Shadowing during the summer?

[bubbles3030]

So basically I have an internship at a hospital which allows me to spend 50% of my time shadowing doctors and the like.

I am applying this June, and I do not start my internship til June.
I have only 40 hours shadowing now.

Should I find more shadowing opportunities now during the school year before I turn my application in or just do it over the summer and send update letters?
Would one be looked at more preferably than others?

Thanks!

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[earf]

So basically I have an internship at a hospital which allows me to spend 50% of my time shadowing doctors and the like.

I am applying this June, and I do not start my internship til June.
I have only 40 hours shadowing now.

Should I find more shadowing opportunities now during the school year before I turn my application in or just do it over the summer and send update letters?
Would one be looked at more preferably than others?

Thanks!

Do both if you really want to. Schools want to see if you're doing something productive in the next year, but they also want you to be sincere in doing it. Just having it on your application isn't enough, but talking about why you did it and what you learned from it will be.

I think you should find more shadowing opportunities as soon as possible because shadowing helps you make an informed decision about going into medicine, what the daily activities of doctors across multiple fields are, and you'll have a more realistic understanding of what medicine can and can't do. All of this will help you in your application, from improving your personal statement to adding content to your secondary applications.

 

[survivordo]

Earf makes good points. If you are unable to do any additional shadowing make sure to update your application/schools with your additional experience. It will be a good opportunity to contact them to keep your application on their mind and also will show your continued interest to the field.

Survivor DO

 

[dudewheresmymd]

Depends. How much shadowing experience do you ALREADY have? If the answer to this is very little, then by all means pursue now if you can and during the summer. If the answer to this question is a decent amount, then only during the summer should be fine. If your GPA and MCAT are already squared away then try to enrich your extracurricular or medically related activities as much as you can. Good luck.

 

[earf]

Depends. How much shadowing experience do you ALREADY have? If the answer to this is very little, then by all means pursue now if you can and during the summer. If the answer to this question is a decent amount, then only during the summer should be fine. If your GPA and MCAT are already squared away then try to enrich your extracurricular or medically related activities as much as you can. Good luck.

He said he had 40 hours. I think that shadowing is by far more important than any other ECs, including research and volunteering

 

[bubbles3030]

Thanks guys!

 

[galaxyx]

40 hours of shadowing is sufficient for your application if everything else is in order. I think the average is around 50. You will be able to put your internship and extra shadowing done on your secondary applications which you will turn in in July, so you won't even have to send update letters. (Secondaries frequently have a spot for "If you're not in school, what are you doing in the next year?" and almost always a "Is there anything else we should know?"