shadowing D.O

Started by shanibravo
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shanibravo

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Hello folks,

I am gonna shadow a D.O soon. I was wondering if any one could advise me. I am looking for suggestions from clothing, questions to demeanor and whatever. Also, did you just shadow, or also volunteered to help in the office?
 
shanibravo said:
Hello folks,

I am gonna shadow a D.O soon. I was wondering if any one could advise me. I am looking for suggestions from clothing, questions to demeanor and whatever. Also, did you just shadow, or also volunteered to help in the office?
Click to expand...

Clothing: Is this going to be in a hospital or a private practice? If it's a hospital, the doc might need you to scrub up and in some cases, even put on a white coat just so everything is kosher around patients. However, if it's a private practice, just dress professionally. You should email the doc and ask though (mine flat out told me to dress casual because I'd be changing right into scrubs) because you don't want to show up dressed fancy only to shove your nice clothes into a locker and scrub up.

Demeanor: Be polite, enthused, and curious. Ask questions when appropriate, but don't be annoying, and definitely be on your best behavior. Make sure to thank the doc, because this is time out of their day to help you, you know.

Shadow/Volunteer: I personally just shadowed. I think discussing volunteering should be done at a later time.

Good luck.
 
Good stuff. How long should one shadow 1 doctor for? Is it alright to be upfront about a letter of recommendation?
 
Isoprop said:
Good stuff. How long should one shadow 1 doctor for? Is it alright to be upfront about a letter of recommendation?
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It was totally fine in my experiences, most of them realize that's what you're there for... Good luck!
 
JaggerPlate said:
Clothing: Is this going to be in a hospital or a private practice? If it's a hospital, the doc might need you to scrub up and in some cases, even put on a white coat just so everything is kosher around patients. However, if it's a private practice, just dress professionally. You should email the doc and ask though (mine flat out told me to dress casual because I'd be changing right into scrubs) because you don't want to show up dressed fancy only to shove your nice clothes into a locker and scrub up.

Demeanor: Be polite, enthused, and curious. Ask questions when appropriate, but don't be annoying, and definitely be on your best behavior. Make sure to thank the doc, because this is time out of their day to help you, you know.

Shadow/Volunteer: I personally just shadowed. I think discussing volunteering should be done at a later time.

Good luck.
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its a private setting. You said do ask questions to show ur curiosity. You wanna give some examples. Also, is note taking a good idea. I mean on one hand, note taking shows seriousness. On the other hand, the patients might get creeped out.

Please share more experiences
 
shanibravo said:
its a private setting. You said do ask questions to show ur curiosity. You wanna give some examples. Also, is note taking a good idea. I mean on one hand, note taking shows seriousness. On the other hand, the patients might get creeped out.

Please share more experiences
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Examples, sure:

1. Don't ask the doc questions about the patient with the patient in the room.
2. Don't ask the doc questions when he is busy doing anything on a patient
3. Do ask questions about procedures/things the doc does after you're out of the room (remember not to be inappropriate or breech confidence)
4. Do, when you have time and he/she isn't busy, ask about their path into medicine, would do it differently, etc.

It's really hard for me to just say what is and isn't okay. I guess the best thing I can say is just analyze the situation and act appropriately you know. If something seems like a gray area, scrap that idea because it's probably no good. Mind your Ps and Qs, defer to the doc in all cases, etc.

Notes: No. I think that somewhere deep down it's a HIPPA violation to take notes in a private consultation with a physician and walk out with them. Plus, yeah, it's just kinda strange and not necessary.
 
How long does one typically shadow 1 doctor? I can't imagine it being helpful after a day's worth.
 
Isoprop said:
How long does one typically shadow 1 doctor? I can't imagine it being helpful after a day's worth.
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Should probably work this out before hand. I shadowed for a day (and still felt comfortable asking for a LOR), but I've known people who have set up a recurring shadowing role and were there for quite some time.
 
Good to hear. I was just wondering what was the norm.
 
shanibravo said:
Hello folks,

I am gonna shadow a D.O soon. I was wondering if any one could advise me. I am looking for suggestions from clothing, questions to demeanor and whatever. Also, did you just shadow, or also volunteered to help in the office?
Click to expand...

Like the above poster said, just go professional. If you wear slacks and a shirt (assuming you're a guy) or the female equivalent, you'll be well off. I wore khakis and a button down black shirt when I shadowed.

Questions: I held off on questions while the patient was in the room. During that time, I observed the doc's mannerisms, questions he's asking the patient, things he looks for, etc... I stood off to the side and was able to see both the doc and the patient. After the patient left, you'll have a couple of minutes to ask questions. It might be a good idea to bring a pad/pen to write down things that come to your head while you're observing so you can ask about it later.

Demeanor: the doc might introduce the patient to you. In most cases I shake their hand and greet them. But that's about it in terms of interaction with the patient. Look interested though. No yawning!

I only shadowed, did not help in the office. Shadowing itself is quite involved if you want to get the best out of it. I shadowed 2 DO's in a period of 4 days, so 2 days per doc. It was plenty of time to see what they do and their daily activity. You're not a resident yet so you don't need to know every little detail of what they do.

Be upfront about the letter. Just tell them you're applying to DO school and you'd like to shadow them and need a letter of recommendation. Then go from there.

Good luck!
 
JaggerPlate said:
Examples, sure:

1. Don't ask the doc questions about the patient with the patient in the room.
2. Don't ask the doc questions when he is busy doing anything on a patient
3. Do ask questions about procedures/things the doc does after you're out of the room (remember not to be inappropriate or breech confidence)
4. Do, when you have time and he/she isn't busy, ask about their path into medicine, would do it differently, etc.
Click to expand...

I dont think this is true for every physician. I think its safe to ask questions infront of the patient when the physician introduces you to the patient as a student or someone who is interested in medicine. As long as the questions are appropriate to medicine itself and not something like that will alarm a patient - "Oh is that cancer?". Physicians I have worked with have been totally happy to explain how a procedure works and why its done in front of patients, a lot of times its been to the patient's benifit to know. In the times they didnt want to explain something, they usually just said they would explain it later.

I would just ask the physician if its okay to ask him questions while he's examining the patient, or if he would prefer for you to wait.

And about the letter, definately be upfront about it. It can take time out of their day to write one of those letters, and if they know up front that they are going to be expected to write one, they can tell you straight up if they will have time or not. Every DO I have talked to however, has been more than willing to write a letter.
 
ShinyDome19 said:
I dont think this is true for every physician. I think its safe to ask questions infront of the patient when the physician introduces you to the patient as a student or someone who is interested in medicine. As long as the questions are appropriate to medicine itself and not something like that will alarm a patient - "Oh is that cancer?". Physicians I have worked with have been totally happy to explain how a procedure works and why its done in front of patients, a lot of times its been to the patient's benifit to know. In the times they didnt want to explain something, they usually just said they would explain it later.

I would just ask the physician if its okay to ask him questions while he's examining the patient, or if he would prefer for you to wait.

And about the letter, definately be upfront about it. It can take time out of their day to write one of those letters, and if they know up front that they are going to be expected to write one, they can tell you straight up if they will have time or not. Every DO I have talked to however, has been more than willing to write a letter.
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You make a great point. Whatever question we may have, the patient is probably curious also... however, I never asked any questions during an exam. Saved them all for while we ate lunch, drove to do rounds, or in between patients. They are already strapped on time w/ their patients (10-15 mins?), doubt 9 out of 10 docs really want to waste their time w/ our questions during a pt interview. But then again... I'm always one to play it safe 🙂
 
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