Shadowing during med school

[saltbreeze55]

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Does shadowing have any benefit as an MS1 or MS2 other than finding out speciality of interest? I'm wondering is it helpful for networking in a field you're already interested in, or learning more so you're more prepared to do really well on that rotation come 3rd year?

 

[acstylin]

Yes it’s helpful for connections and such but also helpful for the experience. I find that I learn more in a shadowing session than I do in class.

 

[saltbreeze55]

Yes it’s helpful for connections and such but also helpful for the experience. I find that I learn more in a shadowing session than I do in class.

Thank you, this is helpful to know! I have seen really old forums on sdn basically saying shadowing is a waste of time and you should do research instead and it's making me second guess how to best use the time. It's good to know that you have found it helpful in gaining clinical knowledge. I've been thinking that will especially be helpful with clerkships being more important once step 1 is P/F with grades and evaluations. Do you think this is accurate?

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

Thank you, this is helpful to know! I have seen really old forums on sdn basically saying shadowing is a waste of time and you should do research instead and it's making me second guess how to best use the time. It's good to know that you have found it helpful in gaining clinical knowledge. I've been thinking that will especially be helpful with clerkships being more important once step 1 is P/F with grades and evaluations. Do you think this is accurate?

Shadowing and research help with completely different things, so I don't really see them as a direct trade off. It's not like med school apps where you report your shadowing hours as part of your application, doing a lot of shadowing won't directly give you a leg up with residency apps. What it will do is help you learn (so maybe help your grades), help you figure out what specialty is right for you, and may help you get to know some residents/faculty within your field of interest that can connect you to further opportunities (like research). Research will more directly look good on a resume.

 

[saltbreeze55]

Shadowing and research help with completely different things, so I don't really see them as a direct trade off. It's not like med school apps where you report your shadowing hours as part of your application, doing a lot of shadowing won't directly give you a leg up with residency apps. What it will do is help you learn (so maybe help your grades), help you figure out what specialty is right for you, and may help you get to know some residents/faculty within your field of interest that can connect you to further opportunities (like research). Research will more directly look good on a resume.

yes that makes sense, thanks for this input! as someone who has done clerkships, did you find any knowledge gained during shadowing to be helpful/ translate into MS3? i just finished MS1 so am a little clueless with how clerkships really work

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

yes that makes sense, thanks for this input! as someone who has done clerkships, did you find any knowledge gained during shadowing to be helpful/ translate into MS3? i just finished MS1 so am a little clueless with how clerkships really work

shadowing will give you some tidbits of helpful knowledge, but it's really more about experiencing different practice types/settings in a lower stress way than during clinical rotations. Do you enjoy being in the OR? ER? do you like rounds? is the hospital for you or are you more of an outpatient person? You'll spend WAY more time doing all of these things on your actual rotations but shadowing can give you a taste early on so you have an idea of what you might like. I think it's especially important if you think you might be interested in something competitive, because you may want to get an early start on research etc. But it's also just a fun way to build a clinical connection to your preclinical courses.