Shadowing experience on the weekends?

[Arrode]

I was wondering if any of you other non-trads have the same problem as me. I work full-time M-F 9-5pm at a traditional day job and take post-bacc classes at night. I really would like to get some shadowing experience, but the only times I have available are on the weekends. Have any of you guys found shadowing opportunities on the weekends and how did you go about finding them? I'd try to shadow with my family physician, but he only works M-F during regular hours, so that's not a possibility.

Thoughts or suggestions? 🙁

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[FrkyBgStok]

yeah that is tough. Would it be possible to get some shadowing done within a hospital. Some don't allow shadowing or at certain times. I would email the hospital because you are going to be hard pressed to find a doctor to shadow on the weekends in a private practice setting. Another option is to use vacation and knock out 40 hours in a week or so. I used my days off.

 

[Arrode]

yeah that is tough. Would it be possible to get some shadowing done within a hospital. Some don't allow shadowing or at certain times. I would email the hospital because you are going to be hard pressed to find a doctor to shadow on the weekends in a private practice setting. Another option is to use vacation and knock out 40 hours in a week or so. I used my days off.

I was kind of thinking about trying to take a few days off to shadow.

How many hours do you think I should shadow all-together?

 

[stolen_biscuit]

Do you have Urgent Care clinics around you? One of the ones by me is actually a Primary Care doc who just works off-hours. I've thought about calling him for evenings or weekends.
We have also had some of those free-standing ERs pop up in our area, and that might be easier to access than a hospital setting also.
It's tough!

 

[NJD519]

I worked full-time, took post-bacc courses half-time, and still shadowed; it can definitely be done. I shadowed within an ER, which are 24-7, so open clinic hours were no issue. Weekends are good for a few hours, but you can also just go straight after work. Try and contact the ER administrators and tell them you are applying to medical school and would love to shadow. Or better yet, go there dressed up in a tie and all and ask to speak with them so they see you're legit.

 

[simondimond]

There is a state university that offers these courses in the summer. Do you think they are worth it as far as helping you in any considerable way?

Whoops, I was trying to make a new thread.

 

[hawkbit]

I was kind of thinking about trying to take a few days off to shadow.

How many hours do you think I should shadow all-together?

You already have clinical experience if I remember right? I would say so no more than a week for sure. Maybe less depending on how much physician contact you had during your previous (and future?) experiences. You need enough to show that you have a good idea of what physicians do during their work hours. With your other volunteer activities, you are doing well with your ECs.

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[yankswin2011]

Look, there's a difference between shadowing a physician for the purposes of (a) admission, and (b) learning about the profession. It appears that you are concerned with (a) here. So my opinion is based on your wish for (a):

It may seem that a lot of people on this Discussion Board seem to think that if you don't shadow a physician, you won't get into medical school. That's not true because there are many factors that go into an admission decision. If you have enough strong factors in other areas, I think volunteering at a hospital on the weekends should cover your bases. Ideally, you want to be the "perfect" applicant but given that you have a real job, you can't be Mr. Perfect. I'm sure the Adcoms would understand that it's not feasible to simply quit your job entirely so that you can do 2-3 hours of shadowing a week. Good luck.





See: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=277557

 

[Arrode]

You already have clinical experience if I remember right? I would say so no more than a week for sure. Maybe less depending on how much physician contact you had during your previous (and future?) experiences. You need enough to show that you have a good idea of what physicians do during their work hours. With your other volunteer activities, you are doing well with your ECs.

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Yes, I have 100+ hrs of clinical experience from this semester alone.

Ok, thanks! I'm probably going to try to shadow a few physicians in a few different practices to get a feel for what environment I'd most like.

 

[Arrode]

I worked full-time, took post-bacc courses half-time, and still shadowed; it can definitely be done. I shadowed within an ER, which are 24-7, so open clinic hours were no issue. Weekends are good for a few hours, but you can also just go straight after work. Try and contact the ER administrators and tell them you are applying to medical school and would love to shadow. Or better yet, go there dressed up in a tie and all and ask to speak with them so they see you're legit.

ER is a great idea. Did you just walk into the ER and ask about shadowing opportunities? I'm just not sure how to go about that since it's an ER instead of private practice.

 

[isoquin]

remember, the point is not to check off a "shadowing" box with a certain number of hours. the goal is to show AdComs that you understand what it means to be a doctor to some small degree. I can't stress this enough. If you're too busy working and have not put in any time to convince yourself or anyone else that you understand the field to which you are trying to apply, you severely limit your chances.

If you want to be a doctor, your job is to get into med school, and that involves taking the time to hit all the things that will accomplish that goal. Making money right now needs to be a secondary pursuit, taking a back seat to getting into medical school. If that's an idea that doesn't resolve too well for you, consider what 4 years of medical school will entail.

 

[imthedoctor]

i just got an approval from a physician for shadowing for 1.5 hours once a week. Is it enough for med school?
how many hours of combined shadowing is preferred?

 

[yankswin2011]

"Making money right now needs to be a secondary pursuit, taking a back seat to getting into medical school."

Yes but if you are going to quit your job, you should make sure you have enough money to pay rent, buy food, other necessities, and pay for medical school application fees! I hate to see you homeless while trying to volunteer....like I said, take a balanced, sensible approach. These "all-or-nothing" approaches to medical school does not work for everything, unless you are independently wealthy, of course.