kypdurron5 said:
Ahhh! I was rejected from medical school last year with the tag line "get some hands-on clinical experience and reapply." That would be great but the problem is that I don't personally know any doctors to shadow, and volunteer programs have been incredibly unhelpful. Thus, I am down to randomly calling offices and asking if I can shadow. Trouble is, I'm a little timid. I hate calling someone cold-turkey and essentially asking for a favor, yet I know I have no choice! I promised myself I would do it on Monday, then Tuesday, and now it's Wednesday and I just can't bring myself to do it! Can anyone offer some encouragement? Perhaps some specific dialog to open with? Here's my rough-draft conversation opener:
"Hello, my name is xx and I'm a pre-med major at xx. I'm about to graduate and I'm working on applying to medical school and so I'm looking for a doctor who would be willing to let me shadow him/her and I was wondering if you could help me out?"
I assume I'll be talking to a nurse so I really would need them to serve as an intermediate, no? Or should I ask for a time to actually talk to one of the doctors? Speaking of time, what do you think would be the best time to call, early morning (7 or 8), mid-morning (9-11), or afternoon (1-5)? Advice from someone who has already done this would be greatly appreciated.
Also, on the practical side, what should I wear? Should I assume that I should wear scrubs, shirt/tie, or should I just ask when I make contact (assuming I work up the courage first)?
the doc or his staff will usually tell u what 2 wear - and u should def ask. some places i was told 2 wear scrubs, others it was business casual (dress nice sorta thing) and once i even had 2 bring my labcoat b/c 1st med students also precepted at this clinic and they wore their white coats and they didn't want me 2 appear 2 b 2 diff from them and have 2 explain my presence. so never assume about the dress code, which may also depend on what the doc does, ie whether he's a surgeon or say a family med doc may determine whether its scrubs or business casual. and they don't really look at allowing u 2 shadow as a 'favor'...they're usually glad 2 do it b/c they remember being premeds (of course some docs r more likely 2 let u and others r 2 busy or don't want 2 b bothered, but don't let those types get u down)
i think ur rough draft of what 2 say is good but add some more enthusiasm - a personal aspect - about how u're possibly interested in xx specialty (ie the doc's specialty) and wanted some exposure 2 c the ins/outs of working in xx, 2 observe the team interaction necessary 4 xx, and to reaffirm ur interest in xx, etc. u'd b surprised what u find out while observing/shadowing that u didn't know b4 or assumed incorrectly so go in with an open mind - i find being 2 opinionated or having 2 many assumptions may keep ppl from really learning and enjoying an experience. shadowing is a great learning experience. i called up the local DO school b/c i wanted 2 shadow a doc who does OMT and they set me up with one of their faculty at his clinic; i also asked one of the residents i volunteered with if i could shadow him. i also looked up MD docs in the specialities i am interested in at the hospital attached 2 the univ where i do research 2 give the docs a call. alot of times they r totally up 2 letting u shadow and what's the worse they can say, no? u never know about anything unless u try and if they say no, just find someone else and ask until u find someone willing 2 let u shadow, i bet u won't have 2 ask 2 many ppl, u'll c. i would also say do some volunteering if u can. i've always had jobs since while i was in college and still found time 2 volunteer so work shouldn't b an excuse and that's how the adcoms will look at it if u have very little clinical exposure - volunteering, shadowing, or working in a doc's office (my friend who was a history major did only this and got into med school) - anything where u can say u observe docs at their work and really do understand what its all about. that its not just assumptions from what u think/idealize or heard others says, cuz that won't fly. u really need 2 spend a sig amount of time IN the clinical setting making ur OWN personal observations.
sometimes u'll talk 2 a nurse/staff initially and they'll pass on ur request and if the doc says ok, they'll be the ones calling u back with directions to the location/instructions, etc. don't feel like u absolutely have 2 talk with a doc b/c sometimes they r 2 busy at the moment u call 2 talk with u but the person who answers the phone will usually pass on the message. or u could try emailing the doc (i've done that and i got 2 shadow him) with ur request and c if he/she responds. it just requires some work on ur side looking up contact info and making the contact cuz no one is going to hold ur hand and make it easy 4 u, so u gotta get up the courage 2 do everything urself or it'll never get done.
oh also, u don't need an emt license necessarily. it takes about 6 months and the course is usually around $500 plus there's passing/paying 4 the national/state emt licensing exams (written and clinical skills). i have an emt-b license that is current but chose not 2 get an emt job 4 personal reasons. i have a heavy research background and chose another research position and thought that i could volunteer emt but apparently, in my locale, i can't do that, they're all unionized. anyways, i also know that a specific adcom at upenn i spoke with said that 4 her, emt experiences does NOT raise a candidate in her eyes b/c alot of ppl do it 2 get into med school, that is unless, they had some sig experience they could talk about that added 2 their desire/knowledge of being a doctor. like when i mentioned 2 her and another non-adcom doc (who wrote my rec) that i have an EMT license and training, they both said that my 'EMT license really didn't mean much 2 them'. now, this doesn't mean that if u want 2 get one that its a waste of time, but only do it if u really want 2 cuz it doesn't *necessarily* give u a leg up (and costs alot of money/time) depending on what the adcoms feels at the schools u r applying 2. i listed my emt-b license and some things about hands-on training/experiences in my apps and it was only brought up at 1 of my 3 interviews. they were more interested in some anecdotes about my personal experiences in the clinical setting and didn't care what my role was in that setting necessarily.
just get SOME direct clinical/patient contact experience where u can also observe the doc and his/her interactions with the rest of the health care team. adcoms r more interested in just knowing that u really understand what it is u want and r getting urself into by becoming a doc and whichever way u gain this experience is personal and not cookie cutter - it can b volunteering, shadowing, working in a doc's office, being an emt, whatever, the specific nature of the experience doesn't matter as much as having had the experience/exposure
and GET CRACKIN!!!!! next app cycle is SOOON! 
Uh, yeah. Pre-med advice. That's what this is.
