Shadowing as a med student - some questions

[doubledr]

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Hi all,

I'm trying to dabble in shadowing a few different specialties during MS1 while I still have a decent bit of free time. I'm wondering if anyone has advice on what shadowing as an early med student is supposed to look like. I've heard some people say they were basically "flies on the wall" until their third year started, while others got more involved in the process (a few lucky or skilled individuals getting to interview patients).

I'm having a particularly hard time figuring out what to do especially during EM shadowing, when there are typically many physicians running around doing their thing. I feel like dead weight sometimes when there are other MS3/4's around.

Bottom line I guess is that I'm wondering if it's normal for med school shadowing to look just like premed shadowing, or if I just need to be in the right place and right time to find a resident/attending that's interested in letting me "get my hands dirty" a bit more. I know that I don't know much, but I worked in EMS for years before coming to med school, and I would like to start getting a little more "involved" during shadowing, like some of the med students I know. Any good ways to go about this? I feel like I should be more eager and introduce myself to every physician I see in the room and get really "involved", but I don't want to bother a bunch of physicians that still need to do their jobs.

 

[ScalpelStrike]

Ask your senior med students that did get more involved how they did it. Typically if you can prove to residents you're a go-getter, trust worthy, and remotely competent, I find they will let you have a go at seeing the patients first.

 

[darknecrosforte]

Make sure you have malpractice coverage if you're going to be doing what you seem to want to do. Schools pay malpractice for 3rd and 4th years because they're directly involved in patient care and have the potential to get involved with the medicolegal aspects of care. Flies on the wall allows you to avoid that nonsense and doing more than that could subject you to consequences you may not have considered.

 

[NonTrad16]

Does your school have any sort of student clinic? That’s likely the best you’ll get. Occasionally clubs host events to learn (suturing, iv, etc). Even as a 3rd year it can be hard to feel useful.

I’d use shadowing as an opportunity to find a mentor (if desired), discuss the field, ask about aspects of patient management, etc which can inform your 3rd year rather than try to be a real participant in care.

 

[kraskadva]

Agree with above. Not sure why you're shadowing in the ED as a M1, that seems useless because, for all the reasons mentioned above, you really can't do anything there.
I did some shadowing M1 & M2 years, and yes, you're just a fly on the wall. More involved discussions with the docs outside of the room than a pre-med would have, but still just an observer. The benefit/point of shadowing in M1/2 is not to get clinical experience (that's M3/4 or student-run free clinics), but to get some exposure to fields that you think you might be interested in and a chance to really talk to folks in whatever field.
So maybe branch out and shadow in some fields that you won't see during core clerkships, or try to see more of what private practice looks like (urgent care maybe if you're into EM) since most of your clerkships will be hospital practice.
But don't expect to be able to get your hands dirty in the ED before 3rd year.