Shadowing/Clinical Volunteering

[SouplantationLover]

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Hello again!

I'd like to get an insight on how nontrads find shadowing and clinical volunteering opportunities as well as finding time for it (ex. how to ask your boss?).

 

[tibwolf]

I occasionally get it done when I'm not working.

Should be able to call around clinics and hospitals to get an idea of how shadowing works for them. I think I usually end up speaking with volunteer coordinators or the graduate medical education departments.

 

[KiddCo]

I called the HR Manager for a large healthcare company, explained my situation and asked if they could place me in shadowing positions. Be courteous and thankful. They will have questions for you about why you want to do it and will deny if you don't have a very good reason (like trying to attend medical school).

The lady was awesome and had me shadow several doctors over several specialties for about 3 weeks straight.

I also just randomly called clinics and was lucky enough to reach an amazing GP who was flattered I would even ask to shadow her.

My experience has been talking to receptionists and low level employees is not helpful. They typically don't understand the process and will defer you or never get back to you.

Expect to provide all your vaccine records, submit to finger printing/background checks and fill a bunch of paperwork and sign nondisclosure's. This may cost you some money for the checks.

 

[SouplantationLover]

I called the HR Manager for a large healthcare company, explained my situation and asked if they could place me in shadowing positions. Be courteous and thankful. They will have questions for you about why you want to do it and will deny if you don't have a very good reason (like trying to attend medical school).

The lady was awesome and had me shadow several doctors over several specialties for about 3 weeks straight.

I also just randomly called clinics and was lucky enough to reach an amazing GP who was flattered I would even ask to shadow her.

My experience has been talking to receptionists and low level employees is not helpful. They typically don't understand the process and will defer you or never get back to you.

Expect to provide all your vaccine records, submit to finger printing/background checks and fill a bunch of paperwork and sign nondisclosure's. This may cost you some money for the checks.

Thanks for the thorough info! I will do this ASAP

 

[Silmaril]

I joined a pre-medical interest group at my school, which hooked me up with a shadowing opportunity. See whether your school has something similar. Also, after you start shadowing one physician, that physician can sometimes give you names of physicians who usually let students shadow them. It starts snowballing a little bit.

 

[Cornfed101]

I’ve done shadowing in big chunks over breaks like around thanksgiving and Christmas. That has worked pretty well for me. All of my shadowing has been people I already knew or via people I already knew (no cold calls/emails). If you think, “but I don’t know any doctors!” You aren’t thinking hard enough. Think family friends, people that you go to church with, your own primary care doc, etc.

For volunteering I found an evening volunteering gig that’s from 6-8pm teaching ESL. It has been awesome! I think I initially found it through the website volunteermatch.org


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