stayed with a couple for quite a while. Last summer I spent in the NICU and it was my favorite by far.

Oh, I can't wait to be back there..

 

[TX2005]

I'm beginning my shadowing of a variety of dentists (yes I'm pre-dental) this summer and it has been an excellent experience thus far. As others said, shadowing, like most other things, can be as good or bad as you make it. If you go into the office and stand around most of the day, you'll get little out of it. It can definitely be intimidating, but just prepare some questions beforehand as ice breakers if you need and go in ready to learn. One thing is to ensure you ask plenty of questions. Of course I'm sure you can go overboard, but this is an experience for you to get a glimpse of the day to day life of a physician and maybe learn a few things. The more effort you put in, the more you enjoy it.

 

[Jli]

Wow this is a lot of questions haha. My favorite shadowing experience was with a trauma surgeon, I shadowed her three times so far for about 4-10 hours each time. We had a really bad trauma be brought in by medevac, unrestrained driver hit an 18-wheeler and was pinned between the two vehicles, his face literally removed from his head, only attatched from ear to ear (top part was cut and someone was holding it away from his skull to be cleaned before sutured back. In the mists of this, the IV which was keeping him asleep got twisted and the pt started to wake up and was swinging at the techs. needless to say it was quite the night. And yes, you feel like you are in the way ALL THE TIME, every step you take you are in someone else's way (esp in a trauma where there are 20 people in a very small space running about stabilizing the pt) but everyone understands you're there to learn and are eager to teach you something. patients never asked who I was but the doctors I was with usually introduced me as a student following them around and the pts didn't care at all.

good luckk

wow, you sound like you had a really great time, damn, I want to shadow a doctor already..🙁

 

[mcattaker]

What matters more: the length of shadowing experience or the variety of specialties you shadow? I've had trouble getting a shadowing position with pretty much every department except one, and that one allowed me to shadow their entire department of doctors (with different subspecialties). It's actually quite interesting, but do you think that shadowing one department will suffice even if you have 80 hours of it?

 

[Evergrey]

Shadowing is incredible and you learn soo much! I've shadowed in a few situations, cardiology checkups, pre-op and post-up appointments for orthopaedics, and also observing orthopaedic surgery. All of them had really different atmospheres/objectives and were really stimulating in their own ways. And they were really, really cool.

The huge downside to shadowing is not only do you feel in the way, you actually ARE in the way. And people remind you about it even if it's just to make sure that they can do their job right (make sure you stay away from the blue zone from the scrub nurse, etc). I suppose that's a great reason to look forward to being on rotations in medical school though!

In terms of if you do anything useful, generally no. I actually noticed that the doctors I shadowed ended up being behind schedule because of me, which sucked. Shadowing is a guilty pleasure like that. But you gotta do it, both to prove to adcoms that you know what you're getting into, and also to make sure that you'll be happy working like that.

I did get to help out on one surgical procedure, however. I handed the alcohol swab to the surgeon so he could sterilize the injection site for the anaesthetic! Woot. That's right. Evergrey is savin' lives. Line up right here ladies.

 

[FuturaDocta]

That seems a little excessive to me. I think after one week with him I would want to shadow some other specialties to see what they are like.

I hear a lot of people say it is boring and others say they actually like it A LOT. Either outcome is beneficial. You can eliminate the specialties that already bore you and look further into the specialties that intrigue you.

 

[DrDre2001]

All of the above posts sound cool. Im about to shadow my family doctor soon. This hasn't really been answered in this thread yet: Did any of the patient's ask the doctor to tell you to leave or did you get the sense that any patients didn't want you there?

 

[Artimacia]

So far I've shadowed a forensic pathologist for a day (I was hoping more, waiting on responses, etc etc). I went in and watched the doctor conduct an autopsy. It was like being in anatomy, he'd take out a part, show me and explain about it, slice it and point to spots and other things. It was very interesting and he really should be a teacher (my old professor at the time, who is the ME office's forensic anthropologist, got me in). I know I need to shadow doctors who also work with live patients, but if you ever get the chance to observe an autopsy, do it.

 

[ReptarBar]

so im thinking of mass shadowing this summer if i dont get a job. how do you guys recommend doing it? just call one specialty, do it for a little, call another, etc?

how much should i shadow each doctor for? i was thinking 24 hours each but that doesnt seem like much. whats better, quantity of different specialties or length?

what are some other ways to get clinical experience? i can only think of hospital volunteering, shadowing, and working in free clinics really...

 

[Dannyw]

All of the above posts sound cool. Im about to shadow my family doctor soon. This hasn't really been answered in this thread yet: Did any of the patient's ask the doctor to tell you to leave or did you get the sense that any patients didn't want you there?

When I shadowed a pediatrician he had me leave when he did physicals on anyone over 10 (he's trying to get them to understand that no one besides the doctor should be seeing their privates). When I shadowed my primary care (internist) a few of the patients didn't want me in there. He mentioned they were very personal. However, one guy let me observe his physical and after his rectal exam he asked me if it was "as good for you as it was for me". hahaha.

 

[Dannyw]

how much should i shadow each doctor for? i was thinking 24 hours each but that doesnt seem like much. whats better, quantity of different specialties or length?

I think I'm going to shoot for at least 8 different specialties at about 8 hours a piece and 40 or so hours for surgery.

 

[runrunrudolph1]

When I shadowed a pediatrician he had me leave when he did physicals on anyone over 10 (he's trying to get them to understand that no one besides the doctor should be seeing their privates). When I shadowed my primary care (internist) a few of the patients didn't want me in there. He mentioned they were very personal. However, one guy let me observe his physical and after his rectal exam he asked me if it was "as good for you as it was for me". hahaha.

oh my hahahaha that does not sound pleasant. How is peds? See a lot of interesting stuff?

 

[Dannyw]

oh my hahahaha that does not sound pleasant. How is peds? See a lot of interesting stuff?

It was funny actually. I think he was just trying to make me feel comfortable because at my age we don't get those done.

Shadowing a Pediatrician was actually pretty boring but we saw about 25 patients that day. Most of them were colds (kids required to see the doctor because of the swine flu "outbreak"). There was nothing too serious but it was fun watching him interact with the parents and children. He has a rehearsed speech he gives all the kids about "leafy veggies, helmets, don't let anyone touch you, etc.

 

[FuturaDocta]

so im thinking of mass shadowing this summer if i dont get a job. how do you guys recommend doing it? just call one specialty, do it for a little, call another, etc?

I would shadow while you can, so that you don't end up overlapping it with a future job/rigorous class schedule/etc.

I would recommend calling as many doctors as you can in. Leave them all a short and sweet message of interest. Just try to get in there. Keep in mind, they are really busy and have to deal with paperwork before you get in there (patient confidentiality).

how much should i shadow each doctor for? i was thinking 24 hours each but that doesn't seem like much. whats better, quantity of different specialties or length?

I would say quantity of at least 24 hours (since that is usually required), because you want to show that you have a lot of exposure to different fields (makes you look kinda rounded in the atmosphere).

what are some other ways to get clinical experience? i can only think of hospital volunteering, shadowing, and working in free clinics really...

Bolded is my response.