Shadowing advice

[David1991]

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I keep seeing advice to shadow, however, to be honest I'm not completely sure what to do or how most people go about it. I'm also not sure how this would differ for pre-dents from pre-meds.

After it getting canceled twice, I followed my dentist around his office for about 3 hours on Monday as he explained some things to me, I guess this would be shadowing correct?

How many different doctors do people tend to shadow and how many hours/days do they tend to spend shadowing each one?

Thanks

 

[Kkae]

Shadowing is important because adcoms like to see that u have some background knowledge of dentistry. "Following your dentist around..." as weird as it sounds does count as shadowing. Shadowing is basically just watching what goes on in and around the practice so that u get an idea and gain some knowledge in the process of basic dentistry.
Many ppl tend to follow general dentists, but i would suggest trying to shadow dentists from different specialties. It doesn't matter how many hours for the day you want to spend. Some dentists will tell u how long they want u to stay, some won't care. At the end of the day, dental schools usually require at least 60-80 hrs of shadowing.

I recently wrote a post about all this. Read it here: http://stu-dentdiaries.blogspot.com/

 

[golf05]

I shadowed several gp dentists and specialists for about 15-25 hours each. Setting it up just took some nerve to look up a number, call the receptionist and explain that I was a predental student looking to observe the dentist. They usually took a couple of days to get back to me (or I would have to call back and politely ask them again) and we would set up a time to come in. After the first time, I would usually just work it out with the dentist when I could come in. It was pretty lax since they are working anyway. I tried to get in my hours within 2-3 weeks at each office.

I always thanked the dentist and the employees and dropped off a card with some treats on my last day. You record your own hours, keep track of dates/addresses/names, etc for when you have to document them on your AADSAS application. Letters of rec were usually offered to me towards the end of the shadowing, and I kept that in mind when the time came. After the first time, you'll get the hang of it! Just be pleasant and inquisitive-- most people were happy to talk teeth!

 

[David1991]

Wow I wasn't aware it was 60-80 hours....I guess that is over 3 years possibly, just didn't think about it that much (was more focused on grades/volunteering).

I'm only a freshman now so I have time, but does dental school only look for shadowing dentists/dental specialists or would any medical shadowing apply? I am planning on volunteering at Princeton hospital over the summer since it's only about 30min. away from me but now that I'm thinking about it I could probably ask one/some of the doctors about shadowing. I guess there would probably be some dental specialists there?

Unfortunately my orthodontist recently moved to New York or I'd try to shadow him as well.

Thanks again

 

[golf05]

There might be a oral surgeon that comes in periodically to the hospital that you could ask to shadow. But I think you're better off calling around to dentists in your town. Summer is a good time to shadow. Just don't wait until after you apply...that was my mistake. I had only shadowed about 6 hours before I sent in my AADSAS application. I put on there that I pledged to volunteer 50 hours at a clinic, but was informed by one of the schools I applied to that I needed a specific number of gp and specialist hours. So then I was in a pinch to get a bunch of hours done within a month. I ended up simultaneously shadowing at 3 places during the day (random hours) and going to work at night. Not recommended! lol

 

[doc toothache]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=527523

 

[David1991]

Thanks for the link I'll go through it later tonight

By the way is there a way they check how much shadowing you've done or if you've even done it? I just finished another 5 hours today and I was thinking, what if someone just wrote down they did 50 hours? Would there be a way to prove it and is that something they look for?

 

[David1991]

Also I don't think this part was really answered: Do dental schools only look for dentistry shadowing? For instance if someone decides to go into dentistry but had already done 25 hours shadowing a dermatologist, for example, can they count that 25 hours towards shadowing when they apply to dental school or do those in charge of admissions only look for dentistry shadowing?

 

[golf05]

Your dental shadowing should be dental-related. I wouldn't count on your dermatology hours to count, though you can mention in your personal statement that you have explored the medical field. As far as verifying hours goes, I don't think adcoms have time to call all of your dentists and confirm that they have had you in their office. However, if you are at all dishonest on your application and someone senses that, you can forget that school for sure. Integrity is highly valued.

 

[iluvdentistry]

How important is shadowing? I do have some experience shadowing dentists but it is minimal. With working 25 hours a week, being involved in clubs, and studying my butt off in general for school I find I hardly have any free time and when I do it's usually on the weekends when a lot of practices aren't open. Am I screwing myself over by not getting in more to shadow?

 

[PaulieGualtieri]

In general, I would think around 100 hrs would be sufficient.

 

[David1991]

Your dental shadowing should be dental-related. I wouldn't count on your dermatology hours to count, though you can mention in your personal statement that you have explored the medical field.

In general, I would think around 100 hrs would be sufficient.

Hm, the above is somewhat..troubling. So we need 100 hours of just dental shadowing. I've heard at most around 20 hours per doctor so we need to find 5+ dentists to shadow? I can think of maybe 2 within a reasonable distance from me.

As far as verifying hours goes, I don't think adcoms have time to call all of your dentists and confirm that they have had you in their office. However, if you are at all dishonest on your application and someone senses that, you can forget that school for sure. Integrity is highly valued.

Yea I mean I personally wouldn't do it but it's weird to think that people could just be completely lying about on their applications

Your dental shadowing should be dental-related. I wouldn't count on your dermatology hours to count, though you can mention in your personal statement that you have explored the medical field. As far as verifying hours goes, I don't think adcoms have time to call all of your dentists and confirm that they have had you in their office. However, if you are at all dishonest on your application and someone senses that, you can forget that school for sure. Integrity is highly valued.

Damn, working 25 hours/week during the semester along with clubs, classes, studying, etc sounds rough...definitely wouldn't have time to work out anymore 😀

 

[golf05]

Yeah, it's a big time commitment, but you need it to show your schools that you're knowledgeable about the profession and that you've invested your time in it so they can invest their time in you. Summers, breaks- both great times to get a bunch of hours out of the way. Shadowing is as important as your DAT-- not necessarily the number of hours or who you shadow, but the fact that you've found time to look into the profession. 100 hours is good; 50 was minimum for at least one school I applied to; the others probably have a minimum number that they expect. You just can't apply and not do any hours.

 

[David1991]

Yeah, it's a big time commitment, but you need it to show your schools that you're knowledgeable about the profession and that you've invested your time in it so they can invest their time in you. Summers, breaks- both great times to get a bunch of hours out of the way. Shadowing is as important as your DAT-- not necessarily the number of hours or who you shadow, but the fact that you've found time to look into the profession. 100 hours is good; 50 was minimum for at least one school I applied to; the others probably have a minimum number that they expect. You just can't apply and not do any hours.

OK thanks, how many different dentists do you work with to hit 100 hours (or however many you had)?

I was shadowing yesterday and the dentist mentioned he didn't even have to shadow back when he applied lol

 

[golf05]

OK thanks, how many different dentists do you work with to hit 100 hours (or however many you had)?

I was shadowing yesterday and the dentist mentioned he didn't even have to shadow back when he applied lol

I did 60 hours between 3 private practice dentists. I did more hours with the dentist who seemed to enjoy my company the most. Also, my town has a free dental clinic where dentists and hygienists volunteer their time to do work on low-income patients. They were always looking for volunteers to assist and such, so I spent about 50 hours there. Maybe about half of those hours were actually assisting, so I counted that as shadowing. I think there were a total of about 7 people that I assisted at 2-4 hours at a time. You can be creative in shadowing. I also observed at a general practice residency (recently graduated dentists who wanted to do an extra year of general practice work). There were 4 residents doing cool cases every day, so that was a great way to see many dentists and how they approached each case.

Everyone does it differently. You'll find what works for you- if you have to squeeze it all in in a summer month at random hours or if you can schedule 2 hours here and 2 hours there every week for a semester. Just remember that you are a guest in someone else's office. Be pleasant, polite, watch first, then ask. Please's and Thank you's to all dentists and staff. It's usually a lot of fun! 🙂

 

[David1991]

Thanks for the Info golf05

I talked to the chair of the "Medical Careers Advisory Committee" and asked her the following:

"I talked to a number of other pre-med and current medical school students and it was mentioned that 50-100 hours of shadowing is generally necessary. This seems understandable if applying to medical school because there are many different specialties but if someone is applying to dental school would 100% of the shadowing have to be with a dentist/dental specialist?"

Her Answer: "No, you can get a whole variety of experiences, and SHOULD, to help you make the decision."

She did say can though. Obviously I could lol but would it be applicable to dental school admissions I guess is the question. It seems like that's what she meant though.